couple beginer questions

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

makoda

New Member
Dec 15, 2013
36
Utah
first off can you hook a 8 in stove on to a 6 in chimney?

Next I am wondering about clearances. The stove I have now has low clearances and to get another one to fit in its place with bigger clearances can I put in a surround out of brick or durock and make that distance closer or do you have to keep a stove with larger clearances that far away no matter what. I guess what I am asking is when it says 17 inches from combustibles can I put it closer if it is bricked
 
Need more input,

What stove?? Stoves?

Pics are gonna help, big time!!!
 
No & no.

If your stove calls for 8" chimney you can't use a 6" and still be compliant.
If a combustible wall is too close for clearance, adding brick will not change the clearances. Moving air is actually a better way to dissipate heat than brick. Sheet metal with a 1" air gap will but you can't do that if the stove already has a heat shield on it. IOW, you can't use multiple shields to lessen the clearance.
 
I have a similar question about measuring clearances. I was planning to build a heat shield to protect for vertical clearance using strictly vertical measurements but then I began wondering about diagonal measurements. Diagrams usually show measurements perpendicular to the stoves but I assume the stated clearances for any measurement from the surface (in this case the top) to combustibles applies to a diagonal measurements as well. In other words the ceiling or wall heat shield must have a larger surface area than the stove so that clearances in all directions (not just perpendicular) are within specifications. It seems to make sense that way and to be safer. Am I right?

Also is PVC considered a combustible?
 
PVC - the white stuff burns and is not considered non-combustible. They do make some that is non and I have seen it on a job site once. Plumber put it into a salamander and touched the orange hot steel without it hardly changing the color of the PVC or whatever the magic plastic was made of. Kind of amazing to me - expensive too!!
 
... I assume the stated clearances for any measurement from the surface (in this case the top) to combustibles applies to a diagonal measurements as well. In other words the ceiling or wall heat shield must have a larger surface area than the stove so that clearances in all directions (not just perpendicular) are within specifications. It seems to make sense that way and to be safer. Am I right?

Not sure I understand your question but ... diagrams usually show stove placement on straight walls as well as in corners. The diagonal would apply to corners. The clearance should be in all directions though. If you were 6" from the closest wall to the back but 4" from wood trim/mantel, the trim would have to be moved or protected. See this thread on a unique way of adding a protector:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ld-on-a-double-wall-pipe.135277/#post-1814749
 
Not sure I understand your question but ... diagrams usually show stove placement on straight walls as well as in corners. The diagonal would apply to corners. The clearance should be in all directions though. If you were 6" from the closest wall to the back but 4" from wood trim/mantel, the trim would have to be moved or protected. See this thread on a unique way of adding a protector:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ld-on-a-double-wall-pipe.135277/#post-1814749
It's hard to explain but I am getting a reduction in clearance to the basement ceiling joists and drain pipes using a ceiling mounted heat shield which is 36x48 but may not be long and wide enough to do the job. In spite of it's size there are still some combustibles still within the 52 inch clearance around the edges of the heat shield. I think I just need to build it longer and wider.
 
52" seems too much but I don't know what stove specs you have. Are you referring to the stove or a single wall pipe? If you can find your stove specs online and post a link that would help. Maybe you are reading it right, maybe not.
 
It doesn't hurt to exceed minimums. Is the ceiling heat shield approved by the inspector or stove mfg.?
 
It doesn't hurt to exceed minimums. Is the ceiling heat shield approved by the inspector or stove mfg.?

I am using Imperial Stove Board which should be approved for this use. I've cut 2" squares of cement board to make the insulated spacers and screwed this to a frame I built so as to cover the PVC, wires, plumbing etc.. The stove itself is a Quadra-fire 4300 connected with 6" double wall selkirk pipe to a metalbestos chimney. The clearnace I'm concerned about is to the top of the stove itself. I can post pictures later.

http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/250_2331.pdf
 
Last edited:
It doesn't hurt to exceed minimums. Is the ceiling heat shield approved by the inspector or stove mfg.?

Hopefully these pictures help to explain my question so I can understand clearances better. The stove guides pretty much use a measurement which is perpendicular to a stove surface. There are some measures given off the corners of stoves. But I want to be sure about what is required.

In the front view picture you can see the measurement to my heat shield which I think should be adequate given a reduction in clearance due to the heat shield. However an angled measure off the top shows the PVC drain pipes to close to the stove top because they extend beyond the heat shield. I will add smaller shields to make sure they are protected.

In the side view picture you can see the clearance off the back is adequate for the quadrafire 4300, but when you measure from the stove top to the sheet rock wall it is less than the 52" required off the stove top. Do I need to shield this wall or is the 52" measure meant to be taken at 90 degrees to the surface?

I used this clearance reduction chart for the ceiling protector but didn't find my particular board listed. I will see what the inspector says about my material. https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/nfpa-wall-clearance-reductions/

Quadrafire manual here.... http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/250_2331.pdf
 

Attachments

  • QF top clearances.jpg
    QF top clearances.jpg
    200.8 KB · Views: 127
  • QF rear clearances.jpg
    QF rear clearances.jpg
    195.4 KB · Views: 126
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.