Close clearance question

[prairyway]

We are looking to purchase our first wood stove. Our living room is fairly small and the house is about 1400 sq.ft. and is sitting nicely in a couple of feet of snow in New England. The Blaze King Princess, free standing, is the one that seems to keep it's place as our first choice. I don't know the approx. price of this stove (and would love to hear what some of you have spent on this model) but from what I have read in the reviews, it sounds like it is worth every penny. We don't really know what features we should be looking for in a wood stove just yet but are interested in long burn times and a system that is fairly east to clean. Price is an issue but quality is the priority. One hurdle we are really struggling with is the amount of space we can devote to a wood stove. Without major remodeling we just don' t have the clearance available. I have heard that the Princess stove has a very close clearance. How close is close? And pardon me for the true newbie question but how far away does a close clearance stove have to be from upholstered furniture? And if anyone has any other models they would recommend we would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[bholler]

(broken link removed to http://www.blazeking.com/PDF/manuals/old/OM-PE%20E%20V1.02.pdf)
Here is the manual all the clearances you need are there on pg 13

 

[jatoxico]

The clearances are available in the manual (broken link removed to http://www.blazeking.com/EN/wood-princess.html) . It may be useful to cut a piece of cardboard the size of the stove for determining hearth dimensions and clearances not to mention how furniture in the room will need to be arranged.

 

[begreen]

Back east I believe the Princess is about a $3000-3200 stove. There are closer clearance stoves but they are not catalytic.

Tell us a bit more about the house. Does it have an open floor plan or is the stove room isolated? How well insulated and sealed is it? Is the 1400 sq ft all on one floor or two?

 

[Oldman47]

I think you are going about it backward, just my opinion. I would start with how much room you are willing to sacrifice to a stove and then work from that number. No stove at all can have less than 16 inches in front of it and 6 inches behind is a very tight clearance. If you figure about 2 feet minimum for the stove itself you are already into the room about 3 1/2 feet. Now add this, any furniture must be at least 3 feet away in front of the stove so now you are 5 1/2 feet from a wall to the first stick of furniture. If you can't have your couch, ottoman, etc. at least 5 1/2 feet from a wall, no stove will work there. The 16 inches in front is the minimum in the US for a hearth but you cannot just put a piece of furniture up against the hearth. You still need to meet that 3 foot minimum from the stove in the front. I had what I thought was a generous space in my new home build for a stove until I started looking at real world stoves and their requirements. Because mine is a new build I moved a wall 6 inches to gain the space I wanted. Its a bit tougher when the house is already built. I bought a shallow stove at only 21 1/2 inches deep in the form of a Napoleon but was not satisfied with that because it was one the very few stoves that would fit. That is why I moved a wall 6 inches. It gave me lots of other choices in case I ever want to replace that Napoleon.

 

[xman23]

Also check the hearth requirements for each stove. Some require a simple ember protection and others need much more.

 

[eclecticcottage]

6 inches behind is a very tight clearance..

Republic 1750/Endeavor have a 4 1/2" rear clearance. One of the big selling points for us on the Republic.

 

[beardley]

I think you are going about it backward, just my opinion. I would start with how much room you are willing to sacrifice to a stove and then work from that number. No stove at all can have less than 16 inches in front of it and 6 inches behind is a very tight clearance. If you figure about 2 feet minimum for the stove itself you are already into the room about 3 1/2 feet. Now add this, any furniture must be at least 3 feet away in front of the stove so now you are 5 1/2 feet from a wall to the first stick of furniture. If you can't have your couch, ottoman, etc. at least 5 1/2 feet from a wall, no stove will work there. The 16 inches in front is the minimum in the US for a hearth but you cannot just put a piece of furniture up against the hearth. You still need to meet that 3 foot minimum from the stove in the front. I had what I thought was a generous space in my new home build for a stove until I started looking at real world stoves and their requirements. Because mine is a new build I moved a wall 6 inches to gain the space I wanted. Its a bit tougher when the house is already built. I bought a shallow stove at only 21 1/2 inches deep in the form of a Napoleon but was not satisfied with that because it was one the very few stoves that would fit. That is why I moved a wall 6 inches. It gave me lots of other choices in case I ever want to replace that Napoleon.

The woodstock keystone I have shows 8" for the front or 10" with the 6" flue. I think the 16" in front you're referring to is because most other stoves have an operable front door, which adds to the hearth. That was one of the sellers for the woodstock for me. Back clearance isn't as great as some, but I was able to build a shorter hearth up front.