A Puzzling Side Loading Stove Code Question - put on your thiking caps... Jotul vs. Hearthstone

[Detector$]

To preface this question...

I am considering the Jotul Firelight F 600 CB and the Hearthstone Equinox.

Now for the question:

Per the Jotul Manual:
"8.7 Side Door Lock Kit
Use of the Side Door is prohibited in any Corner installation
or Alcove installation in which the door is closer than 36” to a
combustible wall. Kit 155850 is available specifically for the Jøtul
F 600 for use in these cases. With installation, it locks the door
latch in a closed position."

The Equinox manual states no such issue... but is admittedly less detailed than the Jotul manual.
IS THIS A CODE ISSUE??? OR SOMETHING ONLY RELATED TO JOTUL????

I do want a corner mounted installation. So, in order to meet the 36" minimum clearance it will need to be WAY out from the corner...

Here are CAD drawings (to scale) with the 36" clearance and hearth-pad for your review.

 

[webbie]

I think this is going to be a tough one to answer! You are probably on the right track that Jotul may have done more extensive testing or submitted it that way....I doubt that a test lab actually sets up a stove in every possible way. These days they probably let the manufacturer do most of the testing and then certify the results. Still, the problem ends up being that each stove has to be installed as per the manuals and labels. As silly as that seems in a case like this, that does mean the HearthStone can get closer. Of course, you could protect the wall.

 

[jpl1nh]

Could it be due to the Equinox being a soapstone stove with generally lower exterior temps than the cast Jotul? Perhaps the design of the ash lip on one stove vs. another? Perhaps like Craig said, Jotul being more thorough with their testing.

 

[Detector$]

I seriously doubt it, because, if the door is locked closed, you can get it much closer, even though it's cast iron.
The Jotul actually has closer clearance if the door is locked.

 

[BrotherBart]

My guess is that if you have that 15+ inch clearance to combustibles they require from the back corner of the Equinox to the wall in that corner then the loading door is going to have a ton of clearance to the wall. Geometry being, well, geometry.

 

[Detector$]

I think my question stems from my career in technical sales.
I know that manufacturers make mistakes, omissions etc...
Jotul very obviously has a reason here since there too would be plenty of clearance for the door with the minimum wall clearances.
Something has them concerned, or it is a code issue...

 

[begreen]

Jotul is conservative with side loading door clearances. It's the same for the F500, which is why I don't have one. If the F500 door was on the right side I could have made it work due to an adjacent alcove. My thought is that they are considering that when the stove door is open, they have no way of ensuring the close clearances to combustibles that one has with the door closed. With the door open, the clearance is essentially the same as an unlisted stove, 36".

 

[Detector$]

Why 36"? What could happen? Are they worried about embers falling out etc.....
Shouldn't there be the same possibility with other stoves?
If not a code issue, I assume (due to their size) that Jotul is scared of a potential law-suit in the unlikely event of a fire?
Why aren't other stove manufacturers similarly concerned?

To be honest, it seems that you'd want at least the maximum log length as the distance from the door to a wall?
i.e. Since the F 600 can have a 24" log, it should be 24" or more from a wall to allow for easy side loading of the largest logs?

It's even more interesting that the stove can be closer than 36" to a right side-wall in a "straight-wall" installation.

Your opinion?

 

[DriftWood]

Why 36"?

Think drapes, wall paper, wood walls.

 

[DriftWood]

You are probably on the right track that Jotul may have done more extensive testing or submitted it that way ..Still, the problem ends up being that each stove has to be installed as per the manuals and labels. As silly as that seems in a case like this, that does mean the HearthStone can get closer. Of course, you could protect the wall.

I second this one. If you are not reading 36 inches on the stove UL Listing tag, could be the way it was tested. Manufactures set up the specs for the stove and run stove to be tested. The testing lab controls and monitors as the manufactures test their stove to their specs. The testing lab monitors the areas around the stove as the insulation specs and required minimums dictate around the stove. A stove and"its setup" are tested. The stove and the install specs must both pass to be UL Listed. Different stoves with different insulation instructions, lead to different UL listing labels.

Isn't 36" is the above all else, bare bones default minimum if no other specifications are entered . The Jotul needs 36" and the Hearthstone needs 15" rear corner to wall to open the side door.

 

[Highbeam]

I wonder if it has to do with user convenience and ergonomics. If you open the side door it will seing out say 12" and then you crouch there between the open door and the wall and try and feed a big ol log you need 36" to fit. I don't know maybe. I know that I have burned myself a couple of times on the side door while loading.

 

[billb3]

Has Jotul been sued by some yokel's insurance company who burned with the door open ?

 

[jbrown56]

Hi, I have an Oslo in a corner. The two backing walls a 6" block with a brick veneer face. The walls extend 8' in each direction and are 8' high. The stove is 12" off the back corners, the door has about 2" clearance when open and it loads easily from the side. When those walls heat up they retain the heat for a long time. It's too bad more people couldn't do this because it is safe, warm and gives you closer clearances.

Jim