Do I need a 2nd mantle shield for Oslo?

atomichawg said:

We had an Oslo installed recently, and it is a hearth mount sitting on edge of hearth of former heatilator hearth. There is a wooden mantle which has a heat shield attached to protect mantle. The mantle itself stays cool, but the trim beneath the mantle which is unprotected, gets so hot that you cant hold your hand on it when the stove is 400 degrees or higher. I measured the distance between top of stove and trim and it is around 10 inches. Not sure what the manual says about clearances because I dont have it here and cant look it up online because my computer is a dinosaur. Thanks for your input. Picture was taken before any mantle shield was installed.

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Can't see any way that's to code - you need 18" to combustibles. You are risking burning your house down. There is no heat shield that Jotul sells that protects from the top - it's the radiant heat that you need to protect this from - that can be coming from anywhere on the top of that stove. Who installed this? Is the rest of the install up to spec?

If you don't want to modify mantle, can you move the stove further out - what do you have for a hearth?

I'm a newbie so I can't speak from experience, but your stove is closer to combustibles than my "zero clearance" built in stove, and I'm right at the minimums for my unit.

atomichawg said:

Would a heat shield solve this problem, or do I need to 1. bring stove out farther (I would need a hearth extension for this) or 2. Modify mantle to remove combustibles

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With your configuration - stove halfway under the mantle, I can't see how a shield would work and not be a massive piece of metal. I would vote for 1.

Are you sure everything else is safe?

atomichawg said:

I just checked the manual, and it says that there should be a minimum 16" clearance between stove and top mantel trim. I measured 10". I really think I need to get a proper hearth pad and move it forward. Oy Vey! I think the dealer should have to pay to replace the pipe which will be needed to move it forward if indeed they did install it incorrectly, which it looks like they did.

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A dealer installed this! If you had done it - I figure that it's thankful that you turned to here for advice. But that install is bordering on criminally negligent. It's not as simple as more pipe - I would reckon it will have to be double wall as the pipe needs clearance to combustibles. Talk to them about the dangerous install - maybe they had a new installer (no excuse). If they give you any hassle or try to explain it away, walk away, find someone who you do trust to check the whole install, then start on getting money back....

is that one of them electric fake flame units? it looks just like mine!

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You have every right to be annoyed - I hadn't connected your name with the other issues that you've been having. I think it's time to step away from this dealer - they clearly have no idea - clearances to combustibles is such an obvious thing that I wouldn't trust them with anything else. It may cost you more in the long term, but for peace of mind...

I would also look to who I could complain to about their poor/dangerous judgement

Set up an appointment with an inspector and the installer at the same time and day and have him fix anything that
needs to fixed. Or stop payment on the check now.

I had a similar experience with my install. I formerly had a pine mantle about 10" above my jotul, and just like you, it got hot to the touch and even started smoking. If I remember correctly, the manual talks about the degree to which minimum clearances are reduced by adding a heat shield. Because my mantle was ugly in the first place, I decided to tear it out and replace rather than roll the dice with a heat shield. Cost me about a grand - not what I was planning on when I bought the stove to save money on heat, but oh well - the room looks a lot nicer now. I bet you could make that work with a heat shield. I wouldn't buy one off the shelf, but rather go to a sheet metal shop and have one fabricated, then paint it black with high temp paint, and screw it on your mantle with some of those ceramic spacers to set the shield off from the mantle. Something real simple, probably one bend with a few holes in it where the screws will go, a little bit wider than your Oslo. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Be safe and don't burn your house down!

Edit: Also, I was pretty pissed that the "professional" stove shop, Fireplace Village in NH, said the clearance violation wouldn't be a problem. I didn't bother trying to get them to take responsibility.