200' from property line & EPA Certified or remove from service by 2015!

[furjaw]

I just read Ohio's proposed regulations for outdoor wood burning furnaces.
They must be at least 200 feet from any property line.
They must be EPA Certified.
Or they must be taken out of service by July 1, 2015.

 

[webbie]

Sounds fair - maybe too fair as 200 feet is close enough to stink out some neighbors. I get a pretty good whiff from some stoves and fireplaces 500-1000 feet away.

My opinion only, of course - but I don't think regular folks without large acreage spreads should be burning the dirty OWBs.

 

[WILDSOURDOUGH]

"My opinion only, of course - but I don’t think regular folks without large acreage spreads should be burning the dirty OWBs."

My opinion- I think that anyones OWB should be burning dirty.

 

[deerefanatic]

My opinion - People should be free to do what they want on their own property.................... This followed up by me saying that I'm putting in a downdraft hi-efficiency furnace...... so I'm NOT saying this to excuse my own actions......

Whatever happened to freedom in this country? Welcome to the USAR......... or Communist States of America........

 

[free75degrees]

Well if you burn wood on your own property the smoke IS going on to another person's property. It would certainly be unacceptible to open a can of mustard gas upwind from your neighbor even if you did it on your property.

 

[GARYL]

It would seem that this new state law mirrors the ignorance of most state legislatures. By using the term "Outdoor Wood Boiler" (which is defined as any boiler/stove in a non-living space ie: barn, shed, etc) they are lumping ALL wood boilers into one package.

I am sure we will see not only more gasifiers going "Outdoors" but maybe other clean wood burning technology as well. And as I am sure you have all seen, once a law is placed on the books, trying to get it amended or reversed is nearly impossible. At the very least it would take years to amend by which time we will have used many many millions more barrels of oil needlessly.

Almost all laws start out with good intentions BUT they get bastardized over time by politicians who know what is best for us! I say don't let them get their foot in the door. The better outdoor products will come along and the price will come down and the old "smokies" will die out without kneejerk, feel-good legislation.

Just my 2 cents,
Gary

 

[Johnny Ringo]

I've seen enough OWB burning seasoned wood to know that they are perfectly acceptable given the right situation. Here in Northern Wi they work wonderfully for folks who live in the country. I would have to say they do not belong in town period. That said The filthiest smoke I've ever seen comes regularily right out of a second story chimmney. Lays a haze accross a whole neighborhood. Any stove will smoke unacceptably if burned stupid. So stupid brings on regulations for everybody I guess. Anyway I'm just venting a little bit. Tired of reading the posts from the pius gassifier snobs who don't understand there are hard working folks who are burning wood because they have to. Period. Its not a hobby for fun and tinkering. It's so they can afford to raise a family as best they can. I hate the thought of some guy laying out the cash and he's willing to do the work so his family can get along a little better and then he finds out he's being regulated to hell and back. Most people would assume if you can purchase it locally and use it for its intended service , it should be OK. There's a lot of good people being blindsided thru no fault of there own.

 

[webbie]

I'm 100% for it if the smoke stays on your property. That is what freedom and property rights are all about. But the thread is about a 200 ft distance.

Does a neighbor who does not burn wood have the right to NOT smell your smoke? That would seem like a as basic a right as the right to produce it! Maybe more basic?

I agree that a stove can produce a lot of smoke also, but here we are 20 years after the EPA stuff took hold and many people still use Pre-EPA models. That would seem to work against the idea that the clean OWB's will automatically win the market. They won't.

It's not a matter of snobbery, it's a matter of efficiency, clean air and being a good neighbor. Also, remember that 99% plus of current OWB in the field AND being sold do not meet any EPA standards, so it's not a matter of good being lumped in with bad.

If you are going to play the blame game, don't dump on the folks who want cleaner burning and more heat for less money......dump on the manufacturers who could have introduced this technology 15 years ago and didn't ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS $$$ in their pockets.

I can't blame it on the customer or OWB user - it is an industry problem that was created by selfishness.

 

[deerefanatic]

I still say it's not law-worthy...... The smoke isn't nearly as harmful as the chemicals that farmers dump on their fields every year in the form of pesticides and artificial fertilizers..... That get into MY drinking water... but the state wont do anything about that.......

Frankly, if I don't like the smoke from my neighbors OWB, well too bad on me.... Close the window! (Besides, in winter, how many people leave their windows open in winter?)

Plus, the above mentioned logic is true.... As gassifiers get cheaper and more readily available, they will push the OWB's out. Heck, my neighbors all have OWB's (that DONT smoke BTW.... My POS OWB was the only "smoker" in the neighborhood due to extremely poor design...) and have never HEARD of a gassifier... They're watching my project with great interest.....

The "burn half the wood" promise alone will push out the OWB..... No matter how cheap it is, cutting and splitting wood is still hard work....

 

[GARYL]

As usual, the answer is to draw a broad stroke and outlaw the "suspected" cause of problems instead of placing the blame and responsibility on the owner/operator. The many get penalized for the few, again!! It has become the norm to place the blame on the stove, gun and even the car for the wreckless or illegal use of them. If we as a society continue to think that legislation is the answer to all of our problems we will only have textbooks and memories to remind us what freedom really was.

Ranting again,
Gary

 

[FLASHMAN]

I just read Ohio's proposed regulations for outdoor wood burning furnaces.
They must be at least 200 feet from any property line.
They must be EPA Certified.
Or they must be taken out of service by July 1, 2015.

Remember, this is "proposed"... Odds are, it will end up closer to the CT law. Here, the law is minimum 200' from any residence not served by the unit, and if within 500', stack must be higher than the roofline of any residence not served by the unit. Seems to me, that's common sense. Although I realize that common sense is an uncommon virtue, further regulation is not what's needed. A single set of rules governing the use of these things, combined with STRICT enforcement of what you can and can't burn in them would work fine. But alas, there will always be some poophead who wants to burn tires, or leftover deer parts or whatever, who will ruin it, and then groan when the regs affect him. Where I live, just about everyone who has an OWB has one Central Boiler model or another. I have NEVER seen more than a few wisps of smoke coming from these, and the only one I think is kind of stupid is a guy who left the standard chimney on his instead of extending it above his own roofline.

Bottom line, if you burn reasonably well seasoned, non chemically treated WOOD in these things, and have a little bit of concern for the well-being of your neighbor, you won't make a lot of smoke.

I guess those of us with common sense would be able to gleen all that information with one simple statement, "don't be an poophead." Unfortunately, some people require the government to step in to tell them how to not be one, and the rest of us suffer for the regulation required by the ignorance of the few...