Yes, you need air to burn wood but where the air comes in can make a big difference. I learned that from my Wood/Coal "Airtight" stove. When burning wood I opened the combustion air intake above the wood because wood burns from top down. When I burned coal and put in the coal grates, I opened the combustion air inlet below the coal grates because coal burns from the bottom up.
So if the joints and seams in the stove are not caulked and sealed then air will come in everywhere! "Airtight" means all the joints and seams are air sealed.
As far as the Garrison 2 goes, this is from the manufacturer's comments:
"Recognizing the widespread interest
in efficient stoves that also allow
fire-watching, Garrison uses double
cast-iron doors as the focal point of
their wide- faced octagonal stoves.
The
doors can be closed securely for airtight
efficiency or left open with the
spark guard screen in place for safely
viewing the fire."
Closing the doors was one of the 1st steps to Airtight efficiency but if the seams are not cemented with high temp caulking or equiv., then the stove is NOT truly "airtight" by today's standards!
More info on Garrison Stove Works
P.O. Box 41 2, Claremont,
New Hampshire 03743
603-542-876 1
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Garrison_Stoves/
A very popular stove line in the time period from 1978 to 1982. The full line consisted of 3 sizes of wood stove and 1 coal unit. The first model was the Garrison I, a large steel stove with an 8” flue. This was followed by the Garrison two and three, smaller units with a 6” flue. All had rear takeoffs which allowed for easy venting into an existing masonry fireplace.
Note: Garrison also made a dual-fuel model for a short time which could burn coal as well as wood.