please dont flame me for buying junk but...........

You've got a decent draft and dry wood ?

Hey, do what you have to do. Just be safe. When you say it seems like it's not getting enough air, why do you say that? Describe your chimney and stove setup too if you could. Pictures are great! What kind of wood and how long has it been split and stacked?

FORCE FAB said:

...this thing has no air control just a stack damper...

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From the installation manual under "Lighting" : "Adjust the draft damper and slide draft control. The more closed, the slower the fire will burn. The more open, the faster and hotter the fire will burn."
You don't have a slide ?

Is this a cat stove?

drtnshtr said:

Is this a cat stove?

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LOL No it is a simple cast iron stove without any secondary system. It is much like the stoves our great grand parents might have had.

FORCE FAB

Don't feel bad about the stove. You are at least doing something about heating the house when most do nothing and you already know how to improve your next effort. You are our kind of people.

Most of our knowledge here comes from hard earned experience. By the end of the season you will have something to contribute to this collection of information regarding that lil stove that most of us never knew or forgot about. Hang in there!

my wifes uncle heated his home for years with one of them.

BeGreen said:

Simple steel stove, not cast iron. But I agree. We all had to start somewhere. My first stove was an Ashley tin can that glowed in the dark. Burn safely and stay warm.

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Thanks for the correction.

I remember when we thought the old Ashly stoves were the greatest thing. It makes me wonder how today's norms will be looked at.

No air control?? That does not seem possible??

There must be air control. I copied the following right from the manual (available online at the manufacturers web site):

Lighting

1) Open draft damper fully to provide maximum draft.
2) Open the feed door and place several wads of crushed paper in the firebox.
3) Lay small stacks of kindling on the paper to start the fire.
4) Light the paper and kindling, close the door and secure tightly.
5) Add fuel after fire is burning briskly. Use care not to smother the kindling fire when adding wood.
6) Close the door and secure tightly.
7) Adjust the draft damper and slide draft control. The more closed, the slower the fire will burn. The more open, the faster and hotter the fire will burn.

Do not overfire the stove.

Adding Fuel

1) Add small amounts of fuel each hour or so
instead of piling large quantities of fuel at one time. This will insure a more complete combustion process and less buildup of tars, soot, or creosote will occur in the chimney.
2) Always open draft damper before opening the feed door.
3) When adding fuel be careful not to smother the fire. Do not build fires against glass on models with glass door.
4) Close the feed door and secure tightly.
5) Adjust the damper and slide draft control.
6) Empty ashes regularly. Do not allow ashes to pile up.
7)Properly dispose of hot ashes (see Safety Instructions, item #10.)

Do not overfire the stove.

I assume that based upon the stove's design, the slide draft control is what you are looking for. Also, make sure you are using dry wood, and don't build the fire too big (too much wood) too fast. It will smother rather than give more heat.

No reason to be embarrased by this stove. I had a stove similar to the Vogelzang Boxwood (only a "generic version") for my first stove. It needed a lot of attention, feedings every hour or two, ash cleaning regularly, but it did its job. My brother still has that stove 35 years later and uses it at his deer camp (Actually I want it back for my camp, but he won't return it). The key things I remember are that it liked smaller splits and the slide draft was open at least half way most of the time.

Enjoy, it should give you years of service!!

Force Fab don't close the stack damper more that 45* until you feel comfortable with the stove. And never, ever close the damper all the way...you only do that if you want to lock down a chimney fire. And with that hot burning stove that's very unlikely if you're burning seasoned wood.

BeGreen said:

Simple steel stove, not cast iron. But I agree. We all had to start somewhere. My first stove was an Ashley tin can that glowed in the dark. Burn safely and stay warm.

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You're OK BG. Those Ashleys and others were creosote factories; we didn't know anything else. Fun to remember those older stoves we had. Our first was a workshop "tent stove" right out of an Army Navy Store. Didn't know seasoned from green, or how to protect floors and walls. And that was post discharge and resignation in the 70's, then onto doctorate foolishness. We were ignorant, dumb, immortal.
Our first 'good' stove was a Morso 2BO cast iron smoke re-burner with the Danish squirrel molded on the sides. Kind of like a Jotul 602 on steroids. We went through some 15 to 20 stoves over the years, always learning and having fun....humbling. I cringe at some of dumb moves we did cutting and burning. Lange, Papa Bear, the real VC, Jotul, Tempwood, and the many U.S. brands that came and went. Craig knows all of them, I'll bet.

the slide draft control they refer to, i'm pretty sure, doubles as the ash tray. I haven't checked it, but are you sure they don't mention that in the stove's documentation?

There has to be a air control ? I had one for 1 winter . Mine had a steal plate under the door that slid out for air . I don't think it would burn good with the door closed.

Your frontiersman looks & sounds just like the King pedestal stove that tractor supply sells. I bought one and had the same experience. You are right, there is NO air intake control.. On the King model there were several oval shaped holes above the glass door that could NOT be closed These are the only source of air. They opened up behind a metal baffle type piece and the air drawed down behind the glass door. The ash pan is in the pedestal but can only be used by removing the metal plate under the fire bricks when cleaning out the ashes. The ash tray is not airtight and the back of the pedestal is wide open so if you tried to let air in from the bottom you would have hot ashes falling down and smoking the house up. The damper in the top of the flue housing can only be closed 3/4 because it hits the bolts of the casting. It also has a large metal baffle in the top of the stove that makes it hard to get fire started until the metal gets hot and creates a better draft.. To me this stove was like a "campfire", it was pretty to look at thru the glass but needed constant feeding of smaller wood to make heat and was worthless as a full time heat provider.. I removed mine and sometime in the future I am gonna get some 1/4 inch steel plate and take my mig welder and redesign this stove so it actually works... I hope your Frontiersman is not quite this bad and you can get some use from it.......

Don't skimp on installation safety. I got a nice EPA-cert stove on Craigslist for @ the price of that Vogelzang. If you keep watch on Craigslist or whatever local paper has good classified ads, you can find a stove that meets your needs & budget. Meanwhile, you and your family are warm, so enjoy it.

fwiw,

Blaze King Wood Stove Model PTJ-202 - $250 (Browns Mills)

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/for/982856859.html


Lopi Wood Stove for Sale - $600 (Plainsboro)

http://cnj.craigslist.org/for/981288452.html

I'm not afraid to be honest> " (i know there low end junk) thats what i have to work with for now.." You have nothing to work with!
Poor people can NOT afford to buy cheap chit! I know!