I upgraded to this stove from an old non-EPA wood stove and have been running it for the past two weeks of this winter. I am very happy with this upgrade, and it has resolved many of the operation frustrations that I experienced with the old non-EPA stove. This wood stove was already assembled with fire bricks, and all I had to do was remove some packaging from the inside of the firebox. The manual contains helpful and easy-to-read information about the unit. It's a great size for our smaller hearth area and outputs plenty of heat.