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I finally bit the bullet and am pulling my old, reliable Whitfield pellet insert and replacing with a US Stove defender, which will sit in the existing open fireplace. Why? Well, I like burning wood, like the fact that it requires no electricity and I'm pretty good at foraging for firewood (search free firewood on marketplace some time). My back is also sick of throwing forty pound bags of pellets over my shoulder. Anyhow, I did a test burn today outside to see how it went and burn off all the paint stink. With the intake open to max and the door open, I was able to get a good fire going. As soon as I shut the door, though, it really slowed down and at times almost petered out, producing lots of smoke. Is this because I only have a two foot piece of single wall pipe stuck out the top? My intention is to try and just use the existing masonry chimney and terra cotta liner with a block off plate above the stove. This, after a good sweep and inspection, of course. If it won't draw well, I know I'll have to put in a liner. Any other tips, tricks or suggestions are greatly appreciated as I'm new to this. Thanks, dudes.

Was a damper open to allow It to enter the fire box? The shorter length of pipe will reduce the draw. Should be specs in the manual.

The short pipe is definitely hurting draft. A stainless steel liner will fix that and is needed for safety and code compliance. Also make sure your wood is really dry. I get kiln-dried hardwood from OneStopFuel and it burns much cleaner with less smoke.