Wall Shield Selection

I am putting a Woodstock Ideal Steel in my ~1200sq/ft shop, that has an 8ft tall concrete foundation all the way around the shop except for the insulated garage door. I would like to maximize the amount of heat throughout the building, so I need a good wall shield to spread the heat rather than cooking the wall right behind the stove. Please share any ideas you have about what to put behind the stove to maximize heat shared with the rest of the building, and thank you for the input!

 

I’d use something shiny to reflect the radiant heat- galvanized roofing, aluminum or mild steel wrapped in aluminum foil. Spaced at least one inch off the wall.
Bare concrete walls? That will be tough to heat. If it’s cement bocks, they can be filled with insulation. I hope the ceiling is well insulated.
How often will the shop be used?

 

Whatever material you use for the heat shield on the wall, remember to leave an air space at the base of the heat shield for the air to flow behind the shield. Don't just set the heat shield onto the floor with an air space behind it, is what I'm saying.

There were some old Finns that had a hunting camp (go figure, right?) with a single wall stove pipe only for their vent. too close the the wall, all they did was hang some aluminum foil to create a reflective shield. Success! Worked great; no problems.

 

Bare concrete walls indeed. I don't need it to be toasty in there, just not 35degF when I am working. The rest of the building is well insulated, including the garage door and ceiling. I use it occasionally, not for income, etc.

Perhaps something like this, spaced off of an insulation board against the foundation, off of the floor? Maybe even point a small fan at the metal?

Gibraltar Building Products 8 ft. Corrugated Galvanized Steel Utility-Gauge Roof Panel-13513 - The Home Depot

 

Good point about the gap, and thank you for all of the help!

 

If you use insulation behind the shield, I’d only use something nonflammable. Rock wool or unfaced fiberglass maybe.

 

I was looking for a heat resistant board when you posted this, and I struck out finding one that wasn't bare fiberglass, etc. I guess I will stick with just the metal sheeting. Thank you!!!

 

I would say finish the wall with steel studs insulate with rockwool then cover with galvanized sheet. That will reflect radiant heat fairly well.

Also be aware that a solid fuel burner in a garage is against code. I don't know what you are using the space for but some inspectors and many insurance companies label it as a garage if it has a garage door.

 

I hadn't even considered fire code, but I guess I will have to find out. The "garage" is a separate building, just one room. I call it a shop. Still in violation of NFC?

edit: I finally found the code, no need to reply, thanks for the help!

 

Are you saying you have an 8ft tall concrete wall behind your stove AND the rest of the building except for the garage floor area?

How thick is this concrete wall?

 

The whole building has an 8ft tall concrete foundation/wall, except the doors. Then another 8ft above concrete of sheetrock wall, Sheetrock ceiling. All Sheetrock walls are insulated. I guess it’s about 8” thick. Most of it is below grade.

 

It doesn't matter if it is a separate building or not. Really what matters is the use and how your state and local authority define a garage. And how your insurance company does. The code says a solid fuel burner cannot be installed in any garage. Or and space where gasoline or flammable vapors are present.

 

Being below grade makes it slightly better because the temperature differential is less than if it was above grade. But there is still almost no resistance to heat transfer through the wall.

 

Rush Battle if you have 16' to the ceiling, are you planning on any ceiling fans to push the heat back down?

The corrugated steel will help let some airflow between it and the wall. May help with capturing heat from the steel.

One thing about it, if you feed that stove some chow, you will have a warm place to work.

 

Why should I do that? I provided information needed for the original poster to make their decision. Does my decision that the risks are worth it to me in one of my garages change the code or the risks involved with not following code? I also decided it wasn't worth the risk in 3 other heated outbuilding.

 

I don't understand why everyone has an issue with me telling people about this code. Many people don't know about it and it can cause big problems in the event of an insurance claim. I agree the code is stupid. But I don't have anything to do with writing them. I just try to let people know what they are.

 

Since this wall shield is not about safety or clearance reduction it does not have to have an air gap or be off of the floor. It’s only potential value is aesthetics or a radiant heat reflector of low value.

I heat an 1800 sf shop with a noncat stove. It has 14’ ceilings and I have found the ceiling fans to be useless. Instead I set up a box fan on the floor far away to gently blow cold air towards the stove where it is heated and rises. Sets up a nice loop through the whole building.

The stoves in this application work hard since you run the thing balls out to quickly heat a huge, cold, space. I chose a large noncat stove and run it as hot as I safely can. I don’t think the IS is the best choice here but is a pretty good choice.