is a convection stove safer for young kids than a radiant?

[Winnie]

Hi everyone,

I am a complete novice and I appreciate this site and your help.

We are looking for a woodstove purely for aesthetics and the fun of having a fire in the winter. (We have a gas boiler and big old-fashioned radiators, so our heating bill is not bad.) We inherited a hearth and a stove chimney from the previous owner, so we'd like to use them.

We came across the Lopi Republic and we like the simple, streamlined appearance, but I am wondering if the Answer would be a better choice because it is a convection system. I've read that these stoves don't get as hot as radiant stoves and that there is less risk of severe burns.

Also, if anyone has any other stove recommendations for those of us who just want an attractive stove with a big window for viewing the fire, I'd love to hear them. (We'd love a Wittus Shaker, but that is out of the budget.)

Thank you!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Both stoves are going to be hot to the touch. Both will burn skin. Are you worried about children near the stove?

Matt

 

[vvvv]

soapstone stove?

 

[rdust]

My Endeavor has heat shields on the sides which keeps the temps lower on them so you may avoid a nasty burn. If you touch the front or the top though you will be burned quickly just like any other stove. I'm pretty sure all Lopi stoves are convection stoves.

 

[Winnie]

I haven't seen any soapstone stoves (other than the crazy-expensive Wittus ones). Are they cooler?

I do worry about burns - our kids are 2 and 5. This won't be running 24/7; it will be probably only be used for a few hours on weekends during the winter when we are in the area to monitor things. I will also keep a gate around the area until the youngest is out of the terrible twos. Still, if a convection stove adds an extra layer of safety, I'd like to go with one. If not, there is not much reason for us to spend more on the Answer - although it does have a firescreen for open-door use, which might be nice.

 

[Slow1]

I expect it is much like asking if the lake is 50 feet or 100 feet deep for a non-swimmer. As long as it is over your head it doesn't really matter.

Both radiant and convection stoves (whatever material they are made of) will burn hot enough to burn skin. If touched during a fire you are very likely to get a burn and not like it - it will depend on how long you touch the stove and where of course, but no matter what it won't likely be fun. I would not choose a stove based on this concern.

Now - as to kids and stoves my personal recommendation is to simply put a nice gate around the stove as well as teach respect of the fire. There have been some very heated debates here about differing views regarding this - the main camps being "kids will learn quickly to respect the heat you don't need a gate" to the "you should to everything to protect kids so put the gate up anyway" side (you can obviously see my leaning).

The good news is that if you watch craigslist for the next few months you are very likely to find several up for sale as folks outgrew theirs last season. A small investment for peace of mind.

 

[Winnie]

I believe the Republic 1250, the smaller one, is radiant, but the catalog is a bit ambiguous. I should call to clarify.

 

[Winnie]

The lake analogy is an excellent one; thanks for the perspective.

If self control is the only thing keeping my two-year-old from a hot stove ... well, I'd hate for him to learn the hard way. I'll check Craig's List for a gate; great tip!

 

[madrone]

I built a removable "fence" around the hearth, and painted it to match the trim in the room. When my kids are a little older, I'll remove it. It's probably more for peace of mind than actual prevention of injury, but it didn't cost much to build, and it doesn't seem to affect either the radiant or convective heat.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Fences work. Yet, I still have to bring back old memories. When I was a little boy, it seemed that almost everyone we knew heated with wood stoves. The old iron stoves and some heated with both wood and coal. When I was real young my mother cooked on a wood cook stove and that is also how we heater our water as it had a nice reservoir. There were 4 of us kids in the house and we had 2 heater stoves and one cookstove. We rarely used any coal so were almost 100% wood heat.

Naturally the gathering spot during winter months was always by the heater stoves or the cookstove. I can recall only one time when my mother got a nasty burn but do not ever recall any of us kids getting burned. I began taking care of the stoves and bringing wood in when I was around 6 years old. I first started with the ash dumping chore but soon graduated to taking care of putting wood in the stoves except for the overnight fire which my father took care of. He also got the stove going in the mornings.

My point is that I do not recall ever being burned as a child nor my brothers or sister. I also do not recall any of our friends or relatives ever getting burned from stoves! We have children come to our home and we do nothing except show them the stove and also show them it is hot. We've never had a problem. It is actually a very easy thing to teach a child about hot stoves as the hot is one of the things we have a natural respect for. Still, as I watch some of todays kids and parents, I certainly understand why they want a fence.

 

[Slow1]

I hear you Dennis - I too didn't put a gate/fence around out stove the first season of burning. I rather don't care for the trouble or the look of them. Our kids (3 at the time - 4 came last July) never had a problem with it and we were able to show them that it was hot and tell them to stay away. They listened (as much as little ones appear to do so) and more importantly they stayed away from it when it was burning. None of them came close to being burned.

The game changer for me was when a friend of the family came over with a little one. This friend has a 'different' (to put it nicely) parenting style. Her son made a b-line for the stove and even after being told it was hot and not to touch he still made a grab for the thermometer on top. Luckily we were faster than he was so no burns resulted. However constant attempts to go after the thermometer, ignoring warnings etc, made for a short and unpleasant visit. The lesson (and point of sharing this story) that I gained from this was that although we can teach and manage our children quite well, we can't control others. Thus we have the choice of either alienating our friends or doing something simple to improve the safety of our home. I have no regrets on my decision to put the gate/fence up.

Besides friends visiting this past season it also is an added buffer against accidental falls if kids trip or whatnot... and it makes a rather convenient place to drape all those wet winter kids clothes when they come in from playing in the snow too

 

[Winnie]

I can see why the fence debates get heated.

 

[Slow1]

Keeps things lively around here during the "dull" summer months though eh? Look up the threads - it has all been said before, and then some. I'm guilty of being easily pulled into saying it again (just like so many others here) guess that's why I frequent these boards eh?

Anyway - if you go looking for fences/gates that are pre-made I think you will find there really are only one or two brands out there. I was rather disappointed in this. Such is the market. However it does make the CL reading easier to sort out.

 

[SKIN052]

When my oldest daughter was 2 she had a bad habit of reaching out to want to touch the oven. My wife near had a fit every time. Knowing the oven would only feel really hot to a kid I told her to let her learn her lesson. She stared me in the eyes one day and reached out to touch the stove, when I did not say anything she went ahead and touch the very warm door. A sad face come over her instantlly and she ran into my arms. Lesson learned, but I felt like crap for a while after that. Never want to see a kid hurt. Not suggesting you do that with a wood stove but the idea is, most kids will learn to appreciate the stove real quick.

 

[Winnie]

Both my kids learned before they were two to "stay behind the line" (a point on the kitchen floor) when I was opening the oven door or frying something. But the stakes with a wood stove are a lot higher ..

 

[EatenByLimestone]

When I was little, the stove was used to warm my PJs before jumping into them. This was before they made children's bedclothes fire resistant. I remember my mother leaving them on the stove too long and little patches melting. They were hot! I don't remember being burned by the stove until I was old enough to tend my own... and then it was my arms and backs of hands from loading oopsies. When you get your stove you will have your share of stove kisses also.

Matt

 

[rdust]

I have a kidco hearth gate around my stove. I can post pictures if you'd like.

 

[Fsappo]

The glass on any stove, radiant, convection, pellet, coal, wood with very few exceptions will burn you badly if you touch it. What I did with my little brother when we were growing up (he was 2 and I was about 16) was I got a fire going in our Kent Tile Fire stove and I would touch it every few minutes until it was hot enough to hurt like heck but not enough to cause an injury, and I brought my brother over and told him "hot" which was a word he kinda knew, and put his hand on it. He pouted and pulled his hand away, uninjured. We kept a screen in front of the stove anyway for those times when kids are running around and may trip or fall into the stove. Little brother though had a healthy respect and always steered clear.

 

[Winnie]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. This is definitely a case of fear of the unknown on my part, so good to hear that most kids do just fine!

I googled the kidco hearth gate, and it is much better looking than most child safety gear. Thanks!

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

The lake analogy is an excellent one; thanks for the perspective.

If self control is the only thing keeping my two-year-old from a hot stove ... well, I'd hate for him to learn the hard way. I'll check Craig's List for a gate; great tip!

Our son was the same way at 2 yrs. old - no fear.
Then he got his hand in contact w/ a 60 watt bulb, that resulted in a trip to the ER.
Ever since then, he got a full understanding of "hot" & hasn't made the same mistake again.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I can see why the fence debates get heated.

Winnie, they can get heated but I see no need for that to be true. It is good to get ideas from all on how they approach the situation. One just has to realize that we all do not do things the same way and most times that is good. No need to get any hot at all. Leave that to the stove.

 

[begreen]

I can see why the fence debates get heated.

Well, actually, if you put them in, the fences get heated.

 

[gibson]

Kids are smarter than you think. They usually know enough to stay away from that big giant ball of fire! My kids were 5 and 7 when I installed mine. Gave them one serious "sit-down" talk and told them about the stove. They know to take the craziness elsewhere. Even when there is company, the kids stay away....

 

[madrone]

Kids are smarter than you think.

most of 'em...

 

[Battenkiller]

Kids are smarter than you think.

most of 'em...

Not mine. My oldest boy took a big patch off his upper arm when he tried to sneak past a red-hot flue pipe to retrieve a dropped poker. Got infected and then left a nasty scar when it finally healed. Small child? Hardly, he was like 15 or so. He'd been around stoves since his was an infant, so he should have known better.

This from a kid that got a 1500 something on his SAT. No common sense, though, and bad ADD like his loving mother.

I swear they're smarter as toddlers than as teenagers.