Wood Stove Design Concern

Richmond, VA

My current stove is a top vent unit. The fire box is completely enclosed. There are intentional periodic holes in a single row along the center of the top of the firebox, Above the firebox (inside the confines of the stove), there is an area I would like to call a trap below the top vent that seems to collect hot particulate material and keep it from rising up through the chimney. You can remove the stove pipe, access this area and clean it out.

I am considering a larger rear venting stove that I found for sale. My concern is that the stove, while sound and well-built, vents directly to the outlet without any design feature to retard the outflow other than a square metal plate that is welded to the inside of the stove at an angle to block direct flow to the vent and is only slightly larger than the 6" diameter of the outlet.

My concern is that the rear vent stove is not sophisticated enough because it lacks the enclosed firebox and trap configuration. Do you have any thoughts or experience on this? Are my concerns warranted? I would imagine lots of hot embers and other stuff would readily vent to the pipe and then into the chimney.

Thanks for any input.

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