New epa regulations?

I wonder whats up with that? I can understand that OWB can consume a massive amount of fuel in a heating season but no idea what reason they cannot be advertised with wood????

 

Maybe the OWB just aren't as efficient and clean burning as they want them to be?? Or is this just the beginning of whats to come for the woodstove??

 

I have seen that same Add!

 

Interesting.. A quick look at the websites reveals "outdoor wood furnace" and "outdoor water furnace" as the new words of choice.. I guess if the regulators don't like it, just change the name..

I would agree that they are inefficient... the simple fact that the heat is generated outside of the building in which it is used by definition adds to heat loss. But heating with locally produced wood (even if there is a little more heat loss) is far better than using an imported product such as heating oil.

Also, if a truck load of heating oil is spilled, it's an environmental disaster... If a truck load of firewood is spilled, it's a hoarder's paradise!!!!

 

I have had three OWB in my life and have learned to burn seasoned wood in them. The school of thought around these parts is you can burn green wood in 'em.
Yup, you sure can, but you have a yard full of smoke with the distinct creosote smell. And then there is the green wood has more btu's in it. I always liked that one...(nobody took the time to think it out and realize that the moisture in wood is not a fuel source).
That being said, the largest advantage would probably be tied with 1.the lack of mess inside the house; and 2.the source of heating for domestic hot water.
As far as outlawing them due to their emissions or lack of efficiency, I think it is merely in response to the complaints of what started out as an unregulated niche in the heating market.
When I installed mine years ago, I spoke with the township supervisor in regards to any restrictions on having them. No, there aren't any now, but there are some areas that are starting to restrict them, so if I was you, I would hurry up and install it. That was seven/eight years ago and there have been no restrictions/ordinances enacted yet.
I have dealt with Central Boiler exclusively due to their simplicity of design and excellent customer service. The first boiler was warranted for 15 years; it lasted 16 before it was replaced. My current OWB has a 25 year warranty of which 5 are used already. When that point of my life arrives, I doubt that I will be able to or even want to load the OWB with the size rounds it deserves!
I have heard no reports of selling them as a coal burner; I have received notice that Central Boiler will no longer be allowed to sell them as of next spring due to the EPA regulations.

 

I am hoping that several of the OWB manufacturers will continue to make them, and make them with an improved burn design. Some are already making OWB gasification boilers. If they can make, and the consumer can then buy a boiler that burns at 80-85% efficiency compared to one that burns at 50-60%, then the extra money the consumer pays is worth it in the long run. I think anyway. It is interesting that Camp Inspector uses a boiler that was designed and made several decades ago and was/is as efficient as the newest gassers. Hopefully the new designs will be well built and will last a long time. The wood burning process can be tough an any wood burning appliance.

 

I generally wish the government would keep their hands off of things. Heavy smoke occasionally when you've made a mistake on wood selection, or a few minutes every day on start-up is one thing. Live and let live. But the jackasses who burn enormous quantities of wet wood daily (or tires or whatever the hell it is they put in their OWB) is another matter entirely. It isn't the OWB itself so much as the fact that for reasons unknown to me, the people to can't manage to responsibly burn and don't give a crap seem to be disproportionally attracted to them. While the fact that OWBs are heating water places some temperature limitations on them and keeps them at a cooler and dirtier temperature longer than a modern wood stove, the vast majority of the pollution from them comes not from technical limitations, but rather from the slob running the thing.

My neighbor (fortunately the prevailing winds and distance keep it from affecting me except when I pull into my driveway) has an OWB and consistently makes a pall of smoke that is easily noticeable on the ground a quarter mile from his house. I've often seen it thick enough to create a dangerous driving situation on the road 150 yards from his house. Since I am not really affected by it, I try to ignore it. I'm frankly surprised that the neighbors who live close and downwind don't the cops on a daily basis. It isn't an occasional thing, it is daily for the entire heating season. I really don't know how he manages to make as much smoke as he does.

 

I checked Central Boiler and they say on their website that the E Classic boiler will meet the new NSPS regulations, but the Classic boiler is going away when the new regs. take effect.

 

When my brother bought a central boiler e-classic a few months ago the classic was not able to be sold in NY. As others have said, people smoking out their neighbors are squarely to blame for the new regs. If I was getting smoked out for 5 months of the year I would certainly be complaining. Also, the manual from my brothers e-classic states that if you have a neighbor within 100 feet of the boiler the chimney must be 2ft higher than the peak of your roof. Code usually says you have to follow the manufacturers instructions.

 

I think the first OWB I've owned was in the early 90's. I remember when I fired it up after I installed it, man I hope that smoke isn't around all the time. That was the only time (for about a month) that the smoke was an issue. I always cut the wood early/in advance of the season and it has helped eliminate smoking.
What I can't understand is how people are so ready to jump onto the bashing wagon and beat you up just for those three little letters "OWB". I do understand that there are burners out there that don't give a rip and will burn whatever they cut that day or the week before, but these same people would have the same practices if they burnt inside; indeed, many have switched from inside burners to outside burners. As responsible burners we should be glad that at the very least, these "offenders" will be burning is safety-without the danger of a creosote laden chimney on their house!
My neighbor at the lake has a woodstove that is used every week of the year (they are snowbirds and light up just about every morning) and that thing is always smoking! Now if it was an OWB, look out! When a firend learned that I had an OWB, he started chastising me for one of those dammed smoke creating etc. etc. I told him to stop by and see if it created a problem in my neighborhood or not. I live in a residential neighborhood located in a river valley that is always colder than the surrounding area. If anything, the smoke should be always concentrated in this area right? He has been over a number of times and asks if I have lit it off yet. Told him the secret is in the dry, not green wood.

Guess what I'm saying is no matter what, there will always be people that don't burn with the best interest/results in mind.

 

Any ideas when the new regs actually take effect?

 

There are people who burn green wood, tires, and trash in them. There was also a guy in Ohio who burned used diapers. There's always a bad apple. I have 2 neighbors with OWBs. One is a Classic and the other is an E-Classic. The E-Classic hardly smokes at all. The Classic smokes all the time. I think Central Boiler can no longer sell the Classic when the new regulations go into effect, which I think is in May of this year.

 

my brother bought an eclassic in october or november and was told the classic can no longer be sold. I'm not sure when it went into effect in NY but it was already the case here.

 

I like the E-classic. If I had enough $$ I would buy one.

 

I agree the EPA needs to stay out of everyone's business.I also agree that there are idiots out there burning crap and greenwood in thier OWB.
I built mine and it is a gasifier.when I got green wood in it.The result is smoke and lots of creasote.When I have seasoned wood she is clean as a whistle.It all comes down to pride in ownership and wether or not the owner is educated in proper ways to run thier stove.Even the old "barrel in barrel" OWB burn pretty clean with seasoned wood.
Like was said it just takes a few bad apples in the wrong place to ruin it.Oh and the government wants thier share of the action too.

 

That's funny, I pizzed off a couple of people for calling those type of wood burners idiots in another thread but they thought I was talking about all wood burners.