Suggestions - insert installed with no blower

[Armoured]

Hi Armoured. I just got off the phone with the manufacturer of Your insert in Poland.
A nice lady there told me that they sell grills for Felix- bottom grill 17cm by 37cm and top grill 17cm by 49cm .
She said that once installed , cold air is drawn through the bottom and hot air exits through top one.
They apparently have few colors and finishes. I also asked about a fan , but she said the only thing they install is a system of ducts from the insert to a couple of closest rooms , however that cost a lot more.

Wow! Thanks for the info. Funny, never thought of just calling them up.

I'm going to see about acquiring these grills, I have a friend getting to EU-zone shortly. But I'm not sure I understand exactly what it is that these grills do differently than any other grill. Does this attach to the stove somehow, or is it just grills that can be used? They look nice but I can surely get something made to order here too. Am I missing something?

Right now the insert is flush against the fireplace's firebricks on the bottom so to have the inward I'd have to raise the insert, and more than just a bit. I guess it might be preferable to have the inward vent below but not sure the advantage would be so big as to bother (compared to having vents on the side with or without a fan).

I'll try the simple approach first, and see what that gives.

 

[Armoured]

Update: took the cementboard side and top panels off, revealing the entire area behind. A floor fan pointed in is the initial experiment in getting air circulating in the area behind.

It's a bit hard for me to judge whether this is making an appreciable difference in heat but it seems to me it is. (Hard to tell given the number of other variables and in particular that I'm still getting used to the insert).

Looking up behind, it's clear the installers have blocked off the flue at the bottom of the chimney where the pipes are entering. But, that still leaves an area immediately above the insert and behind and slightly above it below where the liner is blocked off and insulated. It seems to me it would potentially make a big difference in heat if a blocker (sheet metal with rockwool above) were installed above the insert, roughly at the level of the fireplace opening. Might make sense to have it slightly sloping up towards the front to support natural convection (leaving screens or grilles on the side and front around the insert).

Anyway, between getting the cementboard facings off and using the stove better, it makes a big difference in the warmth. Just in time, since it has been cold (between minus 15-25 in Celsius, dropping today to the negative 30s - so consistently below zero in fahrenheit I think). We arrived with the heat at absolute minimum (set at 5c to avoid freezing etc), but lots of variance inside. With the stove, room was manageable in a couple hours (fine near the stove of course), and whole house comfortable in 3-4 hours. Toasty warm since. (There is an electric furnace that is simply not powerful enough to catch up quickly - would take 5-6 hrs to be 'manageable' before, and 12 hrs to be comfortable - toasty warm not likely in really cold temps on this weak electric alone).

For the moment it is working and heating - not too picky about looks and perfect efficiency right now. Come the spring/summer I'll have time to improve on existing (proper screens, blocker plate, maybe fans and decorative).

Only thing I've found finicky about the insert is that it is very sensitive to the air inlets in the floor (to ashpan) being clear; if these are blocked, burns smokey and fires up poorly and slowly. I thought it was other problems but now know it just needs to be scraped a bit there if lighting/burning poorly.

As always I might have done things differently if I had the knowledge then I do now. But perfection is the enemy of the good.