Do Wood Stove Side Heat Shields Block Heat?

[LukeLewis]

I bought two side heat shields for my wood stove a few months ago and after burning wood for a while now, I'm beginning to realize that not as much heat is radiating from the stove as I'm used to. The stove gets very hot, but for some reason, I'm not being sweated out of the room like I used to be. I think the heat shields have something to do with that. FYI - the heat shields cover both sides about half way. They begin half way back on the stove and attach to the rear heat shield. They sit about an inch or two away from the sides of the stove and they do a very good job at blocking the heat. I was concerned that the stove was going to be too hot for the corner walls I situated it near, but with these shields, there's no problem at all. I can probably place the stove six inches away from the walls and I wouldn't have an issue. I wouldn't do that, of course, but I'm sure I could.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience with not feeling as much heat once they added side heat shields to their wood stove? Please let me know.

 

[CaptainDan]

Any type of heat shield can affect the heat output of a wood stove. If you've got shields that are attached to the walls, obviously those won't affect anything, but if the shields are attached to the stove itself, then yes, you'd notice a difference. Primarily, you'll lose radiant heat from the areas in which the shields are placed. Theoretically, you'd still feel heat from those areas, but it would be through convection, not radiation. If you've got a fan going, you may increase the heat output, but I don't know of anyone who has a fan attached to their stove so it blows upwards through side shields.

I've read a lot on wood burning forums that the radiant heat is replaced by convective heat. I think the people who claim this have their heads in the clouds. There's no way you're going to get as much convective heat out of your stove as you were getting radiant heat. The purpose of the heat shields is to block the heat and that's exactly what they're doing. Now, if you were to add some mechanical air movement so the heat trapped behind those shields was somehow liberated, then you'd be in business. But as it stands, any natural air movement is minimal and you're feeling the effects of the shields.