A free moisture meter along with an informational pamphlet would probably go a long way.. As we all know, most people have no idea how much wood they will burn and don't end up getting the wood they need until AFTER they install the stove.. That would likely raise costs for manufacturers/dealers by $10 which they could of course pass through to the consumer. A lot cheaper than re-engineering and re-tooling..
I see them all time down there when I have to detour off of 81. That said, Your neck of the woods is by far the most scenic I've ever seen... and I've been to 45 of the 48 plus eastern Canada. The I81 corridor in Va is unreal - US17 from 66 down to 95 might be the most scenic ride I've ever driven. Virginia is such a scenic state..
THAT is a great idea. Tell people how to check the moisture, SHOW them, tell them 20% or less is what you want. Maybe a demo. Here's some green wood. When we burn it see all that water bubbling out - just like putting water on your fire. Now here's some dry wood. No water bubbling out, most of that energy goes into heating your home. More heat less wood. I would love to see that but I'm probably dreaming.
What old ways, I have books that are 40 years old that preach dry wood, some people did not get it then and dont get it now. You CAN fix stupid but it aint easy!
Great idea, but I'm sure a lot of stoves are sold on the basis of ignorant customers, so it wouldn't be in the manufacturers best interest to do this. I'm normally against government intervention of any type, but this is one instance where the EPA should step in and require that all stoves be sold with a "seasoning and burning guide".
I agree that might happen but in the long run its better to be upfront about the stove and the dry wood, an angry customer is not good either, a sales person who really cares about what he is selling will be honest about it.
This is a huge issue and as is pointed out above, we need to get info out to people outside of the forum, since everything we say here is preaching to the choir. One idea to consider is to develop a web site solely to giving information about burning wood better. My thoughts is that it should be a KISS (keep it simple stupid) type web site. It would include basic ideas and methods of burning wood cleanly first and foremost. It might include items like: 1) A brochure or guide on how to burn wood cleanly (both online and in printable pdf) 2) Links to other sites likes helps sites like places like woodheat.org to take advantage of info out there already 3) Links to forums 4) Demonstration videos could added as suggested above also. We could even give our stamp of approval on manufacturers who have good burning practices listed in their manuals. A simple web site name like www.burnwoodbetter.org would be my suggestion. I think it should be kept simple for new or uniformed users. I know it's hard to believe, but not every stove/fireplace owner are as fanatical about CSS wood as we are. As these people grow out of the initial information that is provided, they can hit the links to take it to the next step and become more involved. Getting people on board is key. Buy in from other organizations (extensions, etc.), manufacturers, resellers, and other forums would be key, so the information (paper or web) gets into hands of the new/uninformed users. Just thinking out loud.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You can print books or pamphlets and start web pages but you can't make the people read. I sometimes like to use an example of folks who don't read or perhaps folks that read but don't understand. I know a man, an older guy than me who told me about how the hummingbirds go south in the fall. Of course they get on the backs of Canadian geese and hitch a free ride. He swore by it and said it was even in the Reader's Digest. I didn't say much but did look up that Reader's Digest just to see and sure enough, it was in there. However, he did not read the whole thing. If he had, he'd have known it was a joke. So, even if folks read, many times they don't get the whole message.
Oh I know. I'm too old to think there is a magic bullet. I also know that if education and self policing doesn't work, government regulation soon follows. I think we can imagine where that will take us.
I think you nailed that one. How many people actually read the manual? And if they do, how many will understand it? A fraction of a fraction is a much smaller fraction. Although on the other hand, just getting to that small fraction shouldn't be completely discounted.
For those that learn best with humor, "Kevin the kindling stick" could be the star of a short/concise/power packed tutorial.
