Clearances question

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delagirl

New Member
Nov 27, 2012
13
Montreal QC
Hi,

I have been scouring the web, but I can't find the answer: if I install a woodstove in the corner of the room, and put in a heat shield to reduce clearances to the wall, how far does the shield have to extend beyond the stove, on the sides?

It is a Drolet Savannah, the clearances are 12" from each corner to the wall, but per the company this can be reduced by 67% by putting in a metal heat shield. Said shield must extend 20" above the stovetop, from 1-3" above the floor, and 18" on either side of the stove. Where do I measure from for the side measurement? Since the rear corners are closest to the wall, do I measure from there, or do I measure from the front of the stove, forward along the wall (subjectively, this seems very far)?

Thanks for your help! I want to make sure everything is right before installing it, and the shield will not be very attractive if we have to add pieces, later.

Mary
 
Welcome Mary. I don't have the manual downloaded but it sounds like shield needs to extend 18" on each side starting from the corner behind the stove. It doesn't hurt to exceed these minimums and it might look better to extend the shield out further, say to the front of the stove. The shield needs to be open top & bottom and on 1" non-combustible spacers. What do you want to use for the shield?
 
Welcome Mary. I don't have the manual downloaded but it sounds like shield needs to extend 18" on each side starting from the corner behind the stove. The shield needs to be open top & bottom and on 1" non-combustible spacers. What do you want to use for the shield?

Thanks!

I was planning to get a big sheet of copper (20 oz) and hammer it with a ballpein hammer (should keep me out of trouble for part of the weekend). I was then going to affix it to the wall (studs where possible) with ceramic or metal spacers (depending on what I can get). Any suggestions on what sort of screws to use?

So you think the 18" would be from the rear corner, forward along the wall? It makes kind of a big difference. I've attached the manual.

Mary
 

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I'm in Hawaii right now and far away from my regular computer.

Had to install Acrobat on this tablet. The diagrams are good in the manual but don't show the corner shielding. Extend the shield to the front edge of the stove and it will be fully protected.

Please take pictures and post them. This sounds like it will be a nice installation.
 
Hi,

Thanks! I am actually having a bit of a struggle getting the copper, now (thought I had a source, but it turns out they only have 16 oz, which I think is too thin). I will definitely post photos if it works out!

Mary
 
The only graphic for shielding in the manual is for a flat wall installation. For corner installation, I would think that the side shielding would extend from the back shield along the wall and past the back corner of the stove until all parts of the stove body meet the c to c requirements. If you look at figure 2 on page 14 (for floor protection) it might help visualize my explanation.
 
Hi!

Thanks for the help. I think what you are saying is that I need to have the minimum clearance required from the unshielded wall, at the point at which there is no shield (that would be 12"), so I think I am okay. I have another question: the shield is supposed to run 1" off the wall, but I was hoping to have it do that from in front of the stove, along the side, and then to have it cut off the corner about 6" behind the stove, and run parallel to the back of the stove, then meet the other wall and go forward again. Hopefully this makes sense: the corner is behind the stove, but the shield would make two 135 degree bends and be flat behind the stove, so that it would actually be more than 1" from the wall (max 13" at the corner itself). Do you know if this is okay, or if I have to go all the way into the corner with the shield and maintain the 1" space (not more) all along it?

Thank you!

Mary
 
You won't need to go all the way into the corner. If its good enough for a flat wall application it is good enough for a corner install. (meaning the spacing from the stove to the heat shield.)
 
Hi,

So I should base the distance to the heat shield on the clearance? It is 15 for a single-walled pipe and 6 for a double-walled pipe (for the rear of the stove), and that is susceptible to the standard reductions if a heat shield is installed, so it sounds like having the shield 6" from the back of the stove should be okay. The requirements for the heat shields say "a minimum of 1"" from the wall, so I was hoping this should be alright.

Mary
 
Hi,

I'm refreshing this post with an update and a new question!

It took me a little longer than foreseen to make and install my heat shield, and I managed to learn more than I thought I was going to about copper working. Anyhow, I had said I would post a photo when it was done, so here it is (actually, I have also added screws on the sides of the shield, but this is pretty much what it looks like).

However, when the stove was installed, it became apparent that the soffit overhead reduces the clearance (supposed to be 84" from floor to ceiling, but it is not where the soffit overlaps). So, apparently we need a ceiling heat shield, and that raises new questions that aren't clear from the owner's manual/other info I can find:

A-B) How far from the woodstove does the the ceiling shield need to extend (distance either from the top of the stove to the unprotected combustible wall, or distance horizontally from directly over the stove edge)?

C) What should the heat shield do at the vertical sides of the soffit (see attached diagram in pdf, if possible - you can barely see the edge of the soffit in the photos)? How far should it project, and should this be vertically, at a 45 degree angle, horizontally?

Thanks so much for any and all help!

Mary Woodstove and Rear Shield.jpgWoodstove and Rear Shield 2.jpg
 

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Is this single-wall or double-wall pipe connecting the stove to the chimney?
 
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That top elbow on your flue looks pretty close to the edge of the overhead chase, assuming the chase is drywall as it looks in the photo. The flue pipe looks to be single wall pipe there at the elbow.
 
Is this single-wall or double-wall pipe connecting the stove to the chimney

If it's single wall, by the way the pic looks, it appears like 8 inch upside down (or a double female pipe at the bottom) just resting loosely over the stove collar.

I do hope it's an illusion or double wall.

pen
 
It looks like 8" single-wall to me but I want to be sure. If it is single, what is the distance from the pipe to the soffit?
 
Seriously...I don't think I'd change a thing. Maybe watch the surface temp above the pipe articulation with an IR thermo for a while, but this installation is so wide open (as contrasted with an alcove installation) that I don't think there's any problem with it just the way it is (but I'm neither a pro nor any sort of certified subject-matter expert). Rick
 
I had the same thought, but experience has shown me that the surface temp on the pipe peaks where the flue makes an angle change. The flue gas hits the top surface of the pipe as it makes the turn. That makes this area much hotter than the rest of the pipe. If this is single-wall pipe I would consider a discrete heat shield for the soffit. If it is closer than 18" to the nearest combustible surface (the soffit) then the combustible must be shielded or double-wall pipe needs to be used.
 
It's gotta be double-wall pipe as shown, or else it's completely mis-installed and has to be re-done in its entirety.
 
the fit and finish look just like ICC double wall which on it own has a 6" clearance to cumbustable. But for what i believe your asking i take the over all measurement and subtract the stove height, then using that number measure from stove top edge to ceiling. Where ever that measurement ends up is how far out the sheild need to be.
So from looking at your pdf A = (stove height - 84") should be around 60" and your sheild will need to go vertically up that soffit untill you get the total of 84"
 
Hi,

Thanks for all the discussion! the stove pipe is all double-walled, with 6" clearance. The distance from the pipe to the soffit at the closest point is 7".

In order for the soffit to be covered 57" (84"-stove height of 27") from the furthest point of the stove, the shield will have to go about 38" along the soffit. Thanks for confirming that that is the right way to calculate it, skinanbones!

What about around the edges of the soffit? Should the shield bend 90 degrees and follow the vertical sides of the soffit to about 3" from the ceiling, or should it extend (how many inches) out horizontally or at a 45 (or other) degree angle?

I'm not sure if we'll go with a ceiling shield that is "discreet" (metal painted the same colour as the soffit), or with another piece of copper. Suggestions?

Mary
 
Very nice, unique looking install, Mary! I love how you textured the copper, may I ask how you did it? The tile and textured copper look very nice!
 
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