Sueanne, is this the kind of stove you are talking about?
http://hearth.com/econtent/index.php...ove_Operation/
We use coal for our primary source, but with the emissions, I wonder if we'd get a better result with a more modern woodstove? Right now, both our old stoves belch particulates. That is not good for anyone's asthma. Not frugal at all if savings are at the cost on one's health.
Seems to me that the air space between the block and the panelling could have been a form of insulation.