"Brick" panel behind Pellet Stove

Hi Everyone,

In August, I moved into a new house that has a Harman Advance Pellet Stove. I love the stove, it works great, burns quietly and efficiently, etc. But I had a question about the installation.

The stove is positioned about a foot in front of a the wall (flat, not in the corner). There's a vent pipe that runs straight up behind it, through the ceiling and out the roof. Behind the stove and vent pipe is a faux brick panel with about an inch of space between the panel and the wall. The panel is about 3x8. I'm assuming the previous owner of the house put that in for show. Is that assumption accurate?

Originally, I assumed the panel was serving some kind of heat/safety purpose. But then I looked at the photo gallery of other pellet stoves, and I saw a bunch without any type of panel behind it.

Down the road, I want to renovate this room, so I'm trying to figure out if I need some kind of barrier between the stove and the wall, or if I can just get rid of the brick panel and just paint the whole wall.

Thanks in advance for your help!

The clearances on that stove are 1" in the rear, 10" on the sides and 36" in the front. So I would say, one foot is more than enough. It's decoration in my opinion. Just to be on the safe side, you might want a professional to look at it. Don't go by me.

One foot is certainly plenty of clearance between the stove and the wall. Sure sounds like it's decorative to me. Good luck with the remodel!

Thermal mass?

matt

With my Advance, I have 1 ft. from the wall you can go closer like the manual says, but if you want to get at the rear to clean or replace any parts ( blower, chain, auger) you will appreciate that extra space to fit your head with a flashlight. Also if you notice the back of the stove never gets hot. Good luck!