Total NOOB needs advice before I burn down house...

[squatpuke]

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Got our FIRST wood stove last week...cast iron, non-porcelain, Jotul 600. The Big One.

Prior, we laid down extra 18" ceramic on the concrete floor under the stove. As well, on the back wall we added concrete board and more tile about 54" high.

We think it looks nice, but I'm the worry-wart of the family and am concerned about the paint and gypsum wall near/behind the pipe...

As well, I'm concerned about the overall temperatures the stove reaches...

We followed the Jotul instructions and gradually increased temps....to break in.

The manual never really says anything about a maximum temperature, and said to place the gauge in the corner...(however, wouldn't the gauge be better off on the top?)

Last night, without much effort at all (maybe 50-60% full of wood), the temperature gauge on the front right of the stove got to 650 degrees....The tile behind was too hot to hold my hand on, and the drywall above the tile was also hot, almost too hot to keep hand on...

We bought the gauge from the dealer and he said this particular model is meant to burn VERY hot (I guess cause of it's large size)....but never gave specifics over the phone. The guage reads "overburn" at around 650...so I'm just curious if we're burning TOO hot.

DO I need to worry about the drywall behind the pipe? (It's 6" away-code according to the noobie installer that put our stove in)

Please help....

Thanks to all...

 

[begreen]

The ranges marked on the thermometer are for surface flue temperatures, not for stove top temperatures. You are not overfiring the stove. 600-650 stove top temps are pretty normal for winter burning.

These stoves radiate a lot of heat. It looks like the stove has the rear heat shield on it, is this correct? What is the distance from the back of the stove to the tile? Was the tile applied directly on the wall?

If you can post a side view of the stove and pipe with a tape measure in the picture, showing the distance that would be great.

 

[squatpuke]

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Thanks for the reply BeGreen....here are some more photos as you requested....

Yes, both back and bottom heatshields are on...

Also it's black-double wall pipe....

The tile on the wall is attached to some kind of board I got at Home Depot....about 1/4 inch thick, but I think it's some kind of concrete or masonry...it was white.

On the roof, there are 2-4' outdoor silver double wall sections connected to the firebox in the ceiling...I'm wondering about fastening the exposed pipe it to the roof as it's quite windy where I live...


Thanks again for your advise.....(and any others)

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[hankjrfan]

that electrical plug behind, is that a plastic gang and socket underneath that metal cover? i'd be a little concerned about that if yes.

 

[squatpuke]

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We swapped the plastic face place with a metal one, but not the plug-outlet thingy itself....I think it's in a rather good position...low and below the heatshield...


At temps around 3-400....the wall remains cool...but when the stove is really cooking, the wall and tile heat up pretty good...thus my concern.


: )

 

[ChrisN]

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[ChrisN]

I'm sure someone with direct knowledge of the F600 will chime in ICO the clearances, but your owner's manual should list the minimum clearances to combustible surfaces. The heat shield does allow you to get quite a bit closer, and it looks like your installer took full advantage of it!

 

[squatpuke]

he was just listening to wife who wanted it as close as possible....I'm pretty sure we are within the specs of the owner's manual...just nervous I guess...

We did measure on the install...however, I think this guy had only been installing stoves for a short time...and I'm suspect to his experience.

Is painted drywall considered "combustible" or "non-combustible"....


Another concern...if you look at the pic of where the pipe connects to the stove, there is a gap, or ridge in the back...not sure if there should be a connector there or not...the installer just placed the end of the pipe right on the cast iron pipe part of the stove...and screwed her in.


btw...what exactly is a 'flue"...is that just another word for a pipe?


I also read about chimney fires, so that makes me nervous as well, should I be ok with those as long as I sweep once a year? Still not sure what "creosote" is...can you see it and feel in a cool stove or pipe? Is it sticky, dry? sorry for the noobie questions....

 

[ChrisN]

Drywall, painted or not is considered a combustible.

On my Oslo, the baby brother of the F600, the installer fashioned a collar to fit over the stove neck snugly. and then the stovepipe connects snugly to the collar, no gaps.

I use the term flue and the lowest section of stovepipe interchangeably.

Chimney fires should be of concern, but if you burn seasoned wood and clean your chimney you shouldn't have a problem. I burn pretty much 24/7 during the New England heating season and clean my chimney each fall. I get about two cups of black, flaky dry fine soot material when I clean. If you take the cap off and look down the chimney you might see a build-up, but I have never seen a noticable amount.

 

[CTBurner]

according to manuual your stove needs 10" clearance even with a heat shield unless you have a 1" air gap between sheetrock and your wall shield, stove pipe is also too close to sheetrock

4.2 Clearances to Walls and Ceilings
The following clearances have been tested to UL and ULC
standards and are the minimum clearances specifically
established for the Jøtul F 600.
The following diagrams give the required clearances you must
maintain when installing the Jøtul F 600 near combustible
surfaces. See pages 16-17.
A combustible surface is anything that can burn (i.e. sheet rock,
wall paper, wood, fabrics etc.). These surfaces are not limited to
those that are visible and also include materials that are behind
non-combustible materials.If you are not sure of the combustible nature of a material, consult
your local fire officials. Contact your local building officials about
restrictions and installation requirements in your area.
Remember: “Fire Resistant” materials are considered combustible;
they are difficult to ignite, but will burn. Also “Fire-rated” sheet
rock is also considered combustible.
USA/CANADA

 

[Hanko]

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what does that have to do with the question that was asked?

 

[ChrisN]

what does that have to do with the question that was asked?[/quote]

Nothing Hanko. I accidently duplicated my post and couldn't figure out how to delete the duplicate, so I edited it thusly. Thanks for your policing though!

 

[Dix]

Pssst, Chris, Hanks being a smart mule/donkey/horse relative ;-)

:lol:

 

[Hanko]

I learned from the best :coolgrin:

 

[fossil]

I've been looking at the manual for the Jotul F 600, and I think your installer cheated the rear clearance by an inch or two...not good. The non-combustible surface you applied to the wall behind the stove is just that, a non-combustible surface. It buys you nothing. Since it's applied directly to a combustible wall with no ventilated airspace between the two, it has no function as a heat shield. Doesn't matter though, because once you installed the factory rear heat shield to the Jotul, you bought all the reduced rear clearance allowed. Look at the clearance information in the book, and you'll see that dimension "T" (rear clearance with double-wall pipe to an unprotected surface), and dimension "W" (rear clearance with double-wall pipe to a protected surface) are both 8". Even a properly designed and installed wall heat shield would not allow you reduce the rear clearance to anything less than 8" from the stove to the combustible material. It's just a bit hard to tell from the photos, but I really think you need to revisit that positioning of the stove. As far as the "gap" goes on the back of the stovepipe where it fits the flue collar on the stove, I'm not at all sure that's a problem. It's double-wall stovepipe, so the fit that matters is the inside pipe into the flue collar, not the outside pipe around the collar. Others will correct me in short order, I'm quite sure, if I'm mistaken. Rick

 

[drdoct]

Holy crow man, was the stove installer from the store where you bought the stove? I'm hoping so because if it's too close, and it definitely looks it, then maybe you'll be able to get it fixed due to safety reasons. I do think you're right for being scared of burning down your house though. If something combustible is too hot to touch, then it's getting pretty close to smoldering temps. I would probably never feel comfortable unless I could put my hand on it for over 3 seconds (3 LONG seconds). Another scarey thing would be if they overlooked such obvious clearances out in the open, then what did they overlook where the pipe goes through the ceiling and roof. Man, seeing something done wrong or questionable is bad, but especially spending the kind of money you did for professional installation. Makes me sick for you. I sure hope you keep us informed to what happens. Good luck!

 

[CTBurner]

Is it double wall pipe, if so, bgreen is certainly right, if single wall then 10" is required

 

[Hanko]

kinda looks like single to me. anyway, thats too close

 

[begreen]

according to manuual your stove needs 10" clearance even with a heat shield unless you have a 1" air gap between sheetrock and your wall shield, stove pipe is also too close to sheetrock

10" is for single wall pipe. Assuming this is double-wall pipe, (it looks like that), the min. clearance is 6". If this is double-wall pipe then all is kosher at the minimum allowable clearances. But this is where common sense has to engage. Why does everyone try to cut things to the minimum? Adding a few inches is not a big deal and can make the difference between "is this safe?" and "no worry".

If the wall above the tile is just hot, but you can hold your hand on it for several seconds, don't worry about it. To answer the drywall question, most drywall is considered combustible because of it's paper covering. There is new to the market, paperless drywall, but I suspect this wasn't used here.

 

[fossil]

I'm not so concerned about the pipe, I think it's double-wall. I'm still bothered by the rear clearance of the stove itself. The manual says 8". I don't see 8" there any way I try to look at it. Maybe I'm just not seeing or reading what I think I'm seeing or reading. Rick

 

[begreen]

It looks like the stove has the rear connector shield installed too. If so, that should reduce stove to wall clearances down to "N" = 6". It looks like the stove is 7" from the tile. Add the thickness of the tile to this dimension for the clearance to combustible measurement. If they used cement board to back the tile then add another 1/2".

 

[fossil]

Well, okey dokey, then. Pretty durned tight, but I guess it's in compliance, allowing for a bit of parallax. Rick

 

[rphurley]

Lots of posts on this thread. I didn't get a chance to read them all, but was the installation inspected by the local building inspector?

 

[squatpuke]

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Thanks all for checking me out....


Yes...it's double wall pipe...and yes...the wall board the tile is on is 1/4" and the tile at least that also....so there's another .5+ inches to the back of the stove...to the wall...


Plus I'm pretty sure the manual said that the heatshield does not count in the clearance....so the REAL back of the stove is behind the heat shield...


I'm still concerned about the drywall....wife and I are considering taking the tile all the way to the roof....


Thanks again...I'll post any changes or other questions....

Really appreciate everyone's time...

 

[rphurley]

Beautiful installation though. Looks great!