Englander 30 nc mantel height

[crowescabin]

I'm wrapping up my nc30 fireplace install and I am concerned about my mantle height. It is 22 inches from stove top to the mantle. The stove extends 14 inches out of the fireplace. I built a test fire last night and stove top quickly got to 550 degrees and the bottom of the mantle was 120 degrees. What would the clearances be in the case of a woodstove in a masonry fireplace? here's a picture of the mantle before I installed the englander.

 

[quotejso]

I think you might have to take down the mantle or shield it. Did you chop the legs?

 

[crowescabin]

Yeah I think I cut 2 inches off of the legs. Yeah I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it down.

 

[quotejso]

Well you could do a cement board with a air gap under the mantle and match the stone that should absorb some of the heat. I couldn't find the distance to combustibles in the englander manual.

 

[quotejso]

The Woodstock progress manual states 30inches to wood mantle above stove or 12 inches with mantle shield.

 

[crowescabin]

That's a good idea, I'll look into this. Thanks for looking I couldn't find it in the manual either.

 

[crowescabin]

I thought about shielding with sheet metal but I wanna kinda keep my rustic look. I will figure something out or remove the mantle while I do.

 

[quotejso]

You could could make it look like the mantle is supported by the stone underneath it just leaving the 1 inch air gap on the sides

 

[Nick Mystic]

As you can see in my avatar photo my stove has a wooden mantle just 22" above my Jotul F600. I put a heat shield under the mantle in the stove area that I made from some sheet metal and spaced it just a half inch below the mantle using pieces of copper pipe for spacers and you can barely notice it. When I shoot the mantle with my IR thermometer the mantle stays below 130F and is cool enough to put my hand on it.

 

[crowescabin]

Thanks . I knew if I came here I'd get a bunch of different ideas and opinions.

 

[johnpma]

looks nice!! are you using the blower?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

The Woodstock progress manual states 30inches to wood mantle above stove or 12 inches with mantle shield.

Woodstock (and most other companies) defer to the NFPA211 for this clearance. so when there is NO listed clearance (which there is not as this stove was not tested as an insert) the 211 I what you refer to.

so you need 30 inches above the stove, or with a shield it can b 12 inches

 

[crowescabin]

Yes I have the blower that came with it installed. I hope it moves enough air. I installed a block off plate also. I'm gonna day dream about a stone mantle and I may just build it. Until then I'll probably remove my mantle when I start burning.

 

[crowescabin]

Thanks for all the input.

 

[cookin2night]

I'm wrapping up my nc30 fireplace install and I am concerned about my mantle height. It is 22 inches from stove top to the mantle. The stove extends 14 inches out of the fireplace. I built a test fire last night and stove top quickly got to 550 degrees and the bottom of the mantle was 120 degrees. What would the clearances be in the case of a woodstove in a masonry fireplace?

here's a picture of the mantle before I installed the englander.

Have you considered moving the mantle up higher?

 

[crowescabin]

I have but the mantle is supported by two protruding stones. I'd hate to mess with those. I may fabricate some sort of removable metal heat shield to mount to the lintel. I've been caulking with high temp caulk around my block of plate this evening.

 

[BrotherBart]

I don't know from mantles but that bad boy looks great in that fireplace. And here's yer shirt.

 

[crowescabin]

Thanks Bart. You were my motivation to go with the englander. Now if I can scrounge up two more cords of some dry wood I should be ok. I'm getting in the three year club and I've cut my next year wood already. Thanks for the shirt. And thanks to everyone here for all the advice.

 

[BrotherBart]

Every time somebody installs one I have to chuckle. I was the first one on here to buy and install one back in 2006 and caught bushel baskets of grief about it from the pretty stove guys. In fact that is why I made the shirt design one Sunday afternoon.

Enjoy it. You are in for a warm house this winter. Hope ya have a block off plate above it in the smoke chamber.

Speaking of Mike's comment about it not being designed or tested as an insert. I was in their burn lab with Mike and Bob Pennington who was the daddy of the 30 when I told them I had it installed in a fireplace. Saw a little look of shock on Bob's face when I said that. Told him that the pipe was 21' straight to the sky and he turned to his bench and handed me a roll of aluminum tape. Told him thanks but I already had one.

 

[crowescabin]

Yes I installed a block off plate and a new six inch liner. Roxul the hell out of it above the plate and at the top under the cap. I'm also replacing some huge 8x8 single pane windows on both sides of the chimney with double pane low e glass. So I should be looking a whole lot warmer house. What was the aluminum tape for by the way ?

 

[BrotherBart]

What was the aluminum tape for by the way ?

He knew the stove was designed and tested with a 15' chimney and that 21' feet of pipe was going to be pulling a hell of a lot of intake air into the stove. The reason I "regulated" the secondary air intake and the two "doghouse" feeding holes behind the front legs of the stove.

Some people run'em fine without messing with that and you should just see how it goes before fooling with any of that stuff. It is a sweet burning stove.

 

[crowescabin]

Thanks again Bart my chimney is also 21 foot and I'm up on top of a big hill so we will see soon enough.

 

[BrotherBart]

If you need to throttle the secondary air the intake is that rectangular hole in the bottom back of the firebox. Rectangular magnets from the hardware store can be used to regulate it. I just figured the difference between a 21 and 15 foot chimney and blocked off a little over a quarter of it. The doghouse holes I just completely blocked and give the stove the primary air it needs to burn. I have no need to have to "shut it down" to burn. And that blow torch in the front irritated me. Screwed around with it for two seasons to get where I wanted to be for this house and installation. All of this applies to my habit of burning N/S. For E/W I open the doghouse back up.

There will be a learning curve. Burn the stove and watch the stove and you will know what needs to be done to get the most out of it for your installation.

Edit to add: Didn't realize that when vacuuming the fireplace one year I knocked the magnets off of the secondary intake. I can attest that at over a thousand degrees the 30-NC does not split down the middle.

 

[crowescabin]

Well those are good pointers there. Bet that sucker was glowing huh.