Why the wood haters?? One bad apple...

Only ones around here to complain about smoke would be the jackrabbits and the coyotes, even so I only burn dry, seasoned wood. Nevada has the least amount of rainfall of all the fifty states, so maybe that helps. If I had close neighbors I would definitely do my best to reduce the amount of smoke from my wood burning.

Before and after pics of three trees that will become firewood.to be burned in maybe 5 or 6 years.

Three standing dead


Skidding to processing area


All cleaned up. This is looking east and any chimney smoke would be heading this way most of the time.

Lol...wow...cant believe you have internet. After the three trees are gone, then what?
Okay, no one has mentioned elevation...air currents...wind travel. The generic wind currents surrounding their living conditions.
Smoke sits in clouds in the neighborhood...
Maybe you are in a valley?
I know this factor has nothing to do with correct and incorrect burn procedures...
But you know the saying...
Chit rolls downhill.
They wanted to put a coal cogeneration plant in NY but environmentalists in Vermont managed to shut it down.
Like chemicals being dumped into rivers by You Know Who...
Upwind and down wind.
As far as wood smoke, people can easily complain about what they see or smell but is that gonna be the real danger in our lives?
Or is it just something to bi***h about?

People are too stupid to realize that oil burners, wood burners and natural gas burners all release poisons into the air. You just can smell the wood burners.

"Lol...wow...cant believe you have internet."

Me either I live on the end of a dirt road, and always had plain old telephone service. Then the phone co ran fiber cable out on the main road about 2.5 miles away, and I had internet.

"After the three trees are gone, then what?"

I have plenty of firewood in log form. I just hope that I live long enough to burn it all.

"As far as wood smoke, people can easily complain about what they see or smell but is that gonna be the real danger in our lives?"
Or is it just something to bi***h about?'

I don't know if complaining brought this about, and was justified or was it just some group that thought they new what is best for the citizens. Either way I would not want to live anywhere near the city of Reno. Nv. or Washoe Co.

https://www.washoecounty.us/health/programs-and-services/air-quality/know-the-code/index.php

Firefighter938 said:

I have a friend with an owb and he will only burn green wood. I offered to give him some dry stuff and he said no because it doesn't last long enough.

I have an old "smoke dragon" but when I'm burning you really have to look at the chimney to notice. All you can see is the heat coming out of it with the occasional whisp of white smoke.

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Wow. The cognitive disconnect that your friend is living with would frustrate the heck out of me.

And I also have an old smoke dragon, but my wood is so seasoned I only see smoke when I'm starting the fire. After that, it's just heat waves.

I drive by a OWB installation in Maine, the OWB is right on the fence line with neighboring property and the house is on a hill with the neighbor house downhill about 40' away. The plume is frequently going downhill right into the neighbors house. I am amazed the downslope neighbor hasn't wrapped a chain around the boiler and hauled it away or inserted a few sticks of dynamite inside the fire box.

Wood Duck said:

There are lots of wood burners in my neighborhood, and a few of them manage to produce a constant stream of dark smoke from their chimneys. If I lived downwind from one of those guys I might be a wood heat hater too. A few people doing wood heat improperly makes a much stronger impression than the majority doing it right. The guys who burn clean go completely unnoticed.

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It's like I tell my kids.... The cops don't pull over cars that are going the speed limit to reward them for obeying the law.

Blowingsmokeupyourchimney said:

So, why all the wood heater haters or is it just the outdoor boiler owners not running their stoves right? I saw the facebook page/group "Wood Burning Neighbors say the Darndest Things", who are the stupid wood stove users that are giving us all such a bad name? We should do a door-to-door campaign to help them out if they are that bad at burning wood...

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I just went on that page. 82 tree huggers with nothing better to do. I do have to agree that there are a lot of bad apples that ruin it for us. I see a lot of people with the dreaded pile of rounds in the driveway, axe stuck in the round when they have enough split for a few days. Sadly I was "that guy" until I found this place. My neighbor was that guy last year, however I haven't seen any smoke from their chimney this year. There was one day last winter I swore the house was on fire. Maybe the reason for no smoke this year lol

Around my area it doesn't much matter , most everyone burns wood or coal for heat. I could see it being an issue if you lived in town and had a smoke cloud choking your neighbor but in my area people just mind their business. And as far as the post that mentioned wood heaters as being "too cheap to buy other sources of heat ". They are absolutely right on with that ! No way I'll pay for gas or oil while I'm able to provide my own heat at my own expense.

I guess I'm guilty of being too cheap also. Last time I filled the 2 tanks in the basement with #2 was 2009. I bought $160 worth this year just in case.i loaded my skid tank in the back of the truck and went to the 24 hr automated place I used to buy fuel for my last diesel truck. They have pump your own home heating oil

Plus it gives me that sexy cross fit body

Firefighter938 said:

I offered to give him some dry stuff and he said no because it doesn't last long enough.

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LOL

It was said earlier if you burn properly most of your neighbors will even know you burn wood. Everything associated with wood burning lately seems to be how dirty and bad for the environment it is. There are a lot of wood burners out there that care for the environment and other people's health. The news likes to parade the negative of any thing anymore. More people are interested in hearing about the problems with the world than the good.

rwilly said:

The article put wood burners in a real bad light. Made us out to be a bunch of Hillbillys.

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I'm a wanna-be hillbilly. Scientist by day, tractor mechanic by night.

But, I do burn clean!

heavy hammer said:

The news likes to parade the negative of any thing anymore. More people are interested in hearing about the problems with the world than the good.

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"anymore"? I think it's always been the case. "If it bleeds it reads" is not a new phrase. The demographic has just shifted, where woodburners have once again fallen to the minority, and too many remember the horrid stoves and common burning practices of the 1970's oil crisis days.

some of it is media driven
wood stoves, cruise ships and guns are ruining their paradise dream
some people watch TV to know what beer and koolaid to drink, frozen waffles to buy and what they should think.

peakbagger said:

I drive by a OWB installation in Maine, the OWB is right on the fence line with neighboring property and the house is on a hill with the neighbor house downhill about 40' away. The plume is frequently going downhill right into the neighbors house. I am amazed the downslope neighbor hasn't wrapped a chain around the boiler and hauled it away or inserted a few sticks of dynamite inside the fire box.

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This sounds exactly like an area in southern Maine a few miles from me. There's a valley off the side of the road with houses pretty close to each other. I've driven by and seen the OWB chugging like a freight train and the whole area was covered in smoke. Absolutely ridiculous.

I've got an anti wood person some where in the overall neighborhood - calling the city and complaining the any stack of fire wood is a fire hazard- ya right with 8 aces of city owned un-kept conservancy behind me. One good bolt in the right place and a bit of time and the right wind and my place would be toast. They are not equipped to handle a small forest fire. ( all ready happen once ( set by some kids) , I was lucky came home before things got really out of hand- most of you would have no idea how in-effective a garden hose really is)

Blowingsmokeupyourchimney said:

Heating with wood and being more self reliant makes a person smarter but the people who heat with oil or propane or nat. gas don't see it that way. And my home is 10 degrees warmer than theirs and cost me so much less than what they are paying.

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My sentiments exactly. NG and barrels of oil are cheap now, but for how long? No one knows.

I always felt bad that my blaze king would smoke right into my neighbors house when I reloaded. it was normally just steam once the cat was active and humming along. But on a day when there was a strong down pressure it would head right for their kitchen window. They never said anything but I'd be pissed too.

So I stopped burning wood this year because of a smoke issue and plan on putting a batch boiler in the garage, which is behind all the houses, or a heatmaster/p&m style at the back of my property in the alley way. It used to be the old driveway for the homestead that turned into my development 60 years ago. Just depends on how much $ I can save to put down on something.

By the way my wood is always c/s/s for 2 years before it gets burnt.....thanks to this site.

Too cheap, really? I have well over $3000 in my wood stove DIY install and even my winter heating bill is less than $100 per month using my geothermal system by itself. Figure maybe 4 months of wood heat per year and my chain saw alone cost 1 1/2 years of heating bills. December's bill this year was close to $50. If you have marginal insulation and conventional oil or "all electric" strip heaters maybe it is cheaper to burn wood. I expect to need to replace my stove in about 10 years so I might break even, give or take a bit.
Wood does have other benefits though. My geothermal system really sucks during a power outage and it provides zero ambiance. If you don't enjoy cutting wood and someone else buys you a stove and your wood is free, sure you can make out burning wood. How many of us can meet all of those conditions?

I'm cheap. I'm a 3rd generation German engineer. I never had any decision in the matter. We're all cheap.

When people call me cheap, I just say "you should meet my father".

Blowingsmokeupyourchimney said:

I burn wood to heat my home and shop. I know a lot of people who do. But I have to ask about the people and groups that are against it. I have seen a few posts or forums on this topic and have been looking at Heated Up! and other sites. I still think wood burned inside a combustion chamber is still better than burning in a pile. I live in the Northeast part of South Dakota and we (what I have read) had zero trees hundreds of years ago. So, how can it be bad for us, to now burn wood? A lot of areas were harvested and clear cut for wood but I think we are so much better with burning wood now, than we were 100 years ago.

So, why all the wood heater haters or is it just the outdoor boiler owners not running their stoves right? I saw the facebook page/group "Wood Burning Neighbors say the Darndest Things", who are the stupid wood stove users that are giving us all such a bad name? We should do a door-to-door campaign to help them out if they are that bad at burning wood...

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I find a lot of people who are too romantic about wood, and pretty many who are totally against it. It's neither a terrible way to heat nor the best in every situation. We live in the city. Even if one lives outside the city in my county, it's a populated area. Air pollution is real important. We saved up to get a new stove, for pollution reasons, and our basic rule is that the neighborhood won't suffer. We can have a fire for four hours and no one knows. My wife comes home and doesn't realize until she steps in the door that there's a fire. That's our standard. It's not as clean as our gas furnace but seems relatively clean. We burn only wood that has sat in our sunny driveway for one or two years. We lean toward smaller pieces, splitting them into quarters or smaller. We make the fires hot. That's not the answer to every situation, but it does satisfy any neighbors with worries. Some cities have to ban use of fireplaces and stoves -- it can be a problem if a large enough number of people are burning in older stoves, or fireplaces. If someone is against wood because they think it's reducing forests, they don't have much of a clue. I don't find many people like that.

D8Chumley said:

Plus it gives me that sexy cross fit body

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Right. My wife was commenting just the other day that my ab was looking quite pronounced lately. Yes, I have only one.

peakbagger said:

I drive by a OWB installation in Maine, the OWB is right on the fence line with neighboring property and the house is on a hill with the neighbor house downhill about 40' away. The plume is frequently going downhill right into the neighbors house. I am amazed the downslope neighbor hasn't wrapped a chain around the boiler and hauled it away or inserted a few sticks of dynamite inside the fire box.

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That would have been my father . . . well not literally . . . but he was of that mindset. Neighbor down the road/hill from him was always complaining about the smoke from the idling OWB . . . and dear old Dad didn't help things as he was always ready, willing and able to burn anything and everything in that boiler -- seasoned wood, green wood, trash, pallets, etc. He was not the best advocate for wood burners needless to say.