Specific clearence to combustables question

[Sealcove]

In the process of rebuilding and enlarging our house I switched from a Lopi Answer that was located in the middle of a wall, to a Jotul F600 in a corner installation. The functional location of the stove could not better; it is in a slightly sunken entry room that is open on three sides, has a cathedral ceiling above with direct venting to all bedrooms, and the fourth side downstairs has a large window and door adjacent to it. One minor drawback of this location is that one side of the corner is a window, but given how clean the install is it is not much of a detractor.

Here is the info & question: The Jotul manual states that in a corner installation with the optional rear heat shield and double wall pipe, that the clearance from the closest corner to a combustible surface is 9". I have 18" off the corners, and the timbers closest to the stove are getting quite hot when the stove is at operational temp (say in the 450 degree range for stove temp). There is no scorching, discoloration, or melting of the urethane, but these surfaces get hot to the touch (almost too hot to hold your hand on). Should I be concerned about the high surface temps on the wood?

Picture attached

 

[Dave_1]

Hi sealcove,

Sorry, but the picture of your Jotul F600 install is not working

... I have 18” off the corners, and the timbers closest to the stove are getting quite hot when the stove is at operational temp (say in the 450 degree range for stove temp). ... Should I be concerned about the high surface temps on the wood?

Yes!

Our Fisher sits in an alcove that measures 26" from the front top edge to a 4x4 oak post door frame.

In its 29 year operation it has never got near as hot as you describe your wood to be.

 

[Sealcove]

oops. Image fixed.

I guess I will have to look into some small heat shields for the posts in question. I just measured again, and I easily have twice the required distance. Odd.

 

[begreen]

The stove does put out a lot of heat. 9" is right at the minimum corner clearance. I like exceeding the minimums for additional comfort. Especially in very cold country where the stove may need to do extended duty at higher running temps.

'Almost too hot to touch' can be about 120-130 degrees, which is a safe temp. But peace of mind is important too.

 

[Sealcove]

Thanks for the input. I will see if I can get a sense of what the actual temp is on the next burn, and then decide what action is warranted.

 

[cannonballcobb]

From the picture it looks like you have plenty of hearth in front of the stove. Maybe you could get two 45's of stove pipe and bring the stove further out into the room. That would look cleaner IMO than covering up those nice looking walls. Would also heat the house a little better.

 

[Sealcove]

window is going to love sucking heat from stove.

I considered that, but for a number of other reasons this was still the best location for the stove. I have insulated window blinds for hard winter, and it it gets to be a problem I plan to cover a piece of 2" foam with fabric to fit snugly over the window.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

Somebody here recently stated that 150F surface temperature is the beginning of the pyrolysis (?) danger zone for wood.

I have no idea if that's correct, just mentioning it since it would be relevant here, if it can be verified by someone knowledgeable.

Eddy

 

[The Dali Lima]

The stove does put out a lot of heat. 9" is right at the minimum corner clearance. I like exceeding the minimums for additional comfort. Especially in very cold country where the stove may need to do extended duty at higher running temps.

'Almost too hot to touch' can be about 120-130 degrees, which is a safe temp. But peace of mind is important too.

Sounds like he has 18" clearance from each corner... if so I'd imagine you are fine. The stuff is gonna get hot - that's the point!

 

[begreen]

I'm reading "the clearance from the closest corner to a combustible surface is 9”. In the manual, that's the min. distance from back corners of the stove as measured perpendicular to the wall. The 18" info is a bit confusing as it appears to being measured from the front corners of the stove?

 

[Sealcove]

Even though I didn't need a burn yesterday I decided to fire up the stove to test the hot surface issue. After letting the stove run for a couple of hours with an average stove top temp of about 450 I started checking the surfaces of the corner by hand. I think I may have overreacted in my initial assessment. The posts are certainly hot, but I can place my hand on them and leave it there, and they seem to cool quickly with my hand there. I would like to find a way to get an accurate reading of the temps just for piece of mind. I assume that an infrared thermometer would be the right tool for this job? If so i finally have an excuse to get one. Somebody please tell me I need one for safety's sake!

 

[Sealcove]

I'm reading "the clearance from the closest corner to a combustible surface is 9”. In the manual, that's the min. distance from back corners of the stove as measured perpendicular to the wall. The 18" info is a bit confusing as it appears to being measured from the front corners of the stove?

18" is the the clearance I have as measured from the back corners on the stove.

 

[aussieblake]

Before burning in our stove, I was concerned about the rear clearances not being enough, so we bought an all glass fire screen to put between the wall and the stove. I have burned in the stove a few times seems to work very well and looks nice too. FYI we bought ours at solutions.com or solutions something, it was $120 delivered and is very nice looking.

My stove called for 6" of rear clearance and we installed it with 8".

aussieblake

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I don't have advice, just wanted to say nice looking install. Simple, clean, and natural wood.

Also- my wife normally tries to keep 10' clearance between me and comestibles.

 

[begreen]

I'm reading "the clearance from the closest corner to a combustible surface is 9”. In the manual, that's the min. distance from back corners of the stove as measured perpendicular to the wall. The 18" info is a bit confusing as it appears to being measured from the front corners of the stove?

18" is the the clearance I have as measured from the back corners on the stove.

Got it, so you were just quoting the minimum from the manual, but actually have double the minimum. My misunderstanding. In that case, I think you may be feeling things warm up, but I doubt that they are anywhere near a danger point. The stove is a good radiator and will warm up things nearby it, including humans and pets that seem t gravitate towards the stove.

 

[tutu_sue]

Could the window be causing a convection current and keeping the heat toward the rear of the stove?

 

[fossil]

...my wife normally tries to keep 10' clearance between me and comestibles.

My wife keeps trying to establish about that same clearance between me and potables, but so far I'm consistently able to violate that requirement pretty much at will. I think she might be looking into some sort of shielding, though.

And (ON TOPIC) - I really like that installation and setting too! Rick

 

[grizzly2]

I notice that my hearth with polyurethane on it feels much warmer to the touch than the bare wood in my woodpile, which is actually closer to the stove. With 18" of clearnace and heat sheilds on the stove, It seems that you would be in good shape, I am running that close without shields.

 

[Sealcove]

Could the window be causing a convection current and keeping the heat toward the rear of the stove?

It doesn't feel overly warm to the rear of the stove, so I don't think there is much air flow back there. It could become an issue when it gets cold, but I don't expect temps in the 20's to have that much of an impact through the window. I might put the thermal blinds on to see if that changes the equation at all, and as I mentioned earlier if need be I could put 2-4" of foam between the blinds and window for the hard winter months (no issues with temp or clearance where the window is).

 

[Sealcove]

I don't have advice, just wanted to say nice looking install. Simple, clean, and natural wood.

Thanks. It seemed to have worked out well. I am particularly happy that I was able to keep the stove pipe run straight from top to bottom; all 25 feet of it.

Now I just need to get my old Lopi installed in the shop.

 

[grizzly2]

That is one good looking instalation. The tile floor all over instead of a hearth adds to the clean look, but... you should have a non-combustable material under the tiles to meet code. I have 1 1/2" of cement board under my tiles. My tiles never get very warm though, so I rather doubt that it is a fire hazzard with your stove having long legs.