I have an Intrepid II, Vermont Casting (hi, ML!)
All that Miss Lydia said, above. The fan we use is powered by a thermocouple - the difference in temperature between the base and the top makes electricity (yes, really, you can look it up), and the fan turns once the stove top hits about 250˚F.
That said, I have discovered, through my Permaculture Design class, that there is a very old technology that I feel has been under-appreciated in the extreme in our cooler climate.
It goes by a number of names and there are some differences (some are less efficient).
Kachelofen, kang, pystyuuni or kaakeliuuni, masonry stove, masonry heater, ceramic stove, tile stove, steinofen, kakelugn, mass heater.
I just met a fellow - a stone mason - who built his own. Thirty years ago he built his own, it still runs fine. Uses a couple of armloads of firewood. A day. To heat his house. For 12 to 24 hours.
I want this!!
So we aim to visit his oven - I mean, him - and get the scoop. One of the first things he said was, "I can get you the plans, and you can hire someone to build it, but if the procedure is not followed to the letter each step of the way, it won't work."
I pass this sage advice along. They must be built properly. They will last for over a generation if done right. And if done right, no creosote. No charcoal. The fire chamber gets hot, hot hot. Then the heat flows through a chimney that goes back and forth and back and forth through the masonry, coming out when it is perhaps 100˚F. The heat is stored by the masonry, which is never too hot to touch.
His house is bigger than our 1100 sf, and his stove is about 2 ft wide, 5 ft long and I think 5 or 6 feet tall. Maybe just 4 feet tall.
