Does the firebox design for the Intrepid Flexburn kinda suck, or am I on drugs?

[El_Barbón]

"Check to make sure air holes at the bottom of the fireback are not blocked by ash or embers (blockage will reduce performance of the stove)."

Never mind the ash or coals, I have a hard time not letting the $^(@ splits roll back and cover the whole cubby! Aside from sticking some kind of barrier in there to keep wood away from the intake, how do you guys avoid blocking the holes while loading the stove? Or do I just need to suck it up and find some sacrificial metal or brick to put in there?

I swear, when the stove is running nicely, I love it, but I sure do miss the old Fisher. Wasn't as efficient, but man, I could get that thing to sound nice.

 

[bholler]

"Check to make sure air holes at the bottom of the fireback are not blocked by ash or embers (blockage will reduce performance of the stove)."

Never mind the ash or coals, I have a hard time not letting the $^(@ splits roll back and cover the whole cubby! Aside from sticking some kind of barrier in there to keep wood away from the intake, how do you guys avoid blocking the holes while loading the stove? Or do I just need to suck it up and find some sacrificial metal or brick to put in there?

I swear, when the stove is running nicely, I love it, but I sure do miss the old Fisher. Wasn't as efficient, but man, I could get that thing to sound nice.

Yeah you picked a complicated delicate and finicky to run stove. They can absolutely work well but they aren't easy