Englander Side Shield & Kids

[slinger646]

Will installing the side shields on my NC30 reduce the danger of severe burns should my twins touch the stove?

I have already chained the steam-pot to the stove pipe to prevent that mess and was looking at other alternatives.

I don't want to gate it off or make them scared of it, but I want them to respect it.

Muchos Grassyass!

 

[BrotherBart]

The side heat shields only cover the sides from the back of the stove forward to the step-top bend so the front half of the stove is still exposed. I don't see any advantage in them for keeping kids from touching the stove.

 

[slinger646]

Thanks BrotherBart.

I suppose I'll be extra vigilant on the "No!" Patrol

 

[BrowningBAR]

Thanks BrotherBart.

I suppose I'll be extra vigilant on the "No!" Patrol

If you are really concerned there are gates you can put around stoves. I do not have kids, so I do not know how concerned you are on this and if a gate is worthwhile.

 

[begreen]

The shields only cover the back half of the sides of the stove. It will still be very hot on the front half of the sides and the front of the stove. It's better to enforce a healthy respect for anything hot. Fortunately most kids and animals have this in their genes. If not, put up some gates until they are older.

 

[fox9988]

I've raised three kids around a stove, no burns yet. My method was, the first winter that they were able to crawl, get a nice hot fire burning, get the kid within 3-4 ft of the the stove, and tell them "hot, burn, no, etc." The heat is obvious from 3-4 ft, long before they get to the stove, unlike a hot pan or cook stove top. We've never had any close calls that I know of.

 

[M1sterM]

After you meet one kid whose been burned, you'll start to 2nd guess the "teach them no" approach. Some friends of ours have some very well-behaved kids. The kid tripped while walking near the stove (not playing), and put two hands on the hot metal. I've lost track now of how many operations he's had now, to allow his hands to keep growing despite all the scar tissue.

I may always have a fence around the stove, now (or an elevated hearth that keeps folks from walking right up to the stove), after being exposed to that families ongoing trauma. I hope we'll continue to have little folks around our house at various times for the rest of our lives (my kids now, grandkids in 20 years or so, friends kids and grandkids, etc.), and I don't know how I'd handle it if someone burnt themselves like that kid did. Yeah, the chances are slim, but it's a relatively easy hazard to avoid, just like wearing chaps while cutting, or a bike helmet while riding, that manages the slight risk very easily.

 

[burnt03]

Anyone have any pictures of gate setups around their stoves?

 

[Ashful]

Build a big-ass fireplace, and put the stove inside? Then you can only access it from the front, and the chances of tripping and falling onto it greatly reduced!

Well, that's how we handle it around our 3-year old, anyway.

Sorry to hear about your friend's ordeal, M1sterM. No one wants to see someone else go thru that.

 

[Jags]

This is a subject that pops up several times per year with as many opinions as posters. I used a gate that I built (tri-fold with wheels so that I could fold it against the wall for my corner install). My logic is that you can always teach no - you can't always avoid accidents. It was the "accident" that I was concerned with.

As a person who has been burned (11 percent at 3rd degree) - I know the pain - I will do what it takes to prevent an accident concerning a small child and burns.

The grandsons have moved out and the gate is now down. I really should take pics of the gate and how I built it. Simple to build and very user friendly.

 

[fossil]

The heat shields on wood stoves are not there to make the stove safer to be around or to touch, they are there to create an upward convective flow between shields & stove to reduce radiation to the surrounding surfaces, thus allowing for reduced clearances to combustibles. They are thermodynamic additions to facilitate stove placement on installation... they are not safety features. The heat shields on a wood stove basically get dang near as hot as the stove to which they're attached during operation. Rick

 

[Blue Vomit]

www.amazon.com/Kidco-Close-Hearth-Gate--Black/dp/B006OJIKD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345770530&sr=8-1&keywords=hearth+baby+gate

 

[Blue Vomit]

Just an fyi, they are not my kids.
If they were mine, one would be hitting the other over the head with a blunt object.

 

[fossil]

They're not mine...I only have one daughter, and she'll be 28 in October (has a daughter of her own now). Never burned herself on my watch. If you're always gonna be there to watch them, fine...but I'd say never leave little (big enough to move around, small enough to not yet understand) kids unattended in a room where a stove is burning unless you've got a safety fence in place with which you're completely confident. Effective teaching/learning comes later, as they become able to understand. Rick

 

[pen]

I have 2 boys, 4 years old and 2. When the first came along we decided not to use a gate and to teach him how to act around the wood stove. When he 14 months or so I had the stove cranked right up for one of the first fires of the year. I brought him down near the stove, brought him close enough to feel the heat, and shocked him with yelling HOT, NO TOUCH at just the time he pulled his hand back from realizing the heat for himself. He'd never been yelled at like that before and it made an impression. I brought him back a safe distance, calmed him down, and we sat and enjoyed the fire and periodically reiterated (in a much kinder voice) the hot, no touch message. His first word became hot and temperature was the topic of most conversations that entire winter. He would play in the same room as the stove and we never had an issue. If a toy rolled in the proximity of it, he'd just find something else to play with or ask us to get it.

The same approach was used on boy #2 with a similar result. However, we soon noticed their respect for the unit was on an individual basis, and when the two are playing together, and each want the same toy, that stove is the last thing on their minds and was going to be a potential accident situation.

As much as I hated to I purchased 2 fireplace screens http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X4SWAS/ref=wms_ohs_product .The front and right of the stove were the only sides that needed to be protected because of the room layout. They easily move out of the way for loading, actually don't look bad around the unit, and I can easily reach over them to adjust the air setting. Surprisingly, the view is still quiet good through them as well.

Being as portable as a unit like this is, they don't provide the protection that an actual gate secured to the floor would, but they will serve their purpose for a few years and be easily put away, they didn't cost much, and they aren't a hindrance. A lot of boyish playing took place around the stove last winter with 2 bumbling boys, and only once did one of the grates ever get bumped, and that was when a toy went flying. Should one of the boys fall directly on the unit, it would fall over but at least keep them from landing directly against the stove surface.

As much as the Mrs. and I were opposed to doing anything of the sort, what we chose to do was a compromise that we are comfortable with.

pen

 

[dafattkidd]

Here's a pic of my insert with the hearth gate. This is my son's usual routine in the morning when we're burning. We installed the gate right away not because we think our kids will touch it out of curiosity, but to reduce the chance of my crazy kids falling and getting burned. The insert is in our very small living room, where we spend a majority of our time.

 

[joecool85]

This is my install, complete with gate: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/summers-heat-50-svl17-englander-17-vl-install.75290/

That gate will be important this winter as my boy just started crawling and by winter he'll really be getting into things.

 

[slinger646]

Thanks for all the help. JoeCool, I like your setup, it's somewhat like mine.

Rotate the stove 90* counter-clockwise and that's how it is today.

Note the oops canister in the background.

 

[BrotherBart]

Keep that "oops canister" at a good distance. A major problem I have is people putting those things too close to a stove. Shrapnel is not a pretty thing.

Being in a hard to reach place for the fire department there are 31 of the things in this house and garage but not any of them near a stove.. Yeah I know "31! holy crap!".

A mattress company warehouse bankruptcy auction. Got'em for chump change. On the way out the door I sold three of them for what I paid for the lot.

 

[pen]

Keep that "oops canister" at a good distance. A major problem I have is people putting those things too close to a stove. Shrapnel is not a pretty thing.

Being in a hard to reach place for the fire department there are 31 of the things in this house and garage but not any of them near a stove.. Yeah I know "31! holy crap!".

A mattress company warehouse bankruptcy auction. Got'em for chump change. On the way out the door I sold three of them for what I paid for the lot.

31! Damn, the fire company should be calling you for backup.

I have multiple on each floor and in the garage. Also in each auto. Was going to get my hair cut a few years back and on the way I stopped in the road as a guy ahead of me in a 70 camaro was fooling around doing burnouts on a quiet stretch of road. I wasn't in a hurry so I kept my distance and enjoyed the show till his clutch or flywheel or both came apart, broke the fuel line and a nice under hood fire started. Guy had nothing to put the fire out with. Luckily I was prepared and had a small extinguisher on me and got it almost all put out. Only thing still burning was one motor mount a little bit. He looked at me as the extinguisher ran out, I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at the ditch next to him. He cupped enough water out to finish the job.

In slinger's case, it looks like that one is near a bathroom. The best location is right next to an exit. That way you can run to the exit, grab the extinguisher, then decide if you want to continue out of the house or go back in to fight.

pen

 

[dafattkidd]

31! Damn, the fire company should be calling you for backup.

I have multiple on each floor and in the garage. Also in each auto. Was going to get my hair cut a few years back and on the way I stopped in the road as a guy ahead of me in a 70 camaro was fooling around doing burnouts on a quiet stretch of road. I wasn't in a hurry so I kept my distance and enjoyed the show till his clutch or flywheel or both came apart, broke the fuel line and a nice under hood fire started. Guy had nothing to put the fire out with. Luckily I was prepared and had a small extinguisher on me and got it almost all put out. Only thing still burning was one motor mount a little bit. He looked at me as the extinguisher ran out, I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at the ditch next to him. He cupped enough water out to finish the job.

In slinger's case, it looks like that one is near a bathroom. The best location is right next to an exit. That way you can run to the exit, grab the extinguisher, then decide if you want to continue out of the house or go back in to fight.

pen

That's good advice. Thanks, Pen.

 

[slinger646]

It's one of many. Most are water cans, stationed to fight my way out of or in to a house. 10 yrs in the fire service before becoming the fuzz taught me a lot. Thanks again for all the help and suggestions!!

 

[BrotherBart]

It's one of many. Most are water cans, stationed to fight my way out of or in to a house. 10 yrs in the fire service before becoming the fuzz taught me a lot.

That had to set up a bit of mental confusion given the love most of the cops and firefighters I know have for each other.

I know. Mod derails thread.

Put up something to protect those kids. I put on the gloves before I ever walk toward the stove because I just know one of these days I am gonna trip on that damned pad in front of the stove and the natural reaction is gonna be to put my hands out to break the fall. And get two hands full of six hundred degree steel.

 

[pen]

It's one of many. Most are water cans, stationed to fight my way out of or in to a house. 10 yrs in the fire service before becoming the fuzz taught me a lot. Thanks again for all the help and suggestions!!

Can't beat being prepared. Look forward to seeing how you make out and what you come up with.

pen

 

[firefighterjake]

Keep that "oops canister" at a good distance. A major problem I have is people putting those things too close to a stove. Shrapnel is not a pretty thing.

Being in a hard to reach place for the fire department there are 31 of the things in this house and garage but not any of them near a stove.. Yeah I know "31! holy crap!".

A mattress company warehouse bankruptcy auction. Got'em for chump change. On the way out the door I sold three of them for what I paid for the lot.

Maybe it's because it's Monday, but . . . why would a dry chemical fire extinguisher possibly explode being too close to a woodstove? I mean I agree it's a better idea to keep extinguishers a bit further from possible sources of combustion so you can easily access them (and near an exit as Pen mentioned is always a good idea vs. having them in some back closet), but to my knowledge there is nothing in an ABC extinguisher to explode. That said, most have a warning on them to keep them below 120 degrees F . . . I assume at that temp there may be a possiblity of the rubber O-ring failing which could cause a loss of pressure with the nitrogen inside . . . a possible mess, but no explosion.