Hi all. I was tossing around the idea of making a free standing heat shield. I seen that most heat shields are 24 ga. But what do you think about 10 ga? Other then it might be heavy, is thicker better? And having the top bent on a 45 so the heat rolls back in the room. And want about height of the shield?
free standing heat shield
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I don't think there is a lot of difference with the gauge of metal. All thicker does is increases the time it takes to get up to temp and cool down. There may be some benefit as to where it is between the heat and the wall it's protecting. My rear stove shield is about 3 inches off the stove. The rear shield on my single wall is about an inch off the pipe. I think getting the air flow moving is most important.
You will need an 1" air space at the bottom of the shield to allow air to flow up behind the shield. That is what creates the "shielding" effect and keeps the wall cool. A sheet metal plate that stands up by itself would not be a permissible heat shield. What kind of stove do you want to install? Does it say in the manual that you can reduce clearances with a heat shield?
Are you talking about a wall shield or a heat shield that gets attached to the stove? For either the gauge is not important. It's nice to have it stiff enough to not bend when banged, but 24 or 22 ga is fine for that purpose.
I made my own heat shield from 20 gauge sheet metal and I have placed about 4" from the stove and about 10" from the wall. I have not put any bends towards the top of the shield and have not put any space at the bottom for air.
I have checked the wall behind the shield when stove top temps are at 400 to 450 and I get zero heat on the wall.
The stove sits in a corner and I had one wall that got pretty warm and concerned me that is why I made the shield. I checked the specs for the stove installation and it was done correctly but I feel better with a shield in place.
I have checked the wall behind the shield when stove top temps are at 400 to 450 and I get zero heat on the wall.
The stove sits in a corner and I had one wall that got pretty warm and concerned me that is why I made the shield. I checked the specs for the stove installation and it was done correctly but I feel better with a shield in place.
Yes, if the stove clearances are met there is no harm in adding a shield as described. In that case it doesn't need to conform to any safety rules other than being non-combustible and securely standing so that it doesn't fall down.
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