EPAs new assault on wood stoves

[U201491]

OP originally mentioned they were burning year round so I suspect they are burning trash which can be pretty smelly and in a close environment such as this it I can see where it 'might' be a problem HOWEVER - the flip side of this is because it IS a city environment ANY deviation from 'normal' scents in the air might be a cause for someone to complain no matter how slight the smell is. My point being where I live a day does not go by without smelling smoke - from either woodstoves or slash piles. Up until they shut down open burning there are smoke plumes rising from up to several houses at any given time. It's simply an element of rural living and I LOVE IT!

Some folks still choose to cook on woodstoves also.
The G-Mother in law and My Great Grandmother had homes that smelled of Split cedar and cinnamon rolls all the time and all because of the woodstove. No one ever bieotched about smoke and there were hundreds of folks cooking and heating with wood. It was a better life.
Very few "control freaks"........... 90% of those were developed from the 60's to now.

 

[IheartSig]

OP originally mentioned they were burning year round so I suspect they are burning trash which can be pretty smelly and in a close environment such as this it I can see where it 'might' be a problem HOWEVER - the flip side of this is because it IS a city environment ANY deviation from 'normal' scents in the air might be a cause for someone to complain no matter how slight the smell is. My point being where I live a day does not go by without smelling smoke - from either woodstoves or slash piles. Up until they shut down open burning there are smoke plumes rising from up to several houses at any given time. It's simply an element of rural living and I LOVE IT!

Some of my most cherished memories involve waking up on a cold day to the smell of the old wood stove in the family room. We had one of those huge iron monsters, that you could put kettles on the top of if you wanted. I miss that stove.

And not for nothing, but chopping, splitting and stacking wood did me good growing up even if I DID curse it once or twice.

 

[RVTECH]

And not for nothing, but chopping, splitting and stacking wood did me good growing up even if I DID curse it once or twice.

Heck I STILL do it - except for the going out and cutting part. That simply does not 'pencil' out given how cheap wood is over here.

 

[albin25]

Burning wood is one thing but burning trash is quite another.
Plastics and other "trash" items can emit large quantities of deadly chemicals and because of that, most populated areas have ordinances that regulate trash burning.
If there is "heating" going on even in the summer months I would suspect that there could be something other than wood smoke going up that chimney. Are you able to monitor how much wood they're using?..it's gotta be a huge quantity....otherwise it may be "supplemented".

For your own safety you may want to contact an air quality testing lab and check it out. While it will cost some $, it may save your life. You could be getting dosed daily with hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, benzene, styrene, formaldehyde, arsenic, lead, chromium, dioxins, and PCBs. Combustion temps in fireplaces, furnaces etc... don't get high enough and if left to smolder itself out, a single backyard burn barrel can day to day emit as much as an entire modern trash incinerator plant.

I too grew up with the wonderful aromas of a morning woodstove. There is nothing that starts a day better than being awakened by the "pop, snap" of the wood burning in the stove and the smell of coffee, bacon and eggs and wood smoke. There is a real feeling of comfort and security created that seems soak into you, right down to the cellular level. Benzene, styrene and dioxins...not so much.

 

[RVTECH]

Some folks still choose to cook on woodstoves also.

True, but highly unlikely in Corvallis. Granola does not need to be cooked.

 

[NoFlinch]

Heck I STILL do it - except for the going out and cutting part. That simply does not 'pencil' out given how cheap wood is over here.

I have heated w/wood for decades.

..and ALWAYS cut/split/stacked it myself............

Until last year.

You are correct....it doesn't pencil any more to cut it yourself.

So I buy it in LARGE split pieces, and split it down further myself in my yard.

I used to really enjoy cutting it myself, but now you usually have to pay for "stumpage", or a "Permit", ad fuel, saw parts, ruined tires, dents in the truck from flinging wood.........etc..........

NOPE, I pay for it delivered to my driveway.......usually by meth heads

 

[Member 5605]

True, but highly unlikely in Corvallis. Granola does not need to be cooked.

Hey hey...

Not everyone in Corvallis eats granola! I eat lots of salads which too require no cooking too.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Next they will throw us in jail for farting.

They already fine the cattle industry for it. Haha.

 

[DieselScout]

I have heated w/wood for decades.

..and ALWAYS cut/split/stacked it myself............

Until last year.

You are correct....it doesn't pencil any more to cut it yourself.

So I buy it in LARGE split pieces, and split it down further myself in my yard.

I used to really enjoy cutting it myself, but now you usually have to pay for "stumpage", or a "Permit", ad fuel, saw parts, ruined tires, dents in the truck from flinging wood.........etc..........

NOPE, I pay for it delivered to my driveway.......usually by meth heads

Growing up we heated solely with wood. We spent weekend going up into the forest and wood cutting. By the late 90's the logger's were taking pretty much everything, which meant finding good wood to cut and bring home became more a time and money investment. Dad supplemented by cutting down trees for people and removing blow downs for others. Soon this started to dry up as well. My mom had a really bad lung infections years ago which has left her progressively more sensitive to dust, so about 6 years ago they re-did the furnace in their home and now heat the rear portion of their house with gas. Dad can still manage enough firewood to use the front wood stove, but it's getting tougher and more expensive.

Until I went to college I had never experienced a furnace and thermostat. Growing up the house was always plenty warm, and if it wasn't it was just a matter of stoking a stove or building a fire. We never had to worry about the "cost" of heating, we could just throw more wood on the fire. Now as a home owner I miss those days every month when the gas bill comes in.

 

[NoFlinch]

And here's the thing about "Heat sources"...

Gas and Electric heat you from the outside in.

Wood heat heats you from the inside out......

In other words, G & E heats your skin.

Wood heats your Bones

 

[U201491]

I have heated w/wood for decades.

..and ALWAYS cut/split/stacked it myself............

Until last year.

You are correct....it doesn't pencil any more to cut it yourself.

So I buy it in LARGE split pieces, and split it down further myself in my yard.

I used to really enjoy cutting it myself, but now you usually have to pay for "stumpage", or a "Permit", ad fuel, saw parts, ruined tires, dents in the truck from flinging wood.........etc..........

NOPE, I pay for it delivered to my driveway.......usually by meth heads

We bought Oak (swamp Oak) by the Log Truck Loads. Usually 2 oversize loads at a time for about 1200.
We could get around 14 or 15 cords of good wood from them.
We did that for around 30 years. Kept me in fair shape and heated the home well. It was the only heat we had.
Wish we still had it.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Growing up we heated solely with wood. We spent weekend going up into the forest and wood cutting. By the late 90's the logger's were taking pretty much everything, which meant finding good wood to cut and bring home became more a time and money investment. Dad supplemented by cutting down trees for people and removing blow downs for others. Soon this started to dry up as well. My mom had a really bad lung infections years ago which has left her progressively more sensitive to dust, so about 6 years ago they re-did the furnace in their home and now heat the rear portion of their house with gas. Dad can still manage enough firewood to use the front wood stove, but it's getting tougher and more expensive.

Until I went to college I had never experienced a furnace and thermostat. Growing up the house was always plenty warm, and if it wasn't it was just a matter of stoking a stove or building a fire. We never had to worry about the "cost" of heating, we could just throw more wood on the fire. Now as a home owner I miss those days every month when the gas bill comes in.

to add to this. humbly i make a good living. but why in the heck would i spend money on a gas bill, when i can teach my kids how to maintain heat in a stove, cut trees down, split wood, and haul it in?
thats just essiential to good parenting for me.

 

[Bigfoot]

In Clackamas Co a woodcutting permit is $10 per cord. With fuel costs for the truck, chainsaw and splitter I spend $100 yearly on heating.

Several years ago the propane guy asked me where I'm getting fuel from. I said 'I only use propane for cooking and the water heater now, if you want that big tank back just bring me a smaller one'

 

[Sstrand]

THINK ABOUT IT!!
The government masters isolate a "small" segment of the population and limit their freedom.
Most people don't even notice.
Repeat with a different group . . . and another . . Eventually the people have NO freedom!!!!!

Sheldon

 

[cmica]

didn't you see the news they want to make your bar b que go green now too!! ya Puck you EPA



oh ya here's the link for you
http://mynorthwest.com/76/2733551/Environmental-Protection-Agency-wants-your-barbecue-to-be-green

 

[OcelotZ3]

Let's just say that people all over the neighborhood have complained either to him or others in the area about his smoke.

I talked with the Battalion Chief as they were fighting the flue fire and he mentioned that this was the third time they fought a fire at the same house and that they were "going to have a long talk" with the owner. I suspect it won't do a lot of good.

If I lived in a rural area, I would expect the occasional wood smoke, although houses are spaced further apart so it's not such a big deal. This is in a city cul-de-sac so neighbors are RIGHT there (0.2-0.24 acre lots) and when you get a guy burning crap wood (or just crap) then everyone gets to breathe it. But apparently folks think that's a good thing. Good for you. I also mentioned that I have friends who have heated with wood stoves their entire lives and have said that if he is burning properly then there shouldn't be any smoke and we shouldn't be able to smell much. One stopped by one day and said that he wasn't burning properly and it did suck. But according to all of you I'm just being a jerk.

There are no regulations in Corvallis regarding burning wood stoves in the city (we checked). There are in other Oregon cities but not here. He burns during inversions where they recommend not burning. Also note that he has a high-efficiency heat pump, but it has been so long since he has used it there are probably issues with it now. Their house is the largest in the immediate area, and one of the largest in the expanded area. So saying that he can't afford to heat with anything else than wood is crap.

 

[slimmer13]

Move

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Let's just say that people all over the neighborhood have complained either to him or others in the area about his smoke.

I talked with the Battalion Chief as they were fighting the flue fire and he mentioned that this was the third time they fought a fire at the same house and that they were "going to have a long talk" with the owner. I suspect it won't do a lot of good.

If I lived in a rural area, I would expect the occasional wood smoke, although houses are spaced further apart so it's not such a big deal. This is in a city cul-de-sac so neighbors are RIGHT there (0.2-0.24 acre lots) and when you get a guy burning crap wood (or just crap) then everyone gets to breathe it. But apparently folks think that's a good thing. Good for you. I also mentioned that I have friends who have heated with wood stoves their entire lives and have said that if he is burning properly then there shouldn't be any smoke and we shouldn't be able to smell much. One stopped by one day and said that he wasn't burning properly and it did suck. But according to all of you I'm just being a jerk.

There are no regulations in Corvallis regarding burning wood stoves in the city (we checked). There are in other Oregon cities but not here. He burns during inversions where they recommend not burning. Also note that he has a high-efficiency heat pump, but it has been so long since he has used it there are probably issues with it now. Their house is the largest in the immediate area, and one of the largest in the expanded area. So saying that he can't afford to heat with anything else than wood is crap.

maybe he cant afford his large home and he has to save money by burning wood. but maybe its none of anyones buisness what he uses for heat if its legal.
i will add that you state there wont be any smoke when you burn? not sure how that works.....

 

[Jamie6.5]

to add to this. humbly i make a good living. but why in the heck would i spend money on a gas bill, when i can teach my kids how to maintain heat in a stove, cut trees down, split wood, and haul it in?
thats just essiential to good parenting for me.

Pops used it as a parenting tool too. If any of us had aggressions that we needed to get out, we were ordered, or "allowed," to take them out on a few unsuspecting rounds of lodgepole pine.

 

[RVTECH]

I have friends who have heated with wood stoves their entire lives and have said that if he is burning properly then there shouldn't be any smoke

I don't know how that works either - there will always be some degree of smoke when a stove is burning and if the wood is a little damp there may be a lot of vapor or steam emitted with it. If the smoke is very black or has iridescent colors to it with a very noxious or chemical smell he is probably burning trash HOWEVER there are some species of wood that give off pretty nasty odors also - ever heard of Cat Fir? Also I don't mean to be a smart azz but I don't suspect 'everyone' is breathing it - probably just those who are downwind on that particular day. Unless you can prove he is doing something specifically wrong or illegal you probably have no case. Also who was there first you or him? Reason is a few years ago some people bought a house in Redmond near a place with cows. They complained about the smell - and they lost.