Buckstove insert conversion to wood?

[hwehrle]

Hi all, we bought a house last year and really would like to get the fireplace in order after going without heat in the last snowstorm. There is a chimney, with caps, and inspection said it looked alright. However, it looks like the Buckstove insert was set up for gas, which we no longer have. The unit is pretty rough. Im assuming since there is a flue and a general opening covered by the surround, there was a masonry fireplace at one point. Can we get a welder to open a damper and convert this insert to wood burning? Anything else I should look for? Thanks in advance, much appreciated!

 

[bholler]

Hi all, we bought a house last year and really would like to get the fireplace in order after going without heat in the last snowstorm. There is a chimney, with caps, and inspection said it looked alright. However, it looks like the Buckstove insert was set up for gas, which we no longer have. The unit is pretty rough. Im assuming since there is a flue and a general opening covered by the surround, there was a masonry fireplace at one point. Can we get a welder to open a damper and convert this insert to wood burning? Anything else I should look for? Thanks in advance, much appreciated!

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That is a wood stove. But it has clearly been pretty badly abused

 

[hwehrle]

That is a wood stove. But it has clearly been pretty badly abused

There isnt a damper at the top, and looking at the pipes, I assumed it was gas.

 

[bholler]

There isnt a damper at the top, and looking at the pipes, I assumed it was gas.

Those are air tubes to introduce air into the top of the fire box in order to burn cleanly. It also doesn't need a damper at the top. If you have excessive draft and need a damper one just goes in the pipe

 

[john26]

Stove looks pretty rough it maybe salvageable, but maybe be cheaper and easier to buy a different insert. You should probably have the chimney inspected again by a professional chimney sweep especially if the original inspection was just a general home inspector. The stove looks like a Buck 81 btw. https://www.kasten.net/files/model81b.pdf