Site Discussions

I would agree with Dave and stay away from catalytic stoves. That was my first stove and the combusters need to be cleaned and replaced on a regular basis.  Combusters are also expensive to replace. My advice is to go with a large air tight firebox that is easy to load and has a good size ash bin. You can always build a small fire in a large stove, but impossible to build a large fire in a small stove. If you are a serious burner, you will want to get a stove with at least an eight hour burn time. My current stove is a Jotul (cast iron) witch burns around the clock from October through April. I load it three times a day and drop ashes every third day. One additional bit of advise - always burn seasoned wood and clean your chimney!

I went through two Vermont Casting stoves, the second being one with the catalytic converter. I did not like the converter option - it seemed to do fine when the catalyst was new, but that only last about 3 cords, and replacement elements are VERY expensive. Stove efficiency was lousy without a new element in, so I concluded that a good conventional stove made more sense if operated properly (right temperature). I got a Hearthstone, the ultimate in simplicity, and I love it. I’ve had it nine years and it’s still “running” perfectly. A soapstone model adds to the cost but they sure hold heat well.

I have a 1990 Vermont Castings Intrepid (red) that heats our approximately 900 sq ft camp. It has a catalytic honeycomb box that must be cleaned annually. This stove is happiest with small sticks of split wood (~ 14 inches) and loads from top & front. It is cast iron and has glass doors and can be run with doors open and screen in place. It is beautiful to look at and keeps the place toasty even when temp drops to minus 20 or so. It cost about $1200 new.

I always have been an advocate of “I want to see the fire” type wood stove otherwise you can never be really sure of what is happening. If one wants a newer stove those units should have a glass door for viewing and more importantly for watching the combustion. Watching the fire can assist with the complexities of combustion air and circulation air should the unit be hot air. This is especially true in today’s ‘air tight’ homes.I actually have a friend of mine gas hot water heater pilot light get put out do to lack of combustion air near the wood stove. In the same house the combustion air would get steered into the circulation air thus choking out the wood fire.The newer steel stoves can warp due to excessive firing, its simply the nature of steel versa cast iron. However the steel can be welded in the future and it my be hard finding pre cast items should a cast iron stove part need replacing. Companies go out of business also.
As for the older stoves I have fired up circa 1920 pot belly’s, Glenwood’s and Barstow’s. These stove belong at camps and not necessarily in garages where gas fumes could ignite an unwanted fire.Hope it helps.

I forgot to say that my husband, son and I cut and process all our own firewood.  So, our wood is always 2 years dry (summer 2011 we were splitting and stacking what we will burn winter of 2013/2014) and we have no cost for wood but chainsaw maintenance and the cost of the splitter, now 12 years old.  So price your wood cost, as well as your fuel oil savings, before deciding on a stove budget.

I know that 3 grand sounds outrageous.  But I live in an drafty large house (4000 square feet).  My woodstove took the fuel oil bill from abut $6,500 per winter to under $4,000 per winter, so a savings of over $2,500 per year over fuel oil only.  It was installed by my husband and a neighbor.  It has a catalytic combuster that we have not had to replace since installing it in December 2006.  Every time I burn a full cord, I let the stove cool and take out the catalytic unit and vacuum it.  It lasts.  It is a beautiful stove from Woodstock Soapstone in West Lebanon, NH.  They have special sales most Februaries.  If you want heat and ease, buy the Classic model with no glass window.  Holds a lot more wood, throws a lot more heat, need to refill it much less often.

Dave, I have one of the old, “original” oval Ashley wood stoves, now about 30 years old and if your friend finds one, I would recommend it. It loads from the front and top, will take huge sticks, fires up quickly and even features a thermostat (and if one is luck, this works).  This stove is one step up the ladder from a barrel conversion kit, but a big step. Sand-covered cast iron bed, cast top and door, with a sheet steel body that can be replaced by any competent welding shop. I lived with mine for years, but now it has been sent to the wood shop in favor of an all-iron Hearthstone.  This works well, but requires attention at startup, owing to the modern stoves’ oxygen-deprived design.

We bought a Harman TL 300 last year and couldn’t be happier.  A wood stove installer told us that the welded steel stoves last a lot longer than cast iron (no shifting, fitted parts).  When it’s really cold - 20 degrees and below - we can load it in the morning and again in the late afternoon/early evening and just let it cruise.  It delivers even heat, burns efficiently, is easy to load from the top, and has an enormous ash bucket!  Our house is about 1200 square feet and I thought it would be too big - but not when it’s cold!  When the temperatures are more moderate (above 20) we simply put less wood in it, or burn one fire in the morning.  You can also grill on it (with a simple insert) and use it like a fireplace - nice on autumn/spring early evenings.  We bought the most simple, basic black - no stainless trim or gee gaws.  It behaves politely and discreetly!!  Unlike our old, temperamental, constantly hungry Vermont Castings Defiant Encore that left us cold in deepest winter.

It almost doesn’t matter which kind of stove she gets, as long as she pays attention to how it’s burning. A hot fire is cleaner, no matter what kind of stove it’s in. Dry hardwood burns cleaner than damp wood or softwood.

The best bet is to find a stove that puts out the right amount of heat for the space being heated, use good wood, and pay attention to the stove. Over time, your friend will learn the idiosyncrasies of whatever stove she buys, and will be able to run it efficiently.

If she manages to find a used newer stove with the heat channel (you’d be amazed how many people replace nearly new stoves because they want a different color, or a pellet stove, or whatever), all the better, but as long as she ensures a clean burn when using it, any stove will be an OK choice.

In 2009 during the big local pine cone mast doves were all over the woods eating seed.  We would commonly to see flocks of 100 under the newly released pines.  It was as if they had taken up some small slack from the extinct passenger pigeon.

That was great. Enjoyed the easy to read differences that will make my next trip into the woods more enjoyable.

I like your tricks of the trade page. I found it yesterday and for some reason did not write it down. Boy was I glad I found it again today. THANKS

The problem is, very few consumers want to pay the true cost of anything, and sadly, many really can’t afford to do so. Still, as long as foreign plastic crap brings more money than American manufactured products and food, we’re putting our neighbors out of business, who will then be unable to afford to buy OUR goods or services.

It’s helpful to keep in mind the loonies on the other side of an issue are often just as certain of their views as the loonies on your side of the issue.

Maybe the observation will lead to an epiphany for someone . . .?

Regardless, the article raises good points. Too often we think of policymakers as enemies, or merely ignorant buffoons. Yet somebody’s got to do it, and how many of us are lining up to undertake that miserably frustrating work?

“The northern shrike probably evolved this hunting technique on its far-northern breeding ground.”

Nice piece, especially the ‘site fidelity’ idea… I’ve noticed this with several adults over the years, but didn’t know it was in the literature.
As for evolution, shrike species are found in Africa and across Asia where they likely originated and then moved out from there—already shrike-like at the family level (Laniidae). Farther south the many other shrike species inhabit shrubby and nearly treeless open areas similar to the Northern Shrike’s habitat.

I agree with Carolyn, although I grew up around hunting and won’t understand it to the end of my days. My father tried to hunt but was repulsed by the things he saw happening to animals under the guise of ‘hunting for dinner.’ He couldn’t abide by the sporting mentality that accompanies many hunts.

So, I was shielded by our family’s lack of participation, until I got older and began working outdoors, close to hunters myself. Then, I got to see how many slovenly hunters there are, and how often the animal suffers to a great degree after being shot and left to expire, often hours, sometimes days, sometimes never collected if the hunter loses his prey or didn’t have the foresight to figure out what to do with the animal after it was shot.

Most people who don’t participate in the hunt, don’t realize how often this happens. They think quick kill, it’s done, all ethical, above board. Sometimes it works that way, but just as often, a deer is nicked by an arrow or bullet and is left to die for hours while the hunters wait for it to succumb. That’s common practice—to wait until you follow the blood trail. In the interim, the animal dies slowly of its wound, sometimes found by the hunter, sometimes not. The first time I saw an elk left to die for hours from a bad shot, was the last time I accepted hunting on the premise that it’s ethical or humane. This hunter refused to shoot the elk in a way that would reduced the bull’s suffering but would have also mangled his trophy head.

I agree that at least this article lacks the romance of recent pieces I’ve been reading on this subject. The recent fad seems to be writers waxing poetic about how “alive” they feel because they recently took up the practice of killing animals, or how it makes them feel so “close” to the animal they just killed and eviscerated. Nice they could have that experience of personal enlightenment at the expense of a life. 

But let’s face it, killing a moose isn’t all that hard. Once targeted, moose aren’t that tough to shoot. I’ve known of guys who passed right by one moose because the rack wasn’t big enough, only to take another moose a short time later. Of course, depending on the location, you have to haul the animal out as these hunters did. And Maine is notorious for people not thinking it through and finding it impossible to lug their meat out of the backwoods. The whole thing is unpalatable in a time where we really should be re-thinking our relationship to the animals and the lands under our stewardship. It’s 2011 and the defense of tradition is woefully inadequate to describe some of our barbarism toward animals.

My daughter, who is four, taught me this.  She learned it from the Kratt Brothers, a great resource to teach kids about nature and animals.  The episode was called “Blue and Gray”

http://pbskids.org/go/video/?category=Wild Kratts&pid=xAymMSJMg9LA4S_9EuLa2N0nBOS51fJd

Hi Ginny,
Last year was a record for acorn production here in the NE - about 250 lbs/tree compared to an average 25-30 lbs. This year we have just about 0 here in our yard - a record low. We’re seeing a lot of oak seedlings though!

Here’s a nice article in the Times about the oaks. The bad news is that scientists are predicting a record year for Lyme’s disease because of this year’s acorn dearth!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/nyregion/boom-and-bust-in-acorns-will-affect-many-creatures-including-humans.html?_r=4&src=tp&smid=fb-share&mid=54421

Dear Picton Pete,

Please see below for a response from Maine naturalist and writer, Tom Seymour (http://wildplantsandwoolybears.blogspot.com/), to your question about edible uses for redcedar berries.

“The reader mentions the (red cedar) berries being used to flavor
gin. It is not red cedar, but rather, Juniper berries (common or ground juniper berries) that are used to flavor gin and also to season meat. Swedish cooks love them for that purpose.

But red cedar berries may be somewhat toxic, at least I would not use them. The only use I am aware of for red cedar is for making fragrant furniture—jewelry boxes and so on.

So my best advice is for your reader to admire his trees, perhaps
break of a tip and relish the fragrant aroma, but don’t use any of it
internally.

—Tom Seymour”