Installing a wood stove in a FP - couple ???'s

[herdbull]

It looks like our temps are going to be in the low 70's this weekend so that might be a good time to go without a stove for a day or 2 and try and install the 30. The Englander is going in my FP. I know, it's not ideal but that's where it's going. So my questions are:

1) would you open the ash door clean-out in the back of the firebox and let the stove naturally pull some air in that way?

2) would you hook up a, lets call it a clean air, intake on the blower fan?

My 1101 has air intakes on it to feed the blower motor so it isn't competing with the intake on the stove. I know it's an insert and this is a stove but in a way I'm treating this stove as an insert. Having this behemoth crammed in a fireplace might be an issue with air flow? Not sure if that was a question or comment - lol. I dunno? Or am I just concerned over nothing. Wondering what you other guys have done. Thanks!

 

[BrotherBart]

My 30 has been half in and half out of my fireplace for years. You want the blower circulating room air. It pulls cool air low toward the stove and moves hot air out of the fireplace out into the living space to replace it. I don't see any advantage to pulling air out of the basement for combustion air. And the secondary air port and the two holes that feed the doghouse air are going to be pulling from the room the stove is in anyway.

 

[fossil]

...Or am I just concerned over nothing...

IMO, yes. Seal off that old ash door, and just let the stove system work. The blower will be much more effective if you just leave it alone rather than trying to rig up some sort of fresh air supply to it, and there will be no "competition" between the stove combustion air intake and the blower. Rick

ETA: I'm not sure why you refer to this installation as "not ideal"...is this not a free standing stove being installed in a hearth stove configuration? That sort of installation can be just as "ideal" as any other.