Wood – Hanging a TV above a wood stove

In a woodstove, where the fire doesn't get very hot, you get a lot of unburnt gases. These are compounds that could burn but only at a higher temperature. Instead, they evaporate. As they travel up the chimney, the cool and condense. Over time it builds up. If you then burn a really hot fire, they can finally ignite, and your chimney burns. This can happen when you use a lot of pitchy softwood for a long time (Douglas Fir, for example) and then burn some really dry hardwood (e.g., maple).

If you do something clever to extract more heat from the chimney, you will get more condensed goop in your chimney, so be sure to clean it regularly.

Another way to deal with this problem is to always make a really hot fire. Then almost everything will burn, leaving very little goop in the chimney, and very little ash. That's going to be too much heat for your house, so you have to surround your fire with an enormous thermal mass. That will moderate the temperature. This is the principle behind a "Russian stove", among other names.

Actually there are a few considerations you need to take into effect.

You first need to look up the "R" factor required from combustible materials for your specific stove. Every manufacturer has a safety insulation factor. This can be provided by materials such as concrete board, high density fiberboard insulation, steel sheets and air barriers. The factors can be different from the bottom, sides and back of a stove, so it is important to have the full specs. You should also check with the local building inspector to get the minimum distances from combustibles in your area. I believe most communities use the NFPA specs, but always check local requirements.

Practically speaking, using a single piece of concrete board under a wood stove is rarely enough insulation factor. I think 1/2" concrete board only has a R-rating of 2 or 3, which is much too low if attached directly to a wood floor without an air space. I would feel much more comfortable with a layer or two of brick or brick over high temp fiberboard insulation. High temp fiberboard can be rated as high as 800 degrees F per inch at 6 inches away from heat source. Available at any HVAC supplier.

After all the work you have done on your yurt, be absolutely safe and sure of you woodstove installation.

Good Luck my friend.