Major safety issue or am I completely wrong?

[HouseFire]

Hey Everyone,

My parents had this wood stove installed maybe 7 years ago in their unfinished basement, put some drywall behind it and called it a day and it doesn't really look safe to me, it looks like there's no way that can be the acceptable standard, right? You can see the exposed 2x4's around the stove pipe where it enters the wall, the insulation right against the pipe and out to the wood. I tried to talk to my Mom about it, and to explain what I found about thermal desiccation, pyrolysis, etc., but she just keeps saying it's safe because "drywall isn't flammable", and "a WETT tech installed it". From what I found there should be a metal pass through box where the stove pipe exits through the wall with a 2" air clearance from all combustibles, and not just a wooden frame of 2x4's that's stuffed full of insulation? Am I overreacting? Is this actually completely safe? Inspection passing? Would insurance cover it if the studs in this wall ignited? If it's not safe I'm hoping someone who is WETT/CSIA/NFI certified can let me know because then she might listen. Thank you!

 

[begreen]

That looks like class A chimney pipe coming though a thimble. If it is, then the clearances are reduced to 2". The insulation looks like mineral wool, which is ok if so. If double-walled, the stove pipe needs to be 9" away from the ceiling joists and wiring. If single-wall stovepipe then it's 18".

 

[stoveliker]

If that is a transition to class A, and there is no studs (or anything else combustible) within 2" (or whatever the parts requirements are), it's ok I think.
Seems to be rockwool, not glassfiber.
I don't think 2" air is needed, just 2" non-combustible (for most class A that is the case).

 

[HouseFire]

If that is a transition to class A, and there is no studs (or anything else combustible) within 2" (or whatever the parts requirements are), it's ok I think.
Seems to be rockwool, not glassfiber.
I don't think 2" air is needed, just 2" non-combustible (for most class A that is the case).

I know the model of chimney they used does say it requires a 2" minimum air space clearance between insulated chimney sections and combustible materials, but then right below that it has a big warning message saying do not place ANY insulating materials within the required air clearance space surrounding the chimney, so that makes it sound like maybe it really does need the 2" air space from that insulation and not just space from combustibles. I tried to check the CSA standards for Canadian installation rules but apparently that costs $150.

But either way, whether it meets standards or not, this pyrolysis thing is not really that common, and not something I need to be lying awake at night worrying about?

Thank you for taking the time to respond! Very much appreciated.

 

[bholler]

I know the model of chimney they used does say it requires a 2" minimum air space clearance between insulated chimney sections and combustible materials, but then right below that it has a big warning message saying do not place ANY insulating materials within the required air clearance space surrounding the chimney, so that makes it sound like maybe it really does need the 2" air space from that insulation and not just space from combustibles. I tried to check the CSA standards for Canadian installation rules but apparently that costs $150.

But either way, whether it meets standards or not, this pyrolysis thing is not really that common, and not something I need to be lying awake at night worrying about?

Thank you for taking the time to respond! Very much appreciated.

Pyrolysis happens all the time what do you mean its not common. I would say if the instructions say nothing within the 2" remove the insulation. If its mineral wool I dont see much risk but follow the directions

 

[HouseFire]

Pyrolysis happens all the time what do you mean its not common. I would say if the instructions say nothing within the 2" remove the insulation. If its mineral wool I dont see much risk but follow the directions

I never said pyrolysis is not common. I was asking if it was a common problem. So it's a common problem that happens all the time? But it's totally safe to have the stove pipe a couple inches away from exposed wood? Is it a common problem because these are the standards used when doing installations? Is there not more that can be done to make it less common?

 

[bholler]

I never said pyrolysis is not common. I was asking if it was a common problem. So it's a common problem that happens all the time? But it's totally safe to have the stove pipe a couple inches away from exposed wood? Is it a common problem because these are the standards used when doing installations? Is there not more that can be done to make it less common?

Oh I saw it as a statement sorry. Just honor all clearance requirements and it will be fine. Everything is tested in worst case scenario temps at those clearances

 

[Murray01]

https://www.selkirkcorp.com/literature/Universal_Shielding_Insulation_%28SUSI_JUSI%29_CF.pdf

It appears to my untrained eye that you’re okay as long as the insulation is fire proof.

 

[gthomas785]

Your install looks better than a lot. I've seen scary stuff like either fiberglass insulation, drywall touching the thimble, regular stovepipe used as a pass through, etc. Of course who knows what the rest of the chimney is like that we can't see in the pics. Maybe it's run in a chase stuffed with kerosene soaked newspapers. But from what I can see your install looks pretty safe.

The only violation I can see is that by the instructions, you should remove the insulation within 2" of the chimney pipe. But if that is Rockwool as it appears to be I would not lose any sleep over it. Rockwool is made of mineral wool plus a binder. The mineral wool is totally fireproof. The binder is not and may break down under high temps, but there is not enough of it there to start a fire or anything like that.

 

[Highbeam]

As far as the sheetrock behind the stove, that's no problem at all so long as the face of thh sheetrock is beyond the minimum required clearance to combustibles for the stove. I have painted sheetrock 6" behind my stove.