I just wire brushed & painted the stove , didn't use any Oxpho , the paint is holding up good. I left the 6" reducer in place.
I never did hook up the blower , don't need it , plenty of heat without it. I have a fire going in it right now.
Mike
If you hook up your blower you'll be able to run the stove cooler and conserve wood. You don't want to run the stove to cool because you want the smoke hot as it goes up the chimney to avoid excessive creosote build up.
