Other urban burners??

[kd460]

This is something I'm concerned about as well. I live in a typical subdivision on 3/4 acre lots. My closest neighbors on one side burn occasionally, and my neighbors on the otherside "might get a wood burner someday". So no problem there. Now the house next to them can be a problem. He is the type of guy that thinks the world revolves around him. He even complained when a neighbor had his camper in the driveway for a day longer than the association rules stated. What a yoo-hoo!

It's kind of obvious that I burn, 3 cord stacked up behind and along side the garage, and I am out their splitting and hauling pretty much year round. I try to burn clean, but sometimes, you know. I guess I need to go read the township oridinences. KD

 

[Mo Heat]

... I guess I need to go read the township oridinences. KD

Ordinance or no ordinance, if some self centered, loud mouth with delusions of grandeur starts whining, things can happen. For some reason the loudest idiots seem to get the best results. Logic, reason, and common sense seem to place a distant second when idiots start shouting.

Having said that... I'm not too worried about burning. I keep it clean and with no smoke, neighbors don't much know who's burning if they can smell wood smoke, but can't see it. There is always a smell.

My biggest worry is actually when my next door neighbor starts up his open fireplace. That thing smokes like an old steam engine. He just cut about a cord and a half of wood, so I'm a bit worried. If he starts smoking up the neighborhood on a regular basis like he does now on occasion, he may be a catalyst for trouble. He is pretty busy with work and 3 kids, and does his own yard work, so luckily, he seems to be a once a month max burner, and then only for a few hours is the smoke pouring forth.

Two potential big smoke times are during kindling and reloading. Attention to those can reduce your smoke to almost nil. Burn clean and relax. We're probably all going to be fine.

 

[begreen]

Urban, suburban or rural, a smudgepot for a neighbor is not a welcome thing. I have a retired widow neighbor that seems to know only one way of burning - smokey. When we get temperature inversions here I welcome the stage 1 burn ban days. Tried to talk with her, but got the "I've been burning wood for 100 yrs. and know what I'm doing" speech... One look at her stack dripping with black creosote says it all.

 

[berlin]

i'll take a smudgepot over a whiner anywhere, anyday.

 

[ERPARKER]

Just wondering if there are other urban burners lurking and what are some of the characteristics you find unique to urban woodstove life.

I'm in Arlington, VA, just across the river from Washington, DC, in a classic grid neighborhood with no homeowner's association. Lot is about 10,000 square feet. We just had to have two 70-year old oak trees taken down. The "rounds" are piled in the yard and I'm working my way through them. I started this season by burning older wood

-I try to burn hot and clean but it isn't always possible. My nearest neighbors know I burn wood and I've proactively asked them if they've had any problems with the smoke. They say they haven't noticed and/or haven't had any problems with it.

-One neighbor is seperated from our house by a 6' fence with a 1' lattice on top. I've stacked wood about 1' away from the fence 6' high. We also have a very large garden shed in the back corner of our lot. I've stacked wood behind it. It may not dry as quickly but neither I or my wife want the wood stacked in the middle of the yard.

-Neighbors that see me splitting with my 8lb maul always ask why I don't rent a splitter. It's the same reason I don't use a leaf blower. I like the exercise, I like being outside, I like quiet, and I don't like using small gas engines if I can avoid it.

-Lots of free wood, though I'm still perfecting this approach. I got a stack of old rounds from someone that I split up and it burns like a charm. I got a pick-up truck load of already split wood and, I thought, seasoned, but it burns awful. Maybe it just got too much rain. Just this weekend I drove past a stack of rounds sitting on the side of the road. It was fresh kill, which I have plenty of right now, but in a few years I'll be stopping and fillin 'er up.