Heat deflector/hood to protect mantel from wood burning insert

[rebobbinator]

I have a Lopi/Travis nexgen-fyre medium flush wood burning insert. It was installed with the correct clearances from the manufacturer. However, when I run it, the mantel above it gets quite hot. I have measured a max temp of 170 degrees fahrenheit on the underside of the mantel without running the stove too hard. Is this safe? Should I install some kind of a heat deflector or hood? I was told by one fireplace store employee that the hoods that go on over a fireplace and stick out about 4" do not do much. Has anyone installed one of those over an insert? If so, how much of reduction in heat on your mantel did you see?

 

[Solarguy3500]

I installed a mantel protector when I installed my insert because my mantel was a couple inches short of the manufacturer's clearance listed in the manual. I talked to my local inspector about it beforehand and he was the one who suggested a mantel protector and said he would approve it if I got one. It came with ceramic spacers to create an air gap under the mantle and it seems to be doing its job nicely. Even when I'm running the stove hot, the mantel only feels warm to the touch, not hot at all.

I can't really speak to how much of a reduction you'll see in temp before vs after installation because I installed mine before having my first fire so I don't have the data from before the mantel protector to compare it to.

 

[rebobbinator]

Which mantel protector did you buy? How big is the gap between the protector and the mantel? Thanks

 

[Solarguy3500]

Which mantel protector did you buy? How big is the gap between the protector and the mantel? Thanks

I got the one from Meecos. The ceramic spacers create a 1" gap. My mantel is a 4" thick piece of very hard wood, likely oak, so I had to pre-drill the holes for the screws in order to have any chance of getting them to go in. Even then, I had to use an impact driver.