Wood stove insert newbie questions.

[jimntr]

Hi Everyone, My wife and I bought our new home that was built in the late 50's and has an insert that has no blower on it. We now live in the foothills of the Appalation mtns but are from FL and dont know anything about stoves. I was very excited about having the wood burning insert but now that it is almost fall I am starting to wonder about how this thing works considering that it doesnt have a blower on it. Im sure that it will heat the room that it is in but is it normal to not have a blower?
Thanks
Jim..........

 

[begreen]

Greetings Jim. More info please and if possible, post a picture of the insert. Need to make sure it's actually an insert and not a pre-fab.

 

[jimntr]

Sorry for the terrible pic, but I just took it and it is the only one I have right now. I dont believe that it is a prefab because of the horrible looking insulation that the previous owner had placed around the stove. I really dont have any more info other than the realtor told us that the now dead previous owners heated this house entirely with this stove (although we also have central heat/air). Any thoughts?

 

[begreen]

Cute, definitely looks like a little insert. Did you have a certified sweep check the installation when purchasing? If the flue is in good condition and the stove is properly installed, the proof of the pudding may be in the trying. I suspect it's going to eat a lot of wood and may not be all that efficient, but give it a try if it's ready to burn. Just be sure to use fully seasoned, dry wood.

 

[drdoct]

My first thought when looking at the sides is that there is a blower involved because those are the air outputs. Then I noticed the vertical holes on the extreme sides and I remember a lopi design of old that uses those as a natural way to move the air around. I bet it heats good and hot and there is probably some air movement. I'd try to peek behind that panel before I started it up though. After that I'd start looking for a replacement with a good fan in it and epa certified. I'm betting that thing is slammer installed but you never know. That's why I said peek behind instead of just pulling it out because you may pull something out that you can't get back in. If everything looks good then I'd give it a whirl.