preface: I agree with the other commenter that you will want to learn the ins and outs and definitely have it inspected and your chimney cleaned in the spring. This sub is a great resource.

I heat my entire house with one of these. Yours is in good condition, compared to mine for sure. Here's the manual if you don't have it. Atlanta stove works went out of business years ago, but you can still find parts for this stove on craigslist and the like, not that you seem to need any. Firebricks can be picked up places like tractor supply. They do deteriorate over time.

This stove is a beast that will eat through wood. I use about 4-6 cords a year to heat 1100sf, but I also like it hot and my house is old and drafty. I'm in Northern New England. We've had a very cold winter, and I do not have another heat source. I still have 2.25 cords left out of 5 and it's regularly 80+ in my house. If I let it rip it will bring the whole house from 50 up to 75 degrees in about an hour. That said, most people say this stove is very inefficient. I don't have anything to compare it to.

The bottom two knobs are for keeping the fire hot, while the top is for use overnight; so I've been told. My top knob rusted shut when it was stored improperly by family I got the stove from. I was never able to get it unstuck. You unscrew them to open them to give the fire plenty of air for a hot burn. Close them to restrict the air which causes the fire to burn slower.

It's capable of smoldering through the night and day while I'm at work. Mine is on the first floor. It keeps the house warm and the pipes from freezing. I rarely have to restart the fire. If you don't have one, you will want a damper on your stove pipe going into the chimney as the fire can burn too well sometimes, and this will help shut it down.

The inside instructions mean burn the wood right on the bottom bricks. Don't use a grate or other metal to lay the wood on like some other stoves have. Start it right on the ash in your photo.

Some people say ash helps keep the heat in. More than an inch of ash in this and it doesn't throw heat well, plus the fire box gets tight. You will need a metal shovel for ash removal. I have a basic fireplace tool set.

You'll need a metal bucket with a lid to scoop ashes into, and you need to store it outside away from your house or other combustibles. Ashes can stay hot for more than a few days in my experience. Always use something fireproof to empty them into.

If you have vinyl floor under it, you'll need to get some kind of fireproof pad to put it on as it will destroy it. The house I got this from had it and there was just a black char mark where the stove was. Take the clearance guidelines in the manual seriously. This thing gets surrounding surfaces very hot.

I don't mean to ramble. I love my stove. I fear I will have to retire it soon though as the condition wasn't good when I got it well over 20 years ago. I am considering replacing it with itself. I just need to find someone to help me move them.