Possible thermostat malfunction new Ashford 25

[Apetaccia]

Just bought an ashford 25 insert, installed by pros this week. I think the thermostat or the thermometer might be malfunctioning, but I’m a newbie so please tell me if I’m being dense.
First off, there’s no clear “inactive/active” reading on the thermometer, just grey to red. In the manual, the thermometer reads inactive/active.
In practice, my issue is that the thermostat appears to do nothing when moved. I currently have it all the way down to the lowest setting, and it is HOT. Additionally, when I first get a fire going and open it to full blast, it is incredibly slow to start and get up into the red zone.
How to check if the thermostat is faulty?
Photo of this blazing fire with the thermostat as low as it can go.

 

[sepidpooy]

Can you open the flap dor in the bottom and check if the air intake flap is stuck or it is moving when you change the thermostat?

 

[Highbeam]

The meter is not attached to the thermostat. The cat meter with the needle is an on/off switch that flips on when the cat reaches about 500. It should stay “on” until the fuel runs out. It’s not a stove output meter.

 

[Apetaccia]

Can you open the flap dor in the bottom and check if the air intake flap is stuck or it is moving when you change the thermostat?

Thanks for the reply. It was stuck. Looks like they routed the electric cord through the front, and had it leaning against the flapper 🤦‍♀️ Now that I’ve moved the wire, it seems to be moving freely. I’ll report back!