Hearth pad?

[Mikeygone]

Hi everyone. Been lurking here for a few weeks and reading everything I can. Just purchased and installed a Century 2500 insert along with a chimney liner.

A little background, we have a 1300 sq ft ranch style with a basement. I have been on and off heating the house with a Fisher mama bear that's in the basement but it just wasnt enough to heat the house when the temps dropped into the 20's. We decided an insert on the main level would work.

Finished the install yesterday but have yet to build a fire in it (72 degrees in Jan!)...the clearance we have from the front of the stove to the edge of the hearth is in line with the specs that came with the stove and we also have a fire resistant rug in front of that. My question is, should I have used a hearth pad? The room has carpet right in front of the hearth (under the rug) and I am worried that the floor will get too warm?

Thanks in advance.

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

I am in the same situation...I am making a modification to put stove out further onto my brick hearth, but not important to the problem at hand. Before I decided to modify my set up I intended to extend my hearth anyway. When I open my door sometimes sparks will shoot from stove onto the carpet. I am very conscientious about this and will wait to see if one of the embers is still hot and does not burn the house down! That was my only concern not the floor getting too warm. Very soon I will be laying tile about 2' from the hearth front and 8" from the side. The brick do get warm and nice to put cold feet on but the only way you can tell for sure is to build a fire and if you aren't comfortable with the temp. Then use a pad or rug...But as long as you are to the standards set by the stove mfg you should be safe.

 

[Mikeygone]

Yeah, i'm going to get it going tonight and see how hot it gets. I am thinking that extending the hearth might be the way to go either way. We are debating taking the carpet up and tiling the room anyway.

 

[KaptJaq]

About 8 to 12 inches in front of my insert is the hottest point, getting up to about 160° F when the secondaries are going. That is well within the range, 16", spec'd by the manufacturer. At 18" from the insert it is usually 100° F or less with the fan off and lower with the blower running...

As mentioned above, as long as you have covered manufacturer's specifications you are probably good to go. The hearth rug in front of the hearth is a good idea. When you open the door some woods throw a lot of sparks that go beyond the normal 18" spec. The hearth rug will catch them and save some black burn marks on your rug.

KaptJaq