blower for wood stove

I have a stove something similar to this stove but in much better condition (A Better 'N Bens)

http://images1.americanlisted.com/nlarge/better_n_bens_woodburner_200_lexington_ohio_9610262.jpg

There are two screw-out knobs at the bottom that I have no idea what they do. My thought is that it allows me to connect a blower to the stove to move the hot air from around the stove to the room more efficiently, but I can't find any mention of what these knobs do.

Further, when I really have my insert hot, the paint on my mantle starts to bubble a little bit. My thought is also if I can add a blower to the stove less heat would be absorbed by the mantle.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

My inspection of the stove shows that there is no path from those knobs to the combustion chamber, but instead it just a void between the outer cast iron and the inner chamber. I had a similar thought, the only air baffle is right on the front of the door just below the window.

Kinda scary if your mantle is getting that hot. Sounds like you should be looking for a mantle shield. What are your clearances like?

the mantle is about 4' above the stove.

I doubt those knobs are for attaching a blower. And even if you could somehow attach a blower, melting paint on a mantle (is it wood) 4" above the stove certainly sounds like a potetial fire hazard. Blowers shouldn't be used to stop nearby things from melting or burning.

my typo, sorry, 4' not 4"

They sure look like air intake knobs to me. Are you sure they don't control the air entering the fire box through small holes somewhere at the back or top of the firebox?

I found a better picture of that model stove, does yours have glass on the door?

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm207/jrz126_86ss/house/E32nd030.jpg

Yup, that is mine. the front baffle is the only part that I can actually feel air getting pulled in.

I am not familiar with that stove but it seems sort of strange that it would have those opening down there if it were for a blower. Couple things here, if those are for a blower is there any openings up high that the blower air would exit from? If one is for air to enter and one is for air to exit unless they have tubes that go up around the firebox it would seem that you would not get that much heat down low. Why don't you blow some air in while the stove is out and see where it comes out. You could use an air compressor,a leaf blower or even a hair dryer might work.

Those are the air inlets, standard setup for the old "airtight" stoves. There is probably some chambering or something inside to channel the air flow.

Something doesn't sound right if the paint is blistering although 4' would surely be adequate spacing. Is the stove running too hot?

I would not rely on a blower to protect you from a fire...if the power goes out during the night and your "protection" fails....


Ken