Minimum Clearances for Concrete Block Walls?

[mynameisamanda]

Hello -- First time posting.

I'm looking at putting in a small wood stove in my house to help with heating. There is a chimney that has been used for a wood stove before, but there isn't a lot of space (the house itself is quite small). I see stoves I'm look at advertise their minimum clearances, but those all seem to apply to combustable surfaces, and as my house is made from concrete blocks I'm thinking (hoping) those don't apply. How do I know how close I can go?

Also, my fridge is in that general area, so it'd be good to know how close I'm allowed to go to that (those minimum clearance guidelines, or...) or what I can do/build to try and protect it. I'm thinking of thermal shielding I've seen installed for use with marine wood-burning stoves.

Can anyone help a prospective first-time wood stove owner? :3 Thanks in advance.

 

[Wisneaky]

Concrete doesn't apply unless there is a combustible surface attached to it like studs and drywall. Fridge is going to be the same as the listed clearances.

 

[Grisu]

Also, my fridge is in that general area, so it'd be good to know how close I'm allowed to go to that (those minimum clearance guidelines, or...) or what I can do/build to try and protect it.

Welcome to the forum!

I would try finding another spot or your fridge will need to work really hard to keep your food cold, potentially ending in its early demise. At a minimum you want to build something like a ventilated wall shield to protect it even when you already exceed minimum clearances. That article should help: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/stove_wall_clear

Do you have a pic and measurements of the potential spot? Try also to get enough dry wood with less than 20% internal moisture content or you will have a hard time getting the heat from the stove you are hoping for.

 

[mynameisamanda]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Glad to hear I won't have to worry about the clearances for the block walls for the most part.

I don't have any measurements or pictures of the spot where I will be installing it -- right now it's a long distance weekend project that I'm planning to move into full time come december. But based on you advice I'll probably do my best to see if I can find a way to move things around and get my range there instead. At the very least maybe I'll move the stove a bit further away and follow the instructions for a ventilated wall sheild to protect it.

Thanks for the tip about the wood. Any tips for gauging approximate moisture content when just acquiring wood from craigslist/freecycle/side of the road when it may not be specified? Pretty new at all this.

 

[Wisneaky]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Glad to hear I won't have to worry about the clearances for the block walls for the most part.

I don't have any measurements or pictures of the spot where I will be installing it -- right now it's a long distance weekend project that I'm planning to move into full time come december. But based on you advice I'll probably do my best to see if I can find a way to move things around and get my range there instead. At the very least maybe I'll move the stove a bit further away and follow the instructions for a ventilated wall sheild to protect it.

Thanks for the tip about the wood. Any tips for gauging approximate moisture content when just acquiring wood from craigslist/freecycle/side of the road when it may not be specified? Pretty new at all this.

Advise on buying wood. Don't prepay. Ask them if its dry not seasoned. Ask them how long it's been cut and or split. Try to get wood that's been cut and split 12-18 months or more. Only get oak if its been 18 months or more unless you plan to save it for future years. Tell them you will be testing moisture content before purchasing it if they claim it is dry. Buy a moisture meter, split a piece and test it. Shoot for under 20% its okay to buy wood that's not so dry if you plan on burning it the following year or so. Real dry wood will more than likely cost you more. If its free wood just grab it all. Free wood is always the best.