How hot can a rug get?

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moterhead3

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Oct 13, 2007
54
Bethel Twp PA
How hot can a rug get in front of an insert? I have the same rug but I got an insert that sticks out 9.5 inches more and it gets about 180 degrees while I'm burning the stove. Didn't have a problem with the fireplace but the stove is a lot closer to the rug.
 
Combustible surfaces new the fireplace can safely get up to 117 deg above room temp, which is around 190 deg. You are right on the line but it sounds OK to me. I don't think the rug is going to burst into flames, but I can't say if it going to be damaged somehow from the heat.
 
The carpet isn't going to burn but it is a good bet that the foam pad under it is seriously considering turning into dust.
 
go out and get a "hearth rug' . to place in front at the foot of the hearth if allowable, recognise that 16 inches frontal clearance is required for any insert installed last year and older, 18 inches for this years installations, to meet code. 180 degrees is kinda hot for a surface temp especially carpet. if the hearth isnt sufficient to cover or redirect the heat an extension may be in order
 
Before we advise a hearth rug lets confirm the distance from the loading glass door to the rug there ext two parts to the rise in temp beyond ambience.
One part of the equation is 90 above ambiance which threshold would be 160 If you are recording 180 on you rug something is wrong. Can you provide a picture of the front of you stove setup with the relationship to you rug.

180 is way too hot
 
elkimmeg said:
Before we advise a hearth rug lets confirm the distance from the loading glass door to the rug there ext two parts to the rise in temp beyond ambience.
One part of the equation is 90 above ambiance which threshold would be 160 If you are recording 180 on you rug something is wrong. Can you provide a picture of the front of you stove setup with the relationship to you rug.

180 is way too hot



Iam behind ya on this one!!! To answer his question on this one though," How hot can it get." When it burst into flames from a spark when your reloading ya dont wana know. Extend the hearth pad. Weather it meets stove requirement's or not.
When in Doubt GET OUT OF DOUBT. Wise words from a pipefitter. :shut: MY wife even knows the answer to this one!
 
Aside from the codes and specs, how hot can it get and you still be able to soundly fall asleep at night? I would not be comfortable with those temps on something of a cloth material. I tore out my old tiles and extended out further to meet specs. Have any pictures?
 
I have a similar issue, but slightly different. I have a laminate floor under a hearth rug in front of the insert. It's not that it get flaming hot, but over the course of the season the joints in the floor start to open up - the laminate drying out, I assume. It's out 19 inches from the front of the insert. Any ideas on something to put under the rug to divert the heat away from the floor?

Thanks
Steve
 
Here's a picture of my stove with my new hearth rug I just picked up today. The guy at the fireplace shop told me the carpet would take 10 to 15 minutes with a hot coal directly on it to catch fire. The hearth rug will protect the carpet. Because I don't have a raised hearth, the extensions would look stupid, the only other option I have is to remove the carpet.
 

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What inspector passed that installation? Code requires hearth protection of 18" looks like you have about 6"

no wonder it hot there

Hearth rugs do not satisfy or substitute for clearance in front of loading doors requirements.
 
You could cut up a section of the carpet and either lay tile directly over the floor, or also cut up the top layer of floor and build back up to make a level extension.

Search this forum for "hearth extension" and "building hearth" and you'll find plenty of threads about people who have done just this (including me).
 
Not sure if this will satisfy the code or not, but you should be able to add another course of tile easily enough. You could probably match it pretty close to your existing tile so it won't look bad. Or just have the existing replaced too. Could do a nice semi-circle or something. Shouldn't be too expensive either. Make sure to get a few quotes.
 
I wasn't aware of any inspection requirements, I installed the stove and stainless liner myself. The fireplace was existing, the original hearth was only 12 inches deep. My hearth tiles are ugly as sin and I'd like to replace them anyway. If I pulled my carpet back 18 inches and used an 18 inch deep stove board, would that satisfy code? I'd like to extend the hearth but between the stove, liner, and new log splitter, I'm broke so the hearth's going to have to wait. Who does stove inspections in PA, and who requires it? Homeowners insurance?
 
Question did you read the manual to install the stove properly

BTW nice looking insert you mind if I ask the model and manufacturer
 
It's a Napolean 1402. Yes I did read the book. I do instrumetation on power plant boilers and refinery heaters, so I have a little expirence with safe and proper heater operation and installation. My installation manual was vague on front clearances.
 
Permit info first page of your manual a direct cut and paste

Before installing your unit, contact the
local building or fire authority and follow their guidelines.


Page five upper left diagram clearly shows 18" in front of the loading door
 
I had the same clearance issues. I bought one of these. Place it in front of your stove and put your hearth rug over it if you want for looks. The heat doesn't get through.

(broken link removed to http://www.beyondthehearth.com/hearthextenders52.html)
 
moterhead3 said:
look stupid, the only other option I have is to remove the carpet.

How stupid will you feel when the trucks with the red flashing lights gather for a meeting on you fount lawn!! It could happen. Then would your insurance pay for repair to the house with no inspection of the fire box installation. Ask your insurance agent How hot can a rug get? before you need insurance to for real.
 
I know you feel like we are all attacking you and the way you installed your stove, But we are not. Most of us did almost exactly what you did on your install the first time. But after coming hear and talking with many people with much more experience, we corrected our ways.

I do not know if the hearth pads shown above would meet the requirements of your stove, but they are deffinately something to look into before you do much burning this season.

My first fire with my new stove, during reloading, shot a half inch long ember out a foot past my 20" floor protection and landed on my wood floor, where I could quickly dash out the ember before it did any damage. Now if this had been a rug of ANY type, even with the 18" of front clearance I would have had a nice big burn mark on the rug.

So as it may not seem like a big issue, it really is.

Good luck, and congrats on a beautiful looking stove.
 
I agree. When I installed my Lopi this year it said the hearth had to be 16" from front of stove. When the inspector came that was the first thing he did, measured the depth of the hearth and the distance from the front of stove to the end of the hearth.



BTW: this weekend was the first burn of my stove: 45 outside with 78 inside, without even pushing the potential of the stove.

I have to commend all of you on your weath of information that is provided on this site.

Erik
 
Cut back the carpet and install a proper hearth extension. It will definitely look better than carpet with burn marks or a nice stove surrounded by ashes.
 
I appreciate the info guy's. How's this Inspectors? The carpet is 20 inches from the front of the stove. That's an approved hearth extension 18 inch by 48 inch and a wool hearth rug. Haven't had my stove lit but I'll bet my carpet stays alot cooler.
 

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This was never a competition, but an informative way to make your installation safer 180 degrees had you worried and you came here looking for advice.

you were correct to question a rug getting that hot Enjoy the full night's rest knowing you are a lot safer now, sometimes I may react with a sledge hammer to drive a point home, But if I did not care, I would not bother I guess i could use tact lessons .Sorry if I dropped the hammer on you If you think I was rough, be glad that stove was not a Vogelzang box stove

welcome to safe burning
 
elkimmeg said:
sometimes I may react with a sledge hammer to drive a point home, But if I did not care, I would not bother I guess i could use tact lessons .Sorry if I dropped the hammer on you If you think I was rough

I don't think you have anything to apologize for. You probably just saved that guy from a house fire. Not trying to embolden the sledgehammer but you help folks sort out complex problems and not so complex problems. It must get old answering the same questions over and over and over again. But we are glad you and others do it.
 
I'm glad to see that you took care of it Motorhead. I'm also glad that you posted a picture of the fix. So many times people come here for advice and don't post follow ups to let everyone know how things turned out. Maybe it's because they didn't like the answers they got and ignored them, went a different way or just didn't think to post the results.

Every now and then I wonder what happened to a few of them. Like the guy that wanted to jam the fisher in the Mobile home and run the single wall through the ceiling....wonder what he ended up doing....maybe I just missed it.
 
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