Wood Burning Stoves Question

[Old Greenhorn]

I've gone to a fireplace store and they said I need 18 inches in front of the stove on every stove for a non combustible base for the stove to sit on.  I just don't see any way possible to put it here that it not only looks good, but is up to code as well.  I really cannot remove the base radiator at this point to extend the ledge and make it work.  Unless there is a manufacturer that sells a wide stove with limited depth I don't see it possible.

This stove has very little clearance numbers.

Chesterfield 5 Wide Wood Burning Stoves & Multi-fuel Stoves

I can't seem to find it in America though. If you click on the "Tech Specs" it's clearances are in range. It states with a heat shield it can be 2 inches from the back wall... The wide unit only has a 14" depth. And the front space clearance shows 7-9 inches depending on how you install it. That is the closest thing I could find to fitting my situation. That would be 23-25 inches total. The problem is I can't find a place to order the stove from. I wonder if there are more Wide style stoves in America that I could look at with similar clearances.  Even still that is 2 inches off the back wall, which is kinda scary even if properly installed with heat shield, and all.

You've gotten some good and accurate advice here. You could go with your original idea but put 2 short columns made from the same natural material at the slab corners you propose. But as Don said, these clearances are important and trying to tighten up on them, even legally can bring 'poor results' at just the wrong time. Also that front incombustible clearance is important. Things can roll or fall out when you are loading. It only takes one time.
 I have attended many near structure fires with runaway stoves, chimney fires, and poor maintenance. I have also, sadly, worked more than a few full blown structure fires resulting from them. At the risk of sounding dark or morbid, it is interesting to enter a fully involved room and get a look at exactly what happened around that stove and how the fire spread. Usually this can't be done when the fire is extinguished because things have fallen apart or been ripped apart for overhaul of the fire. (This is why good fire investigators prefer to get inside a working fire in progress after initial knockdown rather than after extinguishment and overhaul. Better causal evidence.) 
 Anyway, based on this I can say clearances matter, radiant heat is amazing stuff. Yes, for normal operation and even most 'unusual events' the required clearances can be a little short, but when things go really wrong (picture a pipe joint failing from unseen rot) you will be happy to have as much clearance as possible. It might save your home or give just a few more minutes for initial mitigation. 
 I don't want to sound like doom and gloom here, I just want to shed a little light on the full impact of the decisions some folks make. Even concrete fails with enough heat especially when water hits it.

[Sauna freak]

So is it an actual radiator or the copper supply and return piping for the radiator?  If the latter, it should be a simple matter to re-route with basic plumbing skills, or simply enclose in a small enclosure with an accessible panel (they always develop a leak in the worst possible location).

I believe the stove you linked above is only available to the European market.  Jotul used to have some similar models, but I'm not finding them on their site.  A dealer may still have old stock.  

[Daburner87]

After talking to a buddy, I am thinking of removing the radiator to accommodate for the stove.  I have to check out the plumbing in the crawl space underneath, and see what it all entails.  I would hate to pass up the chance on getting a real stove and settling for an electric insert.

[Daburner87]

So after a bit more research, and a lot of brainstorming I bought a Drolet Escape 1800.  It should be here within three weeks.  I'll be first to admit it, this project is a bit out of my league.  I'm not exactly sure how to make this all work with the clearances, but I'm determined to do so.  I just can't settle for an electric insert, and as a wood guy I'm sure you all understand.  I have an abundance of wood, I see no reason to spend more money on electric.

Now the build is something I'm still unsure of.  I love the alcove designs, but space wise that's going to take a good chunk of the room up.   I love having a mantel too.  Building an alcove presents it's own challenges of course.   The stove only set me back $1466, compared to the fireplace shops I went to that's about a third of what they were asking so I have a bit extra cash to play with for the install.

If anyone has an alcove design, I would love to see a picture. 

[doc henderson]

I will try to find pictures, but I put an earth stove in an "alcove"  25 years ago.  the first question is what do you mean by alcove.  mine was above my shop in a second story of a barn shape with gambrel roof,  it had walk in sized dormers 3 down each of the long sides.  the center one that was over a ranch style structure, that looked like a milking shed off the side.  so it was a 8 foot wide dormer with  the floor 2 feet above the other floor of the room.  this was to clear the peak of the roof of the ranch structure.  what is on the other side of the wall in the pic/diagram.  any room to break through the wall and set the stove back.  you will have to look carefully at clearances and materials as the heat will be concentrated on all but one side.  I wired fans to ventilate the area, and I would consider plumbing in outside air.  This build was long ago and pics are on a rarely used older computer.  glad you found a stove.  can you post a link to the stove manual so we can see clearance diagrams.  If there is wasted space (doubt it) behind the wall, that would help resolve space issues in the room  If the wall remains, and there is a habitable space behind it, consider a fan to pull heat into the other room, so you do not run people out in the middle of a movie, and can share the heat in a power outage.  this is another good reason to diversify your heat sources. can you provide dimensions of the room.  if there are outside walls, you could build and alcove with access to the outside for wood loading via the outside, but obtainable to the inside.  I have lots of great ideas (in my mind) and just need to know how much money and how many years you want to spend! :D :D :D

[beenthere]

Follow the instructions in the manual and you should be good to go. Should be a very enjoyable wood stove. 

http://files.drolet.ca/upload/documents/manuels/drolet/45228A_09-02-2012.pdf