The stove in my cabin (which came with the cabin) is an "Early Times", which I presume to be a 1970s design. There is a grate in the stove, which I've always used, but it's not attached... I don't know if it's original to the stove or added later. It does help hold the wood inside the [shallow] stove and keep it from hitting the glass doors, but discussions I've seen here talk about raking the coals or not before placing logs on or behind them, so I question whether the grate should be there? It burns OK, I guess, but once the logs on top of the grate are done the fire's over, even if there are still glowing coals under the grate.
This stove is pretty basic; there's a flue damper on the top of the stove, and a simple sliding metal strip just below the doors for air control (half a dozen or so 1/4" x 1" slots that are open or closed by sliding it right or left). This does have some effect, but I suspect more air passes by the doors (no gasket nor any evidence there ever was one) than through the slots.
What I'm wondering is if it's advisable to remove the grate and set the logs directly on the stove floor. Would it be effective? Or even safe?
This stove is pretty basic; there's a flue damper on the top of the stove, and a simple sliding metal strip just below the doors for air control (half a dozen or so 1/4" x 1" slots that are open or closed by sliding it right or left). This does have some effect, but I suspect more air passes by the doors (no gasket nor any evidence there ever was one) than through the slots.
What I'm wondering is if it's advisable to remove the grate and set the logs directly on the stove floor. Would it be effective? Or even safe?