When is a Fireplace Install Not a Fireplace Install?

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Pellet_Pete

Feeling the Heat
Jan 22, 2014
319
Franklin County, MA
Hi folks - spent a good long time combing through old posts, but am still a bit confused.

Looking to ditch the propane insert & install a rear-vented Jotul F3 into my fireplace. I want to have the stove sit out in the room, so I'll be extending the hearth pad to meet floor protection requirements - no problems there. However, as has been noted in past posts, the Jotul manual inspires confusion when a fireplace is involved. Seemingly astronomical clearances are cited (like 34" from top of stove to mantel!) that would result in at least 16 square feet of protected wall surface, whereas the standard install w/shields to protected surfaces requires 30"x32" of protection for the stove w/6" clearance. So, my question is, by installing the stove out in the room, is it more like a standard room install (i.e. the brick fireplace surround would be more than sufficient)? Or is the mantel even more at risk in this case?

Photo attached. Fireplace surround is 71" wide by 51" high to base of mantel/trim. Fireplace opening is 37-3/4" wide by 29-1/2" high. Hearth pad is 20" deep (going to double it).
 

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This is Pallet Pete's long-lost cousin, back east. Separated generations ago, when half the Pete clan moved west.
 
Mantel clearances are important. 34" to a combustible above the stove top is not a lot. You might want to consider a mantel shield attached on spacers below the mantel. Or maybe look for a stove with a convective top and closer mantel clearances? What is the measurement from the hearth to the bottom of the mantel?
 
Mantel clearances are important. 34" to a combustible above the stove top is not a lot. You might want to consider a mantel shield attached on spacers below the mantel. Or maybe look for a stove with a convective top and closer mantel clearances? What is the measurement from the hearth to the bottom of the mantel?

Thanks for the quick reply. I have about 51" from hearth to bottom of mantel (calling the entire wood portion "mantel"). Stove is approx. 28" tall.

It's not clear to me why the mantel clearance is so important and the clearances so different. With the rear heat shield & double wall pipe, I can install down to 10" to unprotected surfaces to the rear, 18" from the side - why 34" from the top? How is a mantel any different than having a knick-knack shelf above the stove of a through-wall installation, where you maintain clearance to the pipe?

btw, wife doesn't like the idea of a mantel shield :rolleyes:, not even a copper one.

Also, note that I have invested $0 into this project so far, so don't worry about spoiling my daydreams. :)
 
To answer the question in the title, you would cease worrying about clearances above the stove once you move it out far enough horizontally from them that they meet rear clearances. That's going to put your stove in the room a long ways.

Not really - with rear vent & double wall pipe, can get 6" rear clearance to protected surface (i.e. the masonry fireplace). But 6" from where? Back of the fireplace? masonry facade? front face of mantel? Again, seems like installing out in the open, you pass a point where the fireplace clearances don't make sense...or maybe I just want to believe it so hard ;).
 
why 34" from the top?

Hot air rises. It is always going to be hottest above and in front of the stove. Take a look at the Hampton H300. It is ok with the mantel height you have. Their minimum for the mantel is 48" from the hearth.
 
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Not really - with rear vent & double wall pipe, can get 6" rear clearance to protected surface (i.e. the masonry fireplace). But 6" from where? Back of the fireplace? masonry facade? front face of mantel? Again, seems like installing out in the open, you pass a point where the fireplace clearances don't make sense...or maybe I just want to believe it so hard ;).

I pulled up your manual. Your rear clearances to an unprotected surface with doublewall pipe is 14 inches. Essentially, if you can get the stove 14 inches in front of the mantel, then you are clear. If you are inside that distance in the horizontal plane, then the vertical clearances of 34 inches would apply. Unfortunately your manual doesn't list clearances for use with a mantel shield.
 
Thanks for both your replies. I guess I am coming around to accepting the mantel problem as reality. Sure am glad I keep obsessing about this project - the more I mull things over, the more costly mistakes I avoid!
 
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A quick follow-up question. I looked at the manuals for the Jotul F100 (one size smaller) and F400 (one size up) for comparison. The F100 calls for 22" from top of stove to mantel. The F400 calls for 25". What factors for the F3 would contribute to its requiring 34"? Any chance this is a typo that works in my favor? ==c
 
Hot headed little stove? These are the tested results. There is only one entity that can change what is printed there, Jotul. You will have to call them for verification or clarification.
 
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