How Much Wood can a Wood Stove Burn? Article 2009

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm guessing they wouldn't be to happy with my backyard, 20+ cords and I've kinda lost count...
It mostly looks like one long row 121' in length. Hard to tell it's three rows deep, from the street anyway. Most city officials won't say anything
until some nosey neighbor calls in a complaint. I'm still waiting for the letter from the city since I have some A**hat neighbors.
 
Simply absurd. This is the kind of BS that makes reasonable folks get a little bit unreasonable. I think I'd be as hot as my stove if my town 'officials' tried to tell me how much wood I could have on my property - I'd be pretty tempted to show them a good place to store a split. Actually found myself getting angry reading this article, as I was imagining myself if this poor guys place. Cheers!
 
I fail to understand what people have against a pile of wood. Especially when this is something that a person needs to heat his home. However, I can understand after seeing some wood piles why neighbors might not like it. You can have a wood pile and keep it neat and then it should bother nobody. If it is falling all over and has ugly plastic tarps that blow in the wind, then it can be a bit of an ugly sight. Still, that home owner is paying his taxes and that land is his; not the neighbor's and not the city's.
 
Totally ludicrous! typical of ass-sittin bureaucrats with nothin better to do.
 
This makes me nervous. My plan for a new "in house" wood stove is in response to a whiny neighbor complaining to the city about my OWB. Took it out and sold it 3 years ago. Christmas my wife finally said yes to a wood stove in the basement. Well what she said was "fine, put one in, but if I smell wood smoke I am moving out." That's yes, right? Reserved a Woodstock PH the next day. That IS yes right? Anyway, if I spend the time and money for the chimney and stove install and have the whiner complain again, will I be up $hits creek again? Makes me want to sell my house and move the %#! out of town.
 
I have to wonder if those neighbors of his would be crying if there was an extended power outage during the dead of winter. (I used to live just north of the Twin Cities. I know what the weather can be like up there.)
I have a feeling they'd want to come over to his place to warm their bones beside the fire.

(I'm so glad I have a 6 ft tall privacy fence.)
 
BillsWS said:
This makes me nervous. My plan for a new "in house" wood stove is in response to a whiny neighbor complaining to the city about my OWB. Took it out and sold it 3 years ago. Christmas my wife finally said yes to a wood stove in the basement. Well what she said was "fine, put one in, but if I smell wood smoke I am moving out." That's yes, right? Reserved a Woodstock PH the next day. That IS yes right? Anyway, if I spend the time and money for the chimney and stove install and have the whiner complain again, will I be up $hits creek again? Makes me want to sell my house and move the %#! out of town.

Is the basement a livable space . . . I only ask since the Woodstock PH is absolutely beautiful and deserves to be in a nice spot of the house where folks can see it and appreciate both its heat and beauty.
 
Thanks Firefighterjake. I'll be removing this to install the stove.

DSCN0339.jpg
 
BillsWS said:
...I'll be removing this to install the stove...

You've got to be kidding. How could you just rip out something like that work of art? You are kidding, right?
 
Looks like a livable, popular spot to me . . . a very appropriate place for the PH.

I have to say at first glance I kind of thought the same as Fossil . . . but then I wondered if this was a facisimile and not the real thing.
 
fossil said:
BillsWS said:
...I'll be removing this to install the stove...

You've got to be kidding. How could you just rip out something like that work of art? You are kidding, right?

Well, um, ah, yeah, I plan on pulling that out. It is a Valor gas set up. It is very small. It does put out some heat and has a built in thermostat. The flame will increase automatically if the room gets cold. But Fossil, it just isn't a wood stove.
 
oldspark said:
You otta be horse whipped. :cheese:

I can honestly tell you I have not laughed this hard in years. Reminds me of something my long gone pops would have said. Thank you oldspark! Hahahahaha!
 
I can kind of see the issue.

Small lot and houses are close together.
 
My main concern with a wood pile close to a house would be rodents and like backwoods said ugly tarps flaping in the wind.
As long as the guy keeps it tidy, rotates piles, and dont have more than a few years worth I don't see the problem.
I would probably put a fence up to keep the neighbors prying eyes out.
 
Read the article and this is truly crazy! Wonder if he builds a sided shed where you cant see the wood would it be a problem?

Obama said wood burning was ok and approved tax credits now a local area with out burn restrictions has a limit that is one years worth of wood? How do you season it to burn clean? I understand ordanences where you dont want to have a messy hoarder protected under law but there is a different in wood stacks off the groun stacked and wool piled on the ground and stacks rotting cause they litterally just hoard wood.
 
Looked at the google map pic, wow what a tiny yard and house!! Im glad i dont live in a place like that, not only for the neighbors but the lack of space period. And even in a cold climate im amazed that that small of a house would take 4 cords a year to heat!
 
The article made me scratch my head. Who to blame, City Inspector ? ordinances?

I'd take aim at the neighbour. There is the root of the problem right there.

Nextdoor neighbour on one side has fireplace and when that thing is lit, it is like living next to a smelter. I have a VC Encore 2550. Neighbour on the other side is subject to the smoke from both of us (prevailing winds). The smoke subject neighbour had a shot at me the other week complaining about the amount of smoke coming out of my chimney. Hmmm. Come over and take a look. Dude comes over, looks at my chimney, nothing. I point out fireplace neighbour and the belching that is occuring and the "subject to smoke neighbor" suddenly realizes that I am not the culprit. It's fireplace neighbour.

Some people really are dense.

I must admit though, until that little Encore gets warm and that CAT is working, it pumps out smoke too. No where near the amount pumped out by fireplace dude though.
 
rayg said:
The article made me scratch my head. Who to blame, City Inspector ? ordinances?

I'd take aim at the neighbour. There is the root of the problem right there.

Nextdoor neighbour on one side has fireplace and when that thing is lit, it is like living next to a smelter. I have a VC Encore 2550. Neighbour on the other side is subject to the smoke from both of us (prevailing winds). The smoke subject neighbour had a shot at me the other week complaining about the amount of smoke coming out of my chimney. Hmmm. Come over and take a look. Dude comes over, looks at my chimney, nothing. I point out fireplace neighbour and the belching that is occuring and the "subject to smoke neighbor" suddenly realizes that I am not the culprit. It's fireplace neighbour.

Some people really are dense.

I must admit though, until that little Encore gets warm and that CAT is working, it pumps out smoke too. No where near the amount pumped out by fireplace dude though.

I agree. His neighbor doesn't like him. I ran into the same problem with my neighbor at my old house. Fortunately, my town chairperson
also heated with wood, so the complaint didn't get very far. The county inspector came out and told me that I as long as I had my wood off
the town's road right-of-way, I was okay. Now I have good neighbors, a much bigger lot (2.5 acres), and about 15 plus cords of wood-mostly
out-of-sight.
 
I've had similiar issues with a neighbor for 20 years. Best thing I ever did was go talk to an attorney. He told me to never back down and be ready to sue the town and my neighbor if I felt the need for preservation and if I felt I was in the right. NO ONE wants to get sued and spend $ and time on futile BS. Neither does a munincipality.
The fact that this guy didn't get a citation says the town doesnt have much to go on. The fact that they bent says they don't want a fight and it was just a means to an end or mediation if you will.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.