Fire and Steel

A couple of days ago we had our propane fireplace insert replaced with a wood burning insert.  It was somewhat cher but we hope we can recoup the costs by heating our house primarily with wood this winter.  Our old house is heated with oil.  The rising cost of diesel combined with the need to refill our propane tank every six weeks made our decision to switch easy.  The guys at Custom Hearth in Poulsbo did a bang-up job.  Thanks fellas.

Does this forty-foot ladder make my ass look big?

The new insert will hold a log up to 24" in length, which is good because that means less chainsawing.  We chose the flush insert over the type that juts out into the room for aesthetic reasons.  The disadvantage to having a flush insert is the loss of some heat that is transmitted through convection.  Fortunately, there is a good blower on this unit that should force the heat into the house.  Who says that style can't have substance?  Judge for yourself.

Jotul Rockland, pride of Norway by way of Maine.

By coincidence, our new massive grill arrived the same day.  The grill is a massive chunk of iron that will be well suited for smoking and grilling when the pigs return.  It remains to be seen if the grill will function as a cold smoker without making any modifications.

Vulcan himself would be proud of the fire-burning appliances that we recently added to the farm.

Brinkmann Limited Edition Trailmaster, not intended for children.