mantle clearance an 1" shy

jaychino415 · Dec 23, 2013

Anyone in the same situation? The bottom of my mantel is just 1" shy of clearance to top of insert as recommended by manufacturer. All other clearances are easily met. Should I be worried? Just to let you know I haven't been burning. Any recommendations? Thanks in Advance.

begreen · Dec 23, 2013

Often a simple shield will solve this issue. It depends on the mantel design. Can you post a picture of the mantel? What insert and which clearance, side or top?

jaychino415 · Dec 23, 2013

begreen said:
Often a simple shield will solve this issue. It depends on the mantel design. Can you post a picture of the mantel? What insert and which clearance, side or top?

Thanks BG, I will have to get back to you with the mantel pic.The insert is a Lopi Freedom Bay. It doesn't meet the Letter "N" clearance.

begreen · Dec 23, 2013

If the mantle is fairly simple a shield can be attached to the underside of the mantel on spacers. It can be painted to match the mantel if desired. It the mantel is a complex piece of woodwork you may choose to put the shield at the stove level.

Ashful · Dec 23, 2013

There are two issues here, practical safety and insurance claim. Many will argue that if you're 1" shy of a 32" clearance requirement, there is little safety concern, falling 3% shy of manufacturer's recommendation. However, if you should have a fire, the insurance adjuster likely won't care by how much you missed the manufacturer's recommendation.

Both of my lintels (and mantels, for that matter...) are wood, and the lintels fail to meet Jotul's recommendation for a Firelight 600. They have no such test measurement for my old Firelight 12's, so one would have to go with full NFPA clearances, which will never be met for a fireplace install. Then again, these are stoves placed IN a fireplace, which was at one time deemed safe for open fire.

jaychino415 · Dec 23, 2013

begreen said:
If the mantle is fairly simple a shield can be attached to the underside of the mantel on spacers. It can be painted to match the mantel if desired. It the mantel is a complex piece of woodwork you may choose to put the shield at the stove level.

My mantel is pretty simple, nothing like the art pieces I have seen on the forum. Will probably get one made. How thick does the steel have to be?

jaychino415 · Dec 23, 2013

Joful said:
There are two issues here, practical safety and insurance claim. Many will argue that if you're 1" shy of a 32" clearance requirement, there is little safety concern, falling 3% shy of manufacturer's recommendation. However, if you should have a fire, the insurance adjuster likely won't care by how much you missed the manufacturer's recommendation.

Both of my lintels (and mantels, for that matter...) are wood, and the lintels fail to meet Jotul's recommendation for a Firelight 600. They have no such test measurement for my old Firelight 12's, so one would have to go with full NFPA clearances, which will never be met for a fireplace install. Then again, these are stoves placed IN a fireplace, which was at one time deemed safe for open fire.

Thanks Joful, that's a lot to digest. Have you ever measured the temperature of your mantel with IR gun?

begreen · Dec 23, 2013

jaychino415 said:
My mantel is pretty simple, nothing like the art pieces I have seen on the forum. Will probably get one made. How thick does the steel have to be?

The metal gauge is not critical. 26 or 24 ga is fine.

Ashful · Dec 23, 2013

jaychino415 said:
Thanks Joful, that's a lot to digest. Have you ever measured the temperature of your mantel with IR gun?

Yes. Typically 120F at the hottest spots, with the stove cruising on a pretty high setting. However, the temperature of the surrounding wood when the stove is operating properly is not the issue. You care what temp that wood will hit when a log rolls into the glass or your ash pan latch breaks, and you're not home to remedy the situation. I have no idea what temperature my surrounding woodwork might hit, if my ash pan latch fails and the stove goes nuclear with a full load. This is why I recently had some heat shields made, and will be installing them very soon.

jaychino415 · Dec 23, 2013

Joful said:
Yes. Typically 120F at the hottest spots, with the stove cruising on a pretty high setting. However, the temperature of the surrounding wood when the stove is operating properly is not the issue. You care what temp that wood will hit when a log rolls into the glass or your ash pan latch breaks, and you're not home to remedy the situation. I have no idea what temperature my surrounding woodwork might hit, if my ash pan latch fails and the stove goes nuclear with a full load. This is why I recently had some heat shields made, and will be installing them very soon.

Thanks Joful, I understand your cautious and completely agree.

jaychino415 · Dec 23, 2013

Thanks BG. Time to get some measurements to get the ball rolling.

jaychino415 · Dec 27, 2013

begreen said:
Often a simple shield will solve this issue. It depends on the mantel design. Can you post a picture of the mantel? What insert and which clearance, side or top?

Here's a pic of my mantel. It might be hard to see since it's dark.

rwhite · Dec 27, 2013

Can't see the mantle in that pic.

andybaker · Dec 27, 2013

I was in a similar situation. What I did was to build up the Mantle at the supports to lift it into compliance.

ColdNH · Dec 27, 2013

I had a mantle clearance issue as well. I had a piece of copper fabricated at a local metal fabricator and hung it below the wood mantel with ceramic spacers. can barely tell its there. I should have had it extend out probably another 3/4" though. The upper part of the mantel sticks out a little past the shield and get much warmer then the lower part as its not protected as much. Its warm to the touch but I wouldn't call it too hot to touch. I haven't measured it with an IR gun though.

The shield most definitely works though.

Shawn · Dec 27, 2013

I have a freedom bay as well - I don't have a mantle but I do have trim that doesn't quite meet the clearances. The dealer installed a heat shield and it never gets overly hot. I will see if I have a picture.

Shawn

Shawn · Dec 27, 2013

Mantle shield photo

jaychino415 · Dec 28, 2013

rwhite said:
Can't see the mantle in that pic.

Try this one out. We are still in Christmas mode

jaychino415 · Dec 28, 2013

ColdNH said:
I had a mantle clearance issue as well. I had a piece of copper fabricated at a local metal fabricator and hung it below the wood mantel with ceramic spacers. can barely tell its there. I should have had it extend out probably another 3/4" though. The upper part of the mantel sticks out a little past the shield and get much warmer then the lower part as its not protected as much. Its warm to the touch but I wouldn't call it too hot to touch. I haven't measured it with an IR gun though.

The shield most definitely works though.

Thanks for sharing your pic. The copper looks nice.

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