Our pediatrician asked if we burned wood ...

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jb6l6gc said:
I dont see how an epa vs. Non epa stove would affect the indoor air quality. I would think bad draft/chimney setup and carelessness on reloading causing smoke spillage and things of that nature would be legitimate factors.
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I was simply stating.
 
My environmental allergies are so bad that I have had to call into work, and I'm not a wuss.
I take allergy shots.

Burning wood has not made my breathing/allergies any worse regardless of which stove I used.
 
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jb6l6gc said:
I dont see how an epa vs. Non epa stove would affect the indoor air quality. I would think bad draft/chimney setup and carelessness on reloading causing smoke spillage and things of that nature would be legitimate factors.
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Exactly.
 
Attacking the credibility of the science or stating individual experience is misguided. Smoke causes respiratory problems. This is undisputed and the reason the EPA has seen fit to make the standards for emissions more stringent so that exposure is limited to safe levels for the vast majority of people.

So the prudent thing to do is to gravitate towards burning properly in EPA approved units. That this site is here to promote good practices to minimize adverse effects is a great asset. But there will be a portion of the population that will be affected even when using a new stove and best practice.
 
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Like anything, your mileage may vary.

I work with people who are allergic to everything but oxygen and water,,,,, who knows what is going to be a trigger for someone and the trigger may vary and the burning part isn't the problem, but rather something carried in on the wood could be, or the fact that the hot appliance is causing things near it to heat up and out-gas,,, who knows.

Regardless, if someone is having a problem, I can't blame them for doing whatever it takes get better, and am just thankful I'm not in their shoes.
 
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I certainly do not possess the many years of burning that some folks on here do, but my own experiences have caused me to believe that the resulting lack of humidity from wood stove use is Fer more damaging than any minimal smoke escape.
 
jb6l6gc said:
I dont see how an epa vs. Non epa stove would affect the indoor air quality. I would think bad draft/chimney setup and carelessness on reloading causing smoke spillage and things of that nature would be legitimate factors.
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Unless atmospherics and location are good a lot of smoke created by a smoke dragon can settle into a fug around the house and neighborhood. Then not only that family but all the neighborhood suffers. I see this in local hollows and valleys in several rural parts of our state.
 
begreen said:
Unless atmospherics and location are good a lot of smoke created by a smoke dragon can settle into a fug around the house and neighborhood. Then not only that family but all the neighborhood suffers. I see this in local hollows and valleys in several rural parts of our state.
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I do agree epa stoves are better in regards to emmisions, like i said however not everyone can afford these type of units they come with a high price tag. I myself have been wanting to upgrade my hotblast ussc, was considering tundra or other drolet models but they had cracking firebox issues. Rather than run out and buy something that has a serious safety issue because it was rubber stamped out the door too quick i will wait. I think this sites real responsibility is to make sure people are safe and responsible with their equitment they have and methods. Epa vs non epa to me is like saying everyone must have high efficient gas furnaces or top of the line air conditioners etc. Lets not forget allot of people have to make due with what they have and can afford!
 
EPA stoves start at well under $1000. They have been on the market for over 3 decades. The excuse to hold on to an old smoke dragon is getting, old. Several EPA stoves are cheaper than big screen TVs. Furnaces are a different issue. They are dealing with a much larger fuel charge that is going to want to outgas quickly. It's hard to have a clean smolder without a cat in this case.
 
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I get secondary burn and no visible smoke from my hotblast when shes kicking so like i said i will wait. I guess i better replace my old car that runs perfectly or my old tv that works fine. I dont see anything wrong with using something till its reached its viable lifespan!
 
The old smoke dragons being referred to are stoves, not furnaces. They are a lot older and less efficient than the Hot Blast furnace. They often have no baffle or secondary combustion. Operational design for many was to load and smolder.
 
Do they still have new stoves for sale that dont have cats or secondary burn systems. If so these should be taken off the market. If i had a stove it would for sure be newer due to the ease at which you can change them out. That being said i do want to instsll a stove in my shop will prob go for a cheaper epa stove like a drolet or something. Only issue i have with Sbi is their wait times!
 
Only was to truly stop people from using non epa stoves is to take em off the shelves like the incandescent light bulb
 
Non-EPA stoves no longer for sale new, but the used market is still active.
 
Eventually, but some were built massively out of heavy plate steel. You could put some of those old tanks out in the field and they would take decades to rust away.
 
I doubt the odd one like that will have much effect big picture
 
Problem is that they are not the odd ones in some places, they are the norm for many. You can drive around rural WA state and run across these smoke dragons chugging out clouds of smoke pretty easily on a winter day. Look at some big stove exchange programs and they take them in by the hundreds in one area alone. And this is in a state that put in strict regulations on wood stove emissions from the get go a few decades ago.

This still is not an uncommon site in rural WA. Two or 3 stoves burning like this can fill up a cold valley with smoke. Then all residents suffer.
HouseWoodSmoke.png
 
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If people would open up the air a bit and not choke it out it would not burn that smokey.when its looking like that cominy out chimney i would say definetly crap wood and operator error!
 
I think OAK would help too. I try to run my stove clean but sometimes when the weather is right, I can tell what ever smoke is around the house is getting pulled in this drafty old place. Most of the time the wind is blowing over my house so my exhaust heads across the street...and most of the time, there is 0 smoke but the operator does screw up sometimes:)
 
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