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could anyone tell me why my quadra fire 5700 step top (or any other newer stove) have the heat shields on the side versus the old stoves which were just solid steel. Are the newer stoves more efficeint? Please advise, thanks
Just like No60 said, today's "jacketed" stoves have much tighter clearances to combustibles, so you can put them into corners that you could never get an old stove near. This does, however, make them more "convective" in nature, which is why many include the option to install a blower and thus improve upon the stove's natural convection properties.
If you want more radiant heat and have the room, then a radiant/non-jacketed stove is the way to go.