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Jotul woodstove at idle, low fire © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com Wood Stoves
Wood Burning Stove installation, inspection, repair & safety

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about chimney fires, chimney causes, what to do if you have a chimney fire, & how to prevent a chimney fire

Wood burning stoves: selection, installation, inspection, repair & safety:

Here are photos and examples of the wood stove installation and safety details that can help prevent a chimney fire or house fire.

We discuss wood stove installation clearances from combustibles, wood stove draft control or heat output control, wood stove safety checkpoints (including some recommended by the U.S. CPSC), and heating with wood as a means of reducing building or home heating costs.

The article includes wood stove code citations, links to references & research on using wood stoves, and reports of house or chimney fires related to wood stoves.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Wood Stove, Coal Stove, or Fireplace Insert: Safety Checks

Photograph of a woodstove too close to paneling, a fire hazard at both the woodstove and its metal flue.

Before using your wood stove or coal stove in the coming or current heating season, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission [since 1983 has] strongly urges, if you have a [wood stove or coal stove] or fireplace connected to a metal chimney, to check for any damage that may have occurred in the past heating season.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Look for signs of structural failure, such as deformation, cracks, or holes. If it is difficult to examine the chimney, a local chimney repairperson, chimney "sweep", or dealer can help. Have any damage repaired before using the heating device.

Most fires in metal factory-built chimneys occur because of improper installation (such as failure to provide proper fire clearance distances or heat shields or both), improper wood stove use, or improper or inadequate maintenance such as permitting an unsafe level of creosote to accumulate in a chimney or flue.

The US CPSC has identified the following common causes of wood-stove related fires [supplemented by InspectApedia - Ed] :

US CPSC Sketch of a metal chimney and woodstove - clearances are not indicated.

Sketch - US CPSC. [Click to enlarge any image]

Even when the heating appliance is properly installed, people with both metal and masonry chimney systems should frequently check the chimney for creosote deposits, soot build-up or physical damage.

This flue safety check involves only a simple visual examination, but it should be done as often as twice a month during heavy use.

Signs of or causes of creosote accumulation in a chimney

At wood stoves where creosote is a particular hazard, you may suspect creosote build-up if

If you see heavy creosote build-up, suspect a problem, or have had a chimney fire, a qualified chimney repairperson or chimney "sweep" should perform a complete safety inspection. They can arrange for any necessary repairs or creosote removal, which must be done before the heating appliance is used again. Details are

at CREOSOTE FIRE HAZARDS.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission advises owners of metal woodstove or fireplace insert chimneys to:

Jotul Woodstove installed by Paul Galow (C) Daniel Friedman

If you have had a fire or other safety problem with your chimney, please provide this information to the Commission by calling the Commission's toll-free Hotline 800-638-CPSC.

At FIRE CLEARANCES, WOOD COAL & PELLET STOVES

we discuss heat shielding in detail, warning that even relatively low temperatures applied to nearby combustibles can, over time, lower the combustion point of nearby combustible materials such as wood framing.

See PYROLYSIS EXPLAINED for those details.

How to Use the Wood Stove Draft Control to Control Heat Output

Watch out: people often leave the woodstove door open for a time after lighting the woodstove fire as a way to boost draft and get the fire going.

But if you forget and leave the door open, at least on some woodstoves and certainly on coal stoves or wood-oil combination boilers and furnaces, the result is a dangerously overheated heating appliance that can either ruin the appliance (by warping the component parts) or it can set the building or chimney on fire.

Our tenant, Stanley Pyrek, left the door to our coal stove ajar to get a fire started, then forgot about it. The result was severe overheating of the coal stove, deforming the stove door and other parts so that the stove was no longer usable.

This mistake also came close to setting the house on fire. It was an unforgettable experience.

Wood stove showing manual flue damper (C) Daniel Friedman

I'm not so sure the wood burning stove shown at left above is a fire-safe installation, but you can plainly see the manual flue damper handle (pointed-to by our blue arrow) in the rusty flue section about 30 inches above the top of the woodstove.

When the damper handle's long axis is parallel to the flue the damper is in its fully open position.

Also see FIRE CLEARANCES, SINGLE WALL METAL FLUES & VENTS for a discussion of heat shielding at flue vent connectors.

Jotul Woodstove installed by Paul Galow (C) Daniel Friedman

Woodstoves also regulate the wood fire and thus stove temperature by adjusting the combustion air intake to the woodstove.

Shown just above is a beautiful Jotul woodstove that I (DF) traded to Paul Galow for a fancy wristwatch. The orange circle is around the woodstove air inlet draft control.

Chimney fire started at a woodstove © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Watch out: if the incoming combustion air cannot be shut down because of leaky wood stove gaskets or other damage, the wood stove is unsafe.

In our Norwegian Jotul woodstove photo at above right, Paul has installed air-spaced heat shields of ceramic tile mounted on fireproof board behind the stove and he added a heat shield (the silver contraption) on the side of the stove facing a bed just to slow down the heat in that direction.

That wood-box on the left side of the stove is a bit close in my OPINION, but Mr. Galow is not much impressed by my caution.

Our photo at left illustrates a house fire that occurred when a wood burning heater was left running unattended.

Watch out: if the flue damper rusts or becomes damaged, it may be impossible to slow the chimney draft, resulting in an overheating stove and possibly a chimney or house fire.

Though questionable fire clearances and accumulated creosote may have been factors, just such a runaway wood stove fire and its disastrous results are illustrated
at CHIMNEY FIRE ACTION / PREVENTION (live link is given below in Recommended Articles).

See also WOOD STOVES, CATALYTIC PUFF-BACKS

Readers wanting to understand how heat as low as 200 degF. can, over time, lower the combustion point of nearby combustible materials such as wood framing will want to

see PYROLYSIS EXPLAINED

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2022-07-28 by InspectApedia (mod) - clearance from single wall pipe to ceiling if run vertically

@Robert,

Take a look at

FIRE CLEARANCES, METAL CHIMNEYS

On 2022-07-27 by Robert

Hi
I'm curious if you know what I need for a clearance from single wall pipe to my ceiling if run vertically. I only find info for doing a horizontal run of single wall, not vertical. Is there no clearance requirement since it is less likely to convect?
Thanks

On 2022-05-13 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - installation instructions for some Woodstock soapstone woodstoves

@Chris,

NOTE: the installation instructions for at least some Woodstock soapstone woodstoves give slightly smaller clearance distances

Woodstock KEYSTONE SOAPSTONE STOVE INSTALLATION MANUAL [PDF] Woodstock Soapstone Co, 66 Airpark Road, West Lebanon, NH 03784 USA, Tel: 1-800-866-4344 Email: info@woodstove.com Web: https://www.woodstove.com/

Copy also at
https://inspectapedia.com/chimneys/Woodstock-Soapstone-Keystone-Installation-Manual.pdf

states
Minimum clearances with no heat shields to unprotected combustible walls:
From the back-------------------30”
From the sides-------------------18”

these clearances are also found in the Woodstock PALLADIAN WOOD STOVE INSTALLATION MANUAL [PDF]

inspectapedia.com/chimneys/Woodstock-Soapstone-Palladian-202-Installation-Manual.pdf

see details on wood stove clearance distances

at FIRE CLEARANCES, WOOD COAL & PELLET STOVES

And also

Table 1. Minimum clearances from combustible walls and ceilings.*
Stove type

Type of protection
distance to Radiant - Circulating - Stovepipe
Stove Stove or Metal Flue
Surface Surface Surface
--------------------------------------------------
None 36" 12" 18"

1/4" asbestos
millboard,
spaced out 1" 18" 6" 12"

28 gage sheet metal,
spaced out 1" 12" 4" 9"

28 gage sheet metal on
1/8". asbestos millboard,
spaced out 1" 12" 4" 9"
--------------------------------------------------
Sources: National Fire Protection Association No. 89M, 1976.
and

Cassens, Daniel & Susan Badenhop, Residential Wood Stove Installation
Forestry & Natural Resources, FNR-100 Marketing and Utilization, Cooperative Extension Service, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA - Web: https://www.extension.purdue.edu/

copy also at

https://inspectapedia.com/chimneys/Residential-Wood-Stove-Installation-Purdue.edu.pdf

On 2022-05-13 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - follow the standard clearance to combustibles between a wood-stove and the wall or wall receptacle

@Chris,

Yes you need to follow the standard clearance to combustibles between a wood-stove and the wall or wall receptacle - those can be reduced with an appropriate heat shield.

Normal = 36"

On 2022-05-13 by Chris

Hi, I have a question regarding a wood stove/ electrical outlet clearance. Have searched and can’t find specs anywhere.

I am replacing a pellet stove with a wood burning stove. Stove is new, efficient 2022 EPA approved. I have all the specs for the hearth, spacing to walls, etc. My question is regarding an electrical outlet. It was used for the pellet stove, and was located at the side front corner of stove approx. waist-high. I don’t want to remove the outlet, but want to make sure the wood stove has proper clearance.

What are clearance requirements from wood stove to outlet? Are they the same as to a combustible wall?

The wood stove is a Keystone Soapstone by Woodstock Stoves.

The electrical outlet is a galvanized box mounted to the exterior of the wall. All wiring and outlet are exterior grade as it was originally an outbuilding that was converted to a studio.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

On 2020-09-11 by danjoefriedman (mod) - north Scotland wood stove installers

Here are 3 woodstove installers in Northern Scotland

There are probably other qualified inspectors but certainly in the UK RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) includes people trained to perform building home inspections including of stove installations.

Contact RICS in northern Scotland at

RICS,
3rd Floor, 125 Princes Street Edinburgh EH2 4AD Scotland UK

t +44 (0)24 7686 8555
e contactrics@rics.org

https://www.rics.org/north-america/about-rics/where-we-are/uk-and-ireland/rics-in-scotland/

On 2020-09-11 by Brian McKenzie

I’m looking for an independent contractor to do a survey for a wood stove installation we have had done anyone North of Scotland

On 2018-08-14 by danjoefriedman (mod)

Mark

Wood stove inspection rules and people who do them vary by country State Province and City. Typically you would check with your building department. They may use an independent fire inspector. But certainly between your building department and your fire department, there will be someone who can tell you who does those inspections in your area.

On 2018-08-13 by Mark

Because we are caregivers we are required by the state to have our wood stove inspected. It has a straight pipe chimney. Who does these inspections?

On 2016-01-24 by danjoefriedman (mod)

I'm not sure what pipe you are describing. If you mean the flue vent connector that vents the stove to the chimney, normally that line slopes upwards.

On 2016-01-23 by greg Purvis

The pipe that comes out of the rear I'm on fire box goes on a slightly downward angle before entering the wall that comes out of the rear of my fire box goes on a slightly downward angle before entering the wall is this normal

 


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