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Small kitchen so the gas range is next to the refrigerator with 1.5" space between. Wasn't a problem until we got a new stove with larger/wider burners closer to the side.

Would like to attach heat shield (or maybe ceramic tiles) to the side of the refrigerator which has a slightly textured finish. (Apparently dangerous to screw into refrigerator side because of tubing.)

Will this work? Best type of adhesive? (Heat resistant.) Will it peel off with the refrigerator finish?

Thanks.

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    Picture? Is the range free-standing - i.e., side of range, small gap, refrigerator - or is it slid into a base cabinet - i.e., side of range, cabinet panel, small gap, refrigerator?
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 20:39
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    Also depends on fridge: some fridges have non-visible heat exchangers along sides and top. Check your model manual, if you haven't already. Would stipulate required clearance for convection.
    – P2000
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 21:40
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    Spoiler: your fridge also releases heat to the environment. If it doesn't, it stops working, or kinda works, with a very low coefficient of performance, and requires a lot of electricity.
    – Eric Duminil
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 11:13
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    Did you turn on the range/oven and feel with your hands to see if this is really a problem before you fix it?
    – Steve Wellens
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 15:42
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    Turning on the range is not enough of a test. Place large pots of water on all burners, turn them all on high, leave them for 20 minutes. Then examine the hot spots, especially the area where the fridge wall meets the range hood, or whatever is above the stove. There you'll get accumulation of heat that can melt paint, heat the fridge up to at least steam temperature if not higher .... you need to find the problem before you can fix it. Just lining the whole wall with stuff might not help and will make an already crowded situation worse.
    – jay613
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 16:17

5 Answers 5

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Don't do it.

Ceramic is a poor thermal insulator. It's dense. It'll absorb a lot of heat, then it'll hold that heat. Against your refrigerator. Which will cause more problems than you originally had.

You need a new plan. One that involves insulation (or an air gap) and maybe reflectivity.

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Get a sheet of cement board, attach the tiles to that as you normally would and insert the panel between the stove and the fridge. maybe put a wooden frame around it for looks and some durability.

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    Just to clarify... cement board insulates much better than tile. It's quite porous. You could wrap tile or metal edging around to conceal the edges.
    – isherwood
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 0:52
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    @isherwood - True. I don't think this is a situation that requires a whole lot of thermal insulation. Just having any solid surface under the tile and between the two appliances is probably sufficient.
    – gnicko
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 13:57
  • In that case, I'd suggest plywood. It's much less abrasive and easier to work with.
    – isherwood
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 13:58
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    @isherwood - Yes, plywood should work. So will drywall I'd say. I was going to suggest both but I limited it to cement board because I was sure that someone would chime in to say that plywood is flamable or you're not supposed to stick tile onto drywall, etc.
    – gnicko
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 14:02
  • Drywall would insulate well, but it would be difficult to finish the edges and would probably leave dust.
    – isherwood
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 14:03
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I'd take a leaf out of the James Webb Telescope's book: a heat shield.

Just a metal plate to cover the part of your fridge that extends over your stove top, just thick enough to not dent when banging a pan against it. It will reflect a good part of the radiant heat from the stove. Mount it on thin vertical bars to create an air gap of at least half a centimeter between the plate and your fridge, so that cool air can stream in at the bottom (from below your stove top, it should not take in the heat of the flames) and leave at the top: convection then will take care of heat that gets through your metal plate.

Then it only becomes a question of how to fasten your vertical bars (e.g. extending them onto the top of your fridge and using silicon to "glue" them there, and fastening them at the bottom to the side of the top plate of your stove to hold the weight of the plate -- or even extending those bars all the way down to the floor).

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    Maybe use bar magnets as both the separator and the adhesive.
    – Arluin
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 20:53
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Once yo've determined that the side of the fridge is not a heat exchanger, you could cover it with a "stainless steel backsplash"

enter image description here

This would insulate by reflection.

To further prevent heat conduction through the metal to the fridge, you could back it with plywood. The plywood does not have to be thick, and 1/4in might do. You can get sheets in full size (4x8ft) but also in half or quarter size.

enter image description here

You can glue the backsplash to the plywood with a high temperature adhesive (plenty available), and I would further support it with screws in the four corners, in case the glue fails. Depending on the size of the backsplash and its rigidity, the glue may even not be necessary and several screws in/around corners would suffice. The screws should be short to fasten the metal to the plywood, but not pierce out the back.

The plywood can be hung from the fridge with L brackets or a cleat resting on the top of the fridge. Here you could use double sided tape to prevent it from sliding off, as the actual weight is held by the shape of the bracket and not the tape.

Should the fridge require clearance, you can space the plywood from the fridge using standoffs like washers or small pieces of cut-off plywood, to allow air to move between plywood and fridge.

Images:

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I'd suggest trying double-sided foam sticky tape. That should hold just fine to the textured surface. Just make sure to clean all surfaces very well for best adhesion.

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    As soon as it's warm (warm enough to have been a problem in the first place) it'll soften into goo and the tiles go thunk and bonk.
    – isherwood
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 21:58

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