New to Forum - Copy cat stove questions

[cleary524]

Hi there, new to this forum, but not forums in general. From what I've been reading this looks like one of the premier forums for wood stove knowledge. Looks like there are many intelligent wood burning folks around these parts....thank you for the knowledge thus far.

I have some questions about a kind of unique copy cat stove I recently bought. It looks like a cross between a Fisher Mama Bear wood stove and an All Nighter Mid Moe. It has the construction of a Mama Bear, i.e. metal fabrication, weld patterns and overall integrity, but uniquely it has the principals of an air ventilation system and ability to add a water heater system, similar to the All Nighter Mid Moe.

The air ventilation system is a pattern of box beam along the mid-line of the interior of the firebox. It has an opening and bolt holes on the back for a blower attachment. The opening on the back is simply a square cut in the rear steel plate. The vent holes for the outlet of the air ventilation system are unlike the All Nighter Mid Moe, whereas they exit from the sides of the stove.

There is no labels, inscriptions, brazing or labels of any kind on the body of the stove, even the belly pan. It is well lined with bricks on the bottom, both sides and rear up to the elevation of the ventilation box tubing and there is brick in the front under the door.

The only name plate on the stove is found on the door, HAZELWOOD. On the inside of the door there is the casting Hazelwood Stove Co. Foster RI. Being from RI, I've never heard of the company and I'm guessing they were never very large, but probably a wood burning backyard pioneer with perhaps some most excellent welding and metal fabrication skills. I'm guessing by the looks of it that it may be about 30-years old?

Below please find some pictures of the setup I have in a basement. I know some of you may disagree with the ventilation system setup, but respectfully, it works pretty good at heating upper levels very well and has been monitored for CO, with none detected. Additionally, I've removed any ability for a fire hazard near any points of connection. I've burned it a half dozen times now. The blower works well off a magnetic thermostat and and an inline rheostat to adjust fan speed on the blower. The duct work is all UL labeled material, so I went through that effort to ensure adequate heat resistance.

I had an old crappy, cracked stove from 1978 prior to this for 10 years and the thing was a total pig on wood. I'm hoping this stove will be more efficient, with respect to older stoves, at heating my house and go through less wood to do so. So far after a half dozen burns, it seems to burn less wood, requires far less time at open vent to heat the stove up to temp and with the vent system gets the heat to other areas far quicker than before.

Please let me know your thoughts on this brand, is it a Fisher knock off, any suggestions, improvements, similar stories of other copy cats similar to this that are known? I'm looking to learn as much as I can.

 

[mellow]

Venting aside I am more concerned about your exhaust, what is going on with that.

 

[cleary524]

The flue is 6" diameter, 22 gauge steel about 4-ft length, with a damper to a chimney in the basement wall. The damper is located 18" above the stove exhaust outlet and there are 2, 45* angles out to the basement stone wall, which is stone rubble. The penetration through the stone rubble foundation wall is with an 8" clay pipe to the chimney. (not sure if you can see in the first picture, but there is a black square, cleanout sump for the soot to fall into that gets cleaned out each week, during the heating season. The chimney is an 8" square clay tile flue inside a fully brick encased chimney to 6-ft above the roof line. The chimney goes into the ground outside the building about 4-ft and there is about 22-ft of visible chimney attached to the side of the house. It's a well built chimney that has a stainless cap on top. The chimney creates very good draft. No worries there.

...or do you mean introduction of exhaust gas into the vent system?