Space between real christmas tree and F400 Castine?
- Thread starter G6 at Snook TX
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tcassavaugh
Minister of Fire
probably need to keep the tree outside....lol....or, at least toward the other end of the room. you will really need to keep it watered, if its real....and as far away as i could. i've had a real one but its always been at least 12-15 feet away from my little Jutul F 3b, at the other end of the room.
jmho
cass
jmho
cass
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
I would not put it any closer than perhaps 6 feet but you could go closer if needed. The tree probably would not dry out any faster at 4' than it would at 10' from the stove. As for fire hazard with the tree, that old belief has been put to rest. One can ask firefigher Jake on that one as he tried to show how dangerous it could be....and couldn't get the danged thing to burn!
Backwoods Savage said:
mythbusters did this too with a frajillion lights with an absolutely dried up tree and nothing happened.
cmonSTART
Minister of Fire
Swedishchef
Minister of Fire
+! on the drying out concept. Make sure to add water daily or install one of those self-watering systems
Andrew
Andrew
jharkin
Minister of Fire
The formal answer I guess is the required clearances in the. manual... Informally last couple years we had ours under 3ft away. Watered well it was OK actually but always made me nervous... This year we rearranged the furniture to move it across the room.
Or you could spray it with some of this (still have to maintain clearances):
http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Retardant-Spray-Christmas-Proofer/dp/B0019N4GLQ
Don't know if this is a gimmick or not but it would be interesting to try.
http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Retardant-Spray-Christmas-Proofer/dp/B0019N4GLQ
Don't know if this is a gimmick or not but it would be interesting to try.
sullystull
Feeling the Heat
Where we have installed the tree before was about 3' from where the stove sits, but I am just as nervous as a long tailed cat under a rocking chair. So we installed it in another room. The better half is not happy, but I don't like the idea of having a tree so close to the fire. I know the flames are contained, but when the coals are raked there are sparks that have popped out, and I know what happened in Bastrop, TX this year. I just can't take that risk and sleep at night. Thanks.
Ron34422
Member
Do not know what happened in Texas but sounds like you had the answer already, I agree even though 3 feet is what is recomended if the tree is dry it is too close, not sure a tree in good shape that has been watered would be a problem. Piece of mind is priceless.G6 at Snook said:
Ron34422
Member
They have xmas trees in the summer and a woodburner caused that, I guess I dont see the coralation. I do understand that is a fire.
DAKSY said:
Precisely. Though I would recommend keeping the tree further than the minimum clearance of 36". Why? To prevent it from drying out prematurely. The fire hazard of having a tinder dry tree in the house is the same 3 ft from the stove or 20 ft. With a too dry tree fire can be caused by the lights on it or a too close candle.
To prevent premature drying, my preference is to keep it a reasonably good distance away from the radiant heat of the stove. If the stove is a strongly radiant heater this could be 10ft or more away. Of course, if you keep the space at 90F, then the tree, plants and human skin are all going to dry out quickly.
We make a fresh cut on the bottom and keep the large-capacity stand watered constantly. The tree is always pliable when we take it down. Still, a few years ago I got worried about having a tree fire after seeing a video of the horrific burn that can result from a tree fire in a home. After I put it outside that year I tried in vain to get the thing to ignite using matches, and then using a burning rolled up newspaper. No go. I'd get a few tips going, but they'd go right out soon after I removed the flame source. This experiment hasn't eliminated my paranoia about a tree fire, but at least I recognize it as paranoia now. :coolsmile:
I think Daksy' s recommendation to adhere to combustible clearances is the best answer. After all, most of the drying forces are going to occur anywhere in the room since the RH will be basically the same due to dry air infiltration into the home coupled with convection currents moving the air around in the room.
Many, many years ago I had a shop in town that was heated by steam pipes running through the building. No way you could sense any serious radiant heat coming from them, but they warmed the room nicely. After one brutally cold brutal weekend I arrive at the shop to find a massive face crack in a very valuable cello that sat across the room from the pipes. I had forgotten to fill the humidifier before I left on Saturday and it took only that short time period of extremely low RH to make the thin wood shrink enough to split. If I'd had a Christmas tree soaking up and evaporating water in there, I probably would have been spared the time and effort of performing a very expensive repair for free.
I think Daksy' s recommendation to adhere to combustible clearances is the best answer. After all, most of the drying forces are going to occur anywhere in the room since the RH will be basically the same due to dry air infiltration into the home coupled with convection currents moving the air around in the room.
Many, many years ago I had a shop in town that was heated by steam pipes running through the building. No way you could sense any serious radiant heat coming from them, but they warmed the room nicely. After one brutally cold brutal weekend I arrive at the shop to find a massive face crack in a very valuable cello that sat across the room from the pipes. I had forgotten to fill the humidifier before I left on Saturday and it took only that short time period of extremely low RH to make the thin wood shrink enough to split. If I'd had a Christmas tree soaking up and evaporating water in there, I probably would have been spared the time and effort of performing a very expensive repair for free.
This is OT, but interesting: There is a university building I'm familiar with that has large steam pipes running under it. Every few years they need to go in a "mud jack" the floor back up because it keeps settling. The clays supporting the building keep losing moisture from the heat from the steam pipes, which causes them to shrink. So, they have to have a specialty contractor come in and core through the floor and pump grout under high pressure to raise the floor and fill any voids underneath. It has become a routine maintenance and will continue to happen through the life of the building.
My interior wood doors that will not shut in the summer and now shutting perfectly because they've shrunk. Next summer, they will not shut again. My wood floors are just now getting squeaky after a quiet summer. Moisture and materials is very interesting. My skin is starting to itch... :coolmad:
Edit: I almost forgot. Unless you keep your Christmas tree a lot longer than most and don't water it, you could literally set it on top of your stove and it will not catch on fire. I will probably get set of fire for writing it, but it is the truth. Legal disclaimer: do not try this. Maintaining minimum clearance specs will be perfect. ;-)
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Oh a topic near and dear to my heart . . .
Short answer . . . must meet the clearance requirements.
Long answer . . . further away means your tree will not dry out as easily . . . and it just makes sense to have it further away in case the tree is accidentally knocked over and comes in contact with the hot woodstove.
Hearth.com members get extra credit if they can find the video starring me from a few years back that I did with the National Christmas Tree Association . . . supposedly this went national . . . and the year after I did the video I was a bit surprised to be at the NFPA Safety Expo in Boston and there I was on a huge plasma (maybe LCD) TV . . . turns out the NCTA had a booth at the show.
Short answer . . . must meet the clearance requirements.
Long answer . . . further away means your tree will not dry out as easily . . . and it just makes sense to have it further away in case the tree is accidentally knocked over and comes in contact with the hot woodstove.
Hearth.com members get extra credit if they can find the video starring me from a few years back that I did with the National Christmas Tree Association . . . supposedly this went national . . . and the year after I did the video I was a bit surprised to be at the NFPA Safety Expo in Boston and there I was on a huge plasma (maybe LCD) TV . . . turns out the NCTA had a booth at the show.
Maybe not Jake's video, but interesting nonetheless http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNjO3wZDVlA
Only been to one house fire that started at the tree, but all I'm gonna say is wow. At least nobody was hurt.
Only been to one house fire that started at the tree, but all I'm gonna say is wow. At least nobody was hurt.
Sure hope its not you in the one Jay Leno showed , it was supposed to be a fireman from Florida, he put several gallons of gas around the tree and lit it.firefighterjake said:
argus66
Feeling the Heat
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