That's neat ST. I'm not sure how I would make everything work for the flues. How do modern inserts get their air from outside?

From the style of the stove I don't think anything could make it smolder really because of the way it's designed with a downward feed. Plus if it ever stopped drawing enough air to suck the exhaust up the flue it would smother the fire in the burn chamber since is lower than the start of the feed.