Had a visit from my neighbor.

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BrianN

BrianN

Feeling the Heat
Aug 30, 2012
285
Central BC
When I got home from work yesterday, I decided that I would light up the BBQ (for the warmer months, May to October, we use a charcoal grill with wood chips for smoke flavour). So, I had the charcoal in the chimney getting it all lite up and ready.
While I was doing this, our neighbor came over.
She started out with: "I really hate to do this, but, your wood stove is smoking me out"
Then, "It's been going on for three years"
My favorite, "One time it was so bad it set off my smoke alarm"
And, "It only happens at night, and not when it is really cold"

Being the good neighbor, I agreed with her and said that I would look into it and see what I can do to stop it in the future.
Then, thinking about it. I don't think that it could be the wood stove.
One, we have only had it for two years.
Two, I don't think I could produce enough smoke to turn on her smoke detectors.
And three, well, we use our charcoal BBQ in the afternoon/evening during the warmer months. We change back to the gas grill during the winter months.
Also, our deck, where we have the BBQ is right next to her back door, about 20' away.

So, I guess my question would be. Could our wood stove actually smoke her out? Even though our chimney is about 30' in the air, 70' away from her house (which is a ranch style house), plus, the wind never blows in that direction.
Thank you for your input.
Brian.
 
My neighbor is across the street and about 500' down the road, I regularly have to close my windows due to his wood stove smoke.

He's a scumbag, lives in an uninsulated shack, has no plumbing, and burns wet wood year round occasionally with some garbage mixed in.

He's the exception to the norm, but yes, depending on your burning practices, you can easily smoke out a neighbor, especially that close to you.
 
I suppose anything is possible. How are your burning practices? I'll assume seeing we're here on a wood burning forum, you've got your stove dialed in and only smoke on cold start or reload. Is she one of those people that would complain about absolutely anything in the neighborhood?

Our smoke alarms can chirp on cool nights (humidity?) if the furnace is off, like outside temps around 0 C 30-32 F. Maybe that's one of her problems, but she smells smoke and thinks it's you.
 
I would have told her to come see you again when they were experiencing it so you could find out what the issue was when it was happening.

Some glad my neighbours aren't that close to my BBQ area. Which also contains a smoker.
 
I feel that my burning practices are good. All my wood is beetle kill pine, so, from the bush, they are at or below 20% on my moisture meter, plus, I am burning wood from last year. So, they should be well below 20%. I'll have to go out and see tomorrow.
But yes, a little bit of smoke on cold start up, and reloads. Mostly just a little bit of steam showing all the other times though.
I think that I will go over tomorrow and mention to her to let me know the next time she is "smoked out" I have a feeling it will be when we are smoking our ribs tomorrow.
 
Threads like this make me so happy i made the change to rural life. I know and like my neighbours but theres enough distance between our properties it would be very hard to be a bother.
 
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jb6l6gc said:
Threads like this make me so happy i made the change to rural life. I know and like my neighbours but theres enough distance between our properties it would be very hard to be a bother.
Click to expand...
We live on an elevated part of a cul de sac, and all the lots are greater than 1/2 acre. So you don't need to go rural.

I'm the only burner on the street, in fact, a neighbor once told me how nice it was to catch a faint scent of cedar in the air from time to time.
 
jb6l6gc said:
Threads like this make me so happy i made the change to rural life. I know and like my neighbours but theres enough distance between our properties it would be very hard to be a bother.
Click to expand...
Wish that we stayed at our rural property, where every one burned, and, knew how to burn. But, things happen in life, and you have to move to an area where the neighbors are closer than you like.
But, like I said, I think it is the BBQ. Just started the fire now. As usual, no excessive smoke wafting around. Just a faint smell. Love it.
 
Warm_in_NH said:
My neighbor is across the street and about 500' down the road, I regularly have to close my windows due to his wood stove smoke.

He's a scumbag, lives in an uninsulated shack, has no plumbing, and burns wet wood year round occasionally with some garbage mixed in.

He's the exception to the norm, but yes, depending on your burning practices, you can easily smoke out a neighbor, especially that close to you.
Click to expand...
Has he lived there for 40 years, and you just moved in last year?
 
OP, if you start your charcoal with lighter fluid you could try another method.
I've found that the lighter fluid burning smell much more annoying than the charcoal and wood chips.
 
Nope, no lighter fluid used. I use a chimney to start it. It is quite smokey at first. May have to move it to the other side of the yard next year.
 
BrianN said:
Nope, no lighter fluid used. I use a chimney to start it. It is quite smokey at first. May have to move it to the other side of the yard next year.
Click to expand...
I do the same thing, I sometimes move my performer out to the yard, not cause of the neighbors, cause it blows back into the open windows and patio and my wife complains. Going rural won't solve that.

It would be neat to have a way to start out there and then bring the full chimney back safely to the grill, its only the first 20 minutes.
 
I've got a pellet smoker and it gets used on either the extreme left or right of the patio depending on what way the wind is blowing. However it never fails to switch direction mid cook. Can't win on that one.
 
My neighbor burned wood for year with a interior HS tarm. I never had any issues, He put in an oversized OWB and my smoke alarm my attic starting going off plus I would get a strong wood sell smoke in my house. The stack was much lower and the way his OWB works is that he loads it up in the AM it heat the house and they smoulders for the rest of the day as it warms up. Stoves will make far more smell when they are dampened down and many folks do it with a wood stove because they would fill it up once and dampen it down than add wood frequently to control the heat output.

My neighbor ended up installing a 30 foot stack on his OWB and its a lot better but on rare occasions during shoulder season its quite noticeable.
 
I'm sure it could happen. Wood fires on startup can be really smokey.

I also live in the country. I have some borderline scary large brush fires that would certainly attract the wrong attention.....if any one was around to see them. :)
 
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