alcove temperature and other questions,

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quint

New Member
Oct 3, 2011
42
Bremerton, WA
So now that I have been doing some burns with my new setup I am a little worried about the temperature on part of my alcove walls. Most of the alcove walls stay pretty cool to slightly warm which includes the top and back of the alcove. The issue I am having is the two side walls, the back portion of them is pretty cool its the last 10-12" before it opens up into the living room that is getting pretty warm. I can still put my hand on the tiles so they arent that hot but they are getting pretty toasty. Just wondering what the temp that should worry me about this.

Oh and the walls are 2x4framed, insulated, 1/2" duroc, porcelian tile.

My other question is what are good temps to have my stove at, it is a country (lennox ss210). I have not noticed anyone else on here with one. It will get up to 600 or so pretty easily if I dont watch it when I put a couple of the preformed logs (idaho logs) in. Ill close the flue down a ways but this is when I start getting black stuff on part of the glass and on some of the bricks which I know isnt good.

Are there any general guide lines for this type of thing? I am still new to these new stoves, last stove I used was the old fisher my parents had from 20yrs ago, never worried about how hot that thing got.
 
600-650 is a good cruising temp once the air has been closed down. If you can touch the walls, they are fine. You can have them up to 180F without a lot of concern.
 
If the appliance was installed in compliance with the manufacturer's documented minimum Clearance To Combustibles, then everything should be just fine. Those requirements are very conservative. If you can hold your hand on the walls, you're OK. It's to be expected that those sidewall surfaces in an alcove installation will get plenty warm. Keep an eye (or a hand) on them until you become comfortable with the way your system performs. Rick
 
Thanks guys,

When I finished doing the alcove I measured several times to center the stove and I am just about 3" extra distance above the minimums to the back wall and I have about 1.5" extra (above minimums) on each side.
 
You should be good to go, quint. It's perfectly normal to be cautious and even a bit worried when you first fire up a new burner...at least for anybody with a brain, which you quite obviously have and know how to use. Rick
 
Thanks Fossil I try, sometimes I get both brain cells cooperating. I just dont want to screw up something like this since it involves fire and I did all the setup myself. I say myself much of that is in thanks to all the info on this forum. The hearth guys at the local place are ok but you gotta drive in to meet them and to be honest I find it hard to really trust any salesman in the area I am in (no offense to salesman here but being in a Navy town you gotta be extra careful).
 
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