I have quite a few customers in their 80s still heating with wood. And after using several pellet stove I can honestly say never again. I had way more maintenance way more dust allot more noise and allot more money.
yea my gpa does still also. He dont cut it no more tho...me n dad get it cut for him
I don't know. I just know that I can put more wood in there, and they don't roll out. Like, if they were on fire, lol.
Our one customer who we lost last year was pissed that his wife wouldn't let him go out in the woods to cut anymore when he turned 85. So His son pulled logs into his yard and he cut it there.
I'm surprised that more people don't talk about them; Then again, many stove that I think are probably very good, don't get much press here.
Might work for Douglas Fir or Pine but for Oak, I like three years in the stack.
Grab your largest, wettest split, get it to room temp, re-split, test on the fresh face in the middle of the split. Moisture above 20% will slow the re-burn and decrease heat output.
If I had time before I planned to burn, I would shop around; like bholler said, there's a lot of good stoves out there. Looks like several Buck non-cats to choose from as well. Maybe I will get into town in the next couple days...I'll check 'em out if I do.
Nice (wood) work if you can get it.
If you grab Red Maple and stack it now, in the wind, medium-sized splits 4-6", it will be pretty dry by fall. It won't burn as long as Oak, but here, Oak needs two years at least, three is better. My stacks are in the woods and don't get a lot of wind or sun. Wind is the main thing...
Can't help but notice that this story goes from "wife won't let him go cut wood" to death. Maybe I will share this story with my wife...
That's good to know. Never used maple but lots in town tho. Mostly oak and hickory in missouri woods....and that's what I thought bout bucks....not much user reviews or opinions but round here they are a staple. I will definitely look around tho..not against trying sumthin other than buck.Nice (wood) work if you can get it.
True that. Mans gotta stay active if able and doin what he lovesNot me. I started with wood, then stayed with wood.
When I am too old to process wood, I'm going solar electric heat! I'll be able to geek out over the battery arrays and charge controllers and such even more than the woodstoves. I imagine that there will be homemade wind turbines involved. Almost looking forward to it.
Can't help but notice that this story goes from "wife won't let him go cut wood" to death. Maybe I will share this story with my wife...
He died at 93.Not me. I started with wood, then stayed with wood.
When I am too old to process wood, I'm going solar electric heat! I'll be able to geek out over the battery arrays and charge controllers and such even more than the woodstoves. I imagine that there will be homemade wind turbines involved. Almost looking forward to it.
Can't help but notice that this story goes from "wife won't let him go cut wood" to death. Maybe I will share this story with my wife...
I don't know how good you are at wood species ID, but I use Silver Maple for kindling only, doesn't burn as long as Red. Hard (Sugar) Maple is closer to Red Oak in output, but needs two years to dry well. Also, if you have a woodlot to work, small <8" standing dead with the bark gone, is usually ready to burn, or will be by fall.
They had the Enerzones, but the ash plug in the floor looked cumbersome to use. They also had Hearthstone, but I didn't like the door latch, which wasn't adjustable. The Manchester did have an ash grate, though. The other shop has the Lopis. Nice stoves but no good ash systems. I will have to hit the highway to look at other brands, a daunting task but I want to get her the best stove I can come up with.
I don't know how good you are at wood species ID, but I use Silver Maple for kindling only, doesn't burn as long as Red. Hard (Sugar) Maple is closer to Red Oak in output, but needs two years to dry well. Also, if you have a woodlot to work, small <8" standing dead with the bark gone, is usually ready to burn, or will be by fall.
Same here, we are in an "Oak/Hickory forest." Red Oaks seem to die more than anything else, so that's what I mainly burn.
As far as stoves, I am in the same boat. I'm charged with selecting a new stove for my SIL, to replace her Dutchwest cat. I'm considering cats but also non-cats, to save her from having to buy a new cat every three years. There are a lot of non-cats to choose from.
There are only a couple of stove shops in town, so I will have to travel to check out some other brands.
I went to the local shops yesterday. I was hoping to see a Buck 85 non-cat (closer match to the size you need I think, than the bigger 74.) It also could load N-S or E-W. They didn't have one on the floor, though.
That said, a Woodstock AS hybrid, high-style, although a cat, would be easy for her to load as she gets older. I probably won't be able to see one in person before buying, but the build quality and engineering on their straight-cat stone stoves that I've had, impressed me.
I'll start a thread soon asking for owner input on some of the stoves I'm looking at...
Yead I had a lot of red oaks that I believe died this summer from drought i guess. I will give the 85 a look over as soon as I get a chance. I thought about getting sumthin with a cat for their burn times which sounds awesome....just figured it might be troublesome for wife when I am not there. Thanks for advice.I don't know how good you are at wood species ID, but I use Silver Maple for kindling only, doesn't burn as long as Red. Hard (Sugar) Maple is closer to Red Oak in output, but needs two years to dry well. Also, if you have a woodlot to work, small <8" standing dead with the bark gone, is usually ready to burn, or will be by fall.
Same here, we are in an "Oak/Hickory forest." Red Oaks seem to die more than anything else, so that's what I mainly burn.
As far as stoves, I am in the same boat. I'm charged with selecting a new stove for my SIL, to replace her Dutchwest cat. I'm considering cats but also non-cats, to save her from having to buy a new cat every three years. There are a lot of non-cats to choose from.
There are only a couple of stove shops in town, so I will have to travel to check out some other brands.
I went to the local shops yesterday. I was hoping to see a Buck 85 non-cat (closer match to the size you need I think, than the bigger 74.) It also could load N-S or E-W. They didn't have one on the floor, though.
That said, a Woodstock AS hybrid, high-style, although a cat, would be easy for her to load as she gets older. I probably won't be able to see one in person before buying, but the build quality and engineering on their straight-cat stone stoves that I've had, impressed me.
I'll start a thread soon asking for owner input on some of the stoves I'm looking at...
Yeah, I'm gonna quit looking and get my SIL a Woodstock Absolute hybrid. The design is not quite as simple as, say, an Alderlea T5, but that stove has a small ash dump, a door latch I'm not too fond of, and will go through more wood than a cat since it won't burn as low. I'm supplying her and a couple other in-laws with wood...don't wanna cut more than I have to.
But with her sq.ft, vaulted ceiling in the main room and 2x4 walls, it can't keep up in a cold snap. With the bigger box of the AS, that shouldn't be a problem. Add to that, the ash grate (which she loves,) reasonably-priced cat and parts, and its low price for a cat stove, and I think she'll be happy with it. There are also a bunch of custom colors and motifs you can select, and colored stove pipe. Sure, it doesn't look as good as the T5, but I think it will pass. Woodstock fanboy, signing off. 
