I just struck the deal of the century, my friends!
The local newspaper was advertising a wood stove in the "Absolutely Free" section of the Classifieds a few days ago. I couldn't believe anyone in their right mind who would give away a wood stove for free, so I gave the person a call. She lives one town over and invited me to come by and take a look.
So I did...and I could hardly believe that this stove was refurbished in 2012 (the last year she used it), all the parts that needed fixing were fixed....and she was giving it away for FREE. The stove is a cast iron "Franklin" type made by DutchWest (since 1974), measuring 83 cm tall by 76 cm wide (at base the base, 74 cm at top), and 49 cm deep. Per hour, it can give off 11,300 - 26,500 BTUs, which is enough to heat the house.
Why was she giving it away? She's getting on in years - she's a grandmother, her husband passed-on, and she's in the process of packing up. Now, keep in mind that a stove like this costs at least $2000 new....and I got it at no cost . She kept all the paperwork on it, the installation and instruction manual, proof of purchase, as well as all the parts to the stove: ash tray, the two andirons, the spark arrestor, smoke pipes, and the door handle piece.
It took two movers to load it onto a trailer pulled by a Uhaul truck, plus the muscle of my next door neighbors, me, and my friend's father (6 people total) to help get in in the house right by the fireplace. But it was well worth it . The movers only asked for $150, jaw-dropping because most professionals want more $$$, but we tipped them with free Long Trail Brewing pumpkin ales and homemade bread .
Here's the beauty, can't wait to get her installed and stoked up
And whilst I was at this lady's house, she and I got talking about firewood, splitting it, and axes...and she gave me a unique-looking splitting axe. I'm sure not many people if any here have seen it before...
It was made in the USA by a company called "Chopper1". They patented a design which uses mechanical leverage to split wood. It's complicated to explain....essentially, when the bit strikes the wood, it will come into contact with levers which will spread out and force the wood apart. This was the splitting axe the lady's husband used years ago to split wood to heat the wood stove.