Lopi Flush Bay 96

[MoLumberjack]

Hello friends! Longtime listener, first time caller. My last interaction with intentionally burning wood for heat was probably around 10 years old. I have burned tons of wood in bonfires and such, but not contained in an appliance. Fast forward to today and I have since turned 41 in January of this year and my want for self reliance has increased incredibly in the last 10 years and I am finally moving forward with some of those plans. Bear with me as I'm not terminology savvy yet. So, here we go. We bought our current house 4 years ago. It has 2 fireplaces in a large, brick, chimney. 1 in the basement and 1 in the main floor living room. Basically on top of each other. They are an open design, but also plumbed for gas. The family that we bought the house from lived here for 13 years and only ever used the fireplaces for dog beds. Lol. They said the people before them never used the fireplaces either. This house was built in 1990. When we first moved in, we had a local company check both flues. The upstairs flue is trashed and the damper is in disrepair. The downstairs flue isn't terrible and just needs relined. So, we didn't do anything with it. Fast forward to January 2025 and my wife has now come onboard with the idea of having a secondary "just in case" heat source so we had the same local company come check both again. The guy that came out is the same guy that came the first time and he remembers our flues. While at the house he mentioned that the shop had just come into possession of a used wood burning insert that would fit well in my downstairs fireplace. After a complete install quote, my wife said do it. I was so excited that I started sourcing and cutting free wood that day. Lol. Fast forward to Wednesday March 5th, and the company came and installed 24 feet of new, 6 inch liner, a new, fancy, flue cap, and a very clean, used Lopi Flush Bay 96. Sticker shows a manufactured date of May 15 1992. Sorry for the long post, but I don't see an introduction section on the forum. I have burned a fire every night and day since installation and have no complaints, yet, as I learn what it likes and doesn't like. My only questions are, is there a way to make the blower actually blow as much air as it sounds like it is? 🤣 And, polish recommendations for the brass around the door glass and 2 side vents?

 

[MoLumberjack]

Well, let's talk about secondary burn for a minute. I'm paranoid about getting the stove too hot, so i shut it down pretty well when really, looking back, it seems like it's just getting going. Tonight I got sidetracked watching TV. I had left the bottom air control wide open and it was rolling hard. Nice hot coals. I crammed 3 big pieces of hackberry in it and gave it a few minutes to get going again, then shut the air control all the way fot the night. An hour later I have slow rolling blue/orange flame, slightly glowing secondary tubes, and the occasional jet flame coming out of a hole. I have a magnetic thermometer on the top lid and I know that isn't accurate. But I'm a visual person and it gives me a reference point. See attached photos. My phone camera makes the tubes look more red than they really are.

 

[stoveliker]

Looks great to me!