I start all my fires directly on the bottom of the stove. I used to use a grate but after trying it out without one the fire seems to stay hotter longer.

Not to steer you away from this forum but this one has allot of good info if you want to know more about your stove.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/

Thanks for the info. I'll look at the site when I have more time. If I remove my grate I'd have a hot fire right in the sheet metal ash pan, with no easy way to empty the ashes. I'm getting good results by letting the ashes accumulate on the grate, only emptying the pan as they fall through naturally.

there are grates and grates. SOME consider a grate like that put into a fireplace to be the 'grate'. others consider the 'floor' of the stove to be the 'grate'. pulling the 'stove floor' and letting the ash tray fill p would seriously undermine the air flow in most modern wood stoves. ront

Not entirely clear on what you're saying here... But all the wood stove manufacturers I'm familiar with recommend NO grate. They recommend building the fire directly on the fire box bottom fire bricks. I pretty sure this is what you do as well...

(Grate defined as a metal cradle which raises the wood up an inch or two.)

I have a Temp Wood downdraft stove with fire brick on the bottom and about half way up the sides. The fire is built on the floor, the wood is loaded through a 10" diameter lid opening in the top, and the ashes are removed through the same opening. When the ashes build up near the top of the fire brick, I let the fire go out during a warmer day and remove all of the ashes. The stove is very efficient and will burn wood, etc. of any size or shape that can be loaded through the opening.

Here is what I mean In the pix of this stove, the little door at the very bottom in front is where the sheet metal ash tray slides in and out. On top of THAT, there is a built in grate that can be removed. you build the fire on that grate which functions as the floor of the stove. so, burn THIS one withOUT the grate would be a no-go as all air flow is designed WITH the grate. and that is what the OP meant I think. for those who consider a 'grate' to be the little cradle thing that you buy at hd and put in your fireplace, I guess you could go with or without one, but the stove is setup to to withOUT. ront

I think we're all on the same page...

My stove looks like this:



With "Grates" instead of "Crates", ashpan directly under the grate, and no firebricks on the stove floor.

Leave those "crates" in place.

Absolutely leave those grates in. that is the was the stove is designed. ront