Smoke. It's bad. We need to Care.

I think it's more of a concern where there's temperature inversions.

Found your IS cordwood #'s. Very impressive!

 

Particulates is why the main measurement for wood stoves to pass emissions is the grams of emissions as that is the measurement of the grams of particulate matter that exits a stoves flue pipe. Thats what they are focused on for wood stoves. (For any newbies lurking)

Now a biggy for diesels is Nox Emissions they put the diesel fuel under so much pressure and it burns so hot it creates alot of Nox Emissions. So they try and cool the EGR before it goes back in for another re circulation to limit the amount of NOX produced. EGR=Exhaust Gas Recirculation

 

See, wood heat is cleaner!

Particulate is the least offensive exhaust that comes out of anything. The reason is, it mostly falls to the ground as it has some mass heavier than air. It's the TOXIC fumes that are light, that cause the issues with both the environment and health issues. And guess what heat sources emit the most of those? OIL!

 

Like Huntindog says they are using the particulates as the guideline for wood heat so that is what needs to be focused on.

 

"Fine particulate matter, the very small particles that make up smoke and soot, may be the most
dangerous component of wood smoke pollution.
The most harmful particles are those ten
microns or less in diameter (a human hair is
approximately 70 microns in diameter). These
particles can easily be inhaled deepinto the lungs, collecting in the tiny air sacs (called alveoli)
where oxygen enters the blood, causing breathing
difficulties and sometimes permanent lung
damage. Inhalation of fine particulate matter can increase cardiovascular problems, irritate lungs"

 

They seem to be focusing on certain areas in the USA that have bad air quality.
We all live in our own little areas and think the rest of the USA is the same situation on how
smoke settles and how long it hangs around. There are some areas people live in that the smoke just
hangs around for long periods of time like in valleys or areas with mountains or large hills and hollers etc...
One thing I have noticed is since I have been burning a new EPA stove the last 4 years , any time I drive by a house
burning dirty I noticed it really easy and the smell is offensive now, when I burned years ago with an older stove
I never really noticed it as being offensive. I guess I have changed as I have gotten older.
The reason the american lung association has gotten involved and is paying for the free stove change out progams in
areas that are deemed problem areas is that its cheaper to pay for getting rid of smoke dragons as the cost for 1 person to
go thru months of medical treatments for lung cancer can get into the hundreds of thousands of dollar range real quick then multiple that
by several people and medicals costs are out the roof. Stoves are cheap compared to those costs.

 

I'm hoping they can make significant improvements in air quality in those areas so the general public has a better opinion of wood burning.
Might have to train some of those people on how to burn wood also.

 

I see no difference with my new stove vs the old one as I always burnt dry wood and monitored flue temps and never smoldered the fire.
I know the old stoves burn dirtier but if burnt correctly it will not be noticeable.

 

EGR should be a thing of the past. Then you lower the engine temperatures creating more particulate matter. Then you need a participate filter. It's an endless circle.

The correct way to the future is SCR diesel exhaust fluid systems. The result is a cleaner more efficient engine that can run the way an engine was designed to run. Working with Case IH we have seen huge improvements in efficiency over tier 3 egr engines.

Who wants an engines that pumps 20-30% inert dirty exhaust gas back through their engine.

 

I dont stick my head down a chimney and inhale and if i catch someone trying to inhale out of my chimney then i am going to ask them what there smoking and can you come down and share.

 

I don't know. After playing around with fire and clay, I'm starting to believe that urban and home design is the most important aspect of heating a home. If the layout and insulation of a home are top notch, then not a lot of energy is needed to heat the place. I've cut my heating bill in half by insulating this old farmhouse the best I can under limited circumstances. If I had even a tiny stove or fireplace, then the bill could be cut down to 1/4 the original cost.

I've been searching for properties with a south facing backyard. It is almost impossible to find one in this area.

 

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I have a relevant question:

I have a BK King in my house, and just lit up a load of bone-dry poplar to start the evening heating cycle. My neighbor across the street, who’s also a friend, sent me a text saying I was giving him the black lung!

He was kidding, but I went outside, and it was pretty damm stinky. Is there any way to minimize the first burn smoke output?

 

I find the top down start provides me with minimum smoke and fastest warm up. It will take a couple of times to "Master" if you will

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That doesn’t have any impact on the creosote burning off from a previous “slow and low” burn though...the smoke from the new wood isn’t really my concern, because, frankly, that smells delightful by comparison.

 

My aplogies. I thought we were lighting a cold stove

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Reducing the smoke on a Reload, I push the ashes back pull the coals forward level them out and load the splits.
The faster you get flames and build some heat in the stove the less smoke you will have.
Once the stove is loaded, I have kindling that's about 1 inch square, I make these in the summer or fall from whatever I have around, Pine, Pallet wood , Cedar or even split strips from Ash, I also use splitter trash sometimes, I put one across the bottom on top of the coals, (I use welding gloves) I put one to three on top of the load, the bottom piece of kindling at the front gives you lots of good Flames to help get the wood-burning quicker and once the kindling on top gets burning it will produce more flame and build heat in the top of the stove.
Pics are with the door open obviously your not going to build heat like that