Help! We have this stove but we dont know how to use it!!

[handy smurf]

My girlfriend has this stove in her sun room, but we are unsure if it is safe to use. I will attach photos maybe someone can shed some light on this thing. someone spent a lot of money to have it installed but i am not convinced the people who installed it knew what they were doing. It looks like a bbq grill to me, you know something that is meant to be outside. I am tired of arguing with my girlfriend about it because i dont think it is safe to use.

Description:
there is a chimney that is connected to the two burners seen in photos and it is not clogged or closed
I tried using charcoal with it and the fumes were overwhelming even with all the windows and doors open.
There is a vent fan above it that vents outside. I had that on as well. After my failed attempt i looked online to find anything about these kinds of stoves but found very little. One thing i found said to NEVER use charcoal briquettes indoors because of carbon monoxide. I am considering trying again with wood as fuel instead.

There are two thin sheets of steel that fit over the burner areas. I thought maybe you are supposed to leave those on and use it more like a wood stove. My thinking is that with the covers on most of the smoke would get sucked out the chimney instead of just going up into the ceiling vent fan above them.

Are these stoves useable as they are or would i need to move them outside?

 

[peakbagger]

I agree with your consensus. Any chance it was outside at one point and someone built the sun room around it? IMHO, its unsafe for anything except for a planter. Perhaps it could be torn out and the chimney flu reused but I expect the clearances would be inadequate.

Good luck and definitely do not burn anything in it.

 

[bholler]

That should absolutely not be used

 

[begreen]

Looks like a Vestal OF-56. The OF stands for Outdoor Fireplace. This is definitely not meant for indoor use. It could be fatal if used indoors.