Expert: James Ball - 10/12/2010

Question
I bought the house next door (at auction) and the only redeming thing was the wood burning fireplace. It's a sears and roebuck Model 143-435 and I can't find out a thing about it online! It has some makeshift pieces around the oval to round coverter piece. My plumber thinks it burned natural gas, too (there is a gas line that is capped just behind the unit. I would like to heat with it, and perhaps use gas, but I'll settle for wood burning. I would like to know something about this stove. Any suggestions? I bought a new stove pipe, but I didn't really understand how it had been jurry rigged to fit the old stove pipe and so didn't ask to buy a piece that converts the round wider part (8 inch?) to the ending pipe size of 6 inch.Don't really know where to begin again to get this stove safe and running!  Can it do both gas and wood? I guess this is the main question. Then, can I buy such a piece that will fit the oval to round converter to the 6 inch stove pipe? ugh. sorry to be so unclear!  thanks for any advice at all you have for me.  

Answer
Hello Lorraine, not sure what you have and I looked but could not find info on that stove either, and with out an owners manual I would not use it for wood or gas. You have no way of knowing clearance to combustibles what was changed... time is running out to buy a new wood stove and get a tax credit.
James