open or closed?

Definetly closed! It is ok for start up and loading obviously but not during normal operation. The stove is an air tight unit that keeps the heat in the box by the use of a small volume air control. If you leave the door of air control open all the time the heat goes right up the chimney.

Others will elaborate but I don't want to burn my stuffed hot peppers;-)

Close the door..run the blower for sure.

RubberDuck said:

I know it's less efficient with the door open, but it feels so hot directly in front of it. Is the room itself gaining or losing heat when compared to a closed door?

Click to expand...

With the door open you are getting full radiant heat from the fire.
At the same time a lot of heat is going up your flue...do it for a few hours and you will lose temp..just be there to watch for sparks.

Closed otherwise its just a fireplace.

You may get better radiant heat, but you are sending a lot of air up the flue uncontrolled. Make up air for the air going up the flue is being pulled into the house from the outside which is cooling your house.

There are two ways to look at this. With the door closed less hot air goes up the chimney, more of the heat from the wood is staying in the stove, and since the stove is in the house more of the heat is therefore staying in the house. Thus door closed is almost certainly a more efficient way to get more of the heat in the wood to become heat in the house. With the door open a higher percentage of the heat from the wood is going up the chimney, but possibly you are burning more wood, generating more heat, and it is possible that the smaller percentage going into the house is a larger absolute amount of heat going into the house compared to door closed. So although burning with the door open is less efficient in terms of capturing the heat from the wood it might be better in terms of adding heat to the house. I guess door closed is better, but I think there is a chance that door open is a faster way to heat the house and burn a lot more wood.

Was painting house this weekend, opened stove doors, closed OAK, and opened window. No paint smell and cool air felt good.

That is one way to ventilate your house on a cold day

Closed. Like others said... having it open is just like going back to an open fireplace where it sucks the heated air out of your house and gets replaced somehow.... how? By leaks in your home... they will be letting in cool air. Yes you will feel more radiant heat in front of the stove but the rest of the house will suffer. There isn't a question here. It's not about who knows more... it's fact.

No doubt . . . closed.