New wood burning survey

[begreen]

Oregon State has a new survey out for wood burners. Parts are good, a few parts are somewhat weakly written. Some of the questions may be off the mark for your situation, but answer them with something to continue on. The stove brand selection is a bit poor. Major brands like SBI stoves, Napolean, & Pacific Energy are missing while several old smoke dragons are listed. Also, it doesn't mention instrumentation as an asset for good wood burning. (And lastly, they don't mention Hearth.com as a resource. ) That said, it will help them make better choices for wood stove changeout programs.

https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e38D8jsiYq7Kg50

 

[begreen]

This thread will be monitored by OSU grad students if there are any questions or feedback. It's worth helping them understand how wood heating works for you. There is a prize at the end for participants.

They are open to feedback. I've suggested more focus on wood moisture content and how they burn. They need to add a question about instrumentation with a stovetop or stovepipe thermometer. It's important to know if one tests their wood for moisture content and knows how to use a moisture meter properly (most don’t).

The best bang for buck for an exchange program might be about teaching people how to properly check wood moisture content and to understand operation by the flue temperature. An incentive program providing a moisture meter and stove thermometer would cost around $50-60 per household, but could be more effective than a new stove if the goal is cleaner air quality.

 

[Wildflush]

Not sure if this applies but I would recommend wood stove safety. Having proper hearth platform, distance from combustibles, having an appropriate fire extinguisher in the room, CO detector, proper gloves and stove tools. Proper education on using seasoned wood 20% or under to prevent creosote buildup.

 

[begreen]

Not sure if this applies but I would recommend wood stove safety. Having proper hearth platform, distance from combustibles, having an appropriate fire extinguisher in the room, CO detector, proper gloves and stove tools. Proper education on using seasoned wood 20% or under to prevent creosote buildup.

Good point. Wood burning safety is essential. That's a little harder to determine from a survey but definitely should be part of any changeout program.

 

[osu_heating]

Hi all, I am the graduate student heading the development and distribution of this survey. I am pursuing a dual master's degree in mechanical engineering and applied anthropology at Oregon State University, where I am part of a larger wood heating research team. I wanted to share a little bit about our project to give context for the survey. I'll also include a shorter link to the survey and a QR code in case those are helpful for people. If you know anyone else who would be interested in taking the survey, please feel free to share this!

This research is part of a DOE- and EPA-funded project that aims to reduce emissions and increase heating efficiency of wood stoves. The first phase of this project consists of a needs assessment in which we are distributing this survey and conducting interviews to learn about the habits, needs, and challenges of people who heat their homes with wood. While the in-person part of this needs assessment focuses on rural and Tribal communities in Oregon, we are hoping to get survey responses from everyone who is interested in sharing their experience. A summary of our research project can be found in this article:
https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/...on-grant-create-wood-stoves-burn-more-cleanly

I want to give a big thank you to begreen for the feedback and for sharing this survey here. I will be making edits to the survey based on this feedback.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, I'm happy to be a resource!

Short survey link: http://bit.ly/3vXrITC

Survey QR code:

 

[GrumpyDad]

Oregon State has a new survey out for wood burners. Parts are good, a few parts are somewhat weakly written. Some of the questions may be off the mark for your situation, but answer them with something to continue on. The stove brand selection is a bit poor. Major brands like SBI stoves, Napolean, & Pacific Energy are missing while several old smoke dragons are listed. Also, it doesn't mention instrumentation as an asset for good wood burning. (And lastly, they don't mention Hearth.com as a resource. ) That said, it will help them make better choices for wood stove changeout programs.

https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e38D8jsiYq7Kg50

that will be shared with manufacturers in order to promote the future design of clean-burning stoves that meet or exceed regulatory standards.

Translation, the government will trust the study and make regulations from the study with data that isnt exactly accurate. sCiEnCe!
See now according to the government fully seasoned will be 6 months:
How dry is the wood that you burn in your stove?

• Fully seasoned (stored and air-dried for 6 months or more)
  
  
• Partially seasoned (stored and air-dried for less than 6 months)
  
  
• Wet wood (freshly cut or gathered without drying)
  
  
• It depends (please elaborate):

 

[begreen]

See now according to the government fully seasoned will be 6 months:
How dry is the wood that you burn in your stove?

• Fully seasoned (stored and air-dried for 6 months or more)
  
  
• Partially seasoned (stored and air-dried for less than 6 months)
  
  
• Wet wood (freshly cut or gathered without drying)
  
  
• It depends (please elaborate):

There is a western bias in the questions. This is for OR, not for the greater US. 6 months or less is all that is needed for split, western softwoods as long as the wood is top-covered or in a shed. I have been stacking green doug fir every April in the shed. It's ready to burn by late October. Bone dry summers make a difference.

 

[GrumpyDad]

There is a western bias in the questions. This is for OR, not for the greater US. 6 months or less is all that is needed for split, western softwoods as long as the wood is top-covered or in a shed. I have been stacking green doug fir every April in the shed. It's ready to burn by late October. Bone dry summers make a difference.

Ah that makes sense.
Im jealous. I can get Ash to burn very well from summer > winter, but everything else around here not so much.
I have probably 30 down white pines Im thinking of finding the non punky stuff and cutting up, as well as 20 soon to be dead standing pines that I will need to down eventually. They are all end of life. It's a shame because my entire area was filled with these guys and now they are all dying off, making way for maples, cherry, oak, and even some new ash trees are popping up.

 

[xman23]

I took the survey. There will be some of us that are more hard core burners and some that are not. I think the end report will be interesting.

 

[begreen]

Ah that makes sense.
Im jealous. I can get Ash to burn very well from summer > winter, but everything else around here not so much.
I have probably 30 down white pines Im thinking of finding the non punky stuff and cutting up, as well as 20 soon to be dead standing pines that I will need to down eventually. They are all end of life. It's a shame because my entire area was filled with these guys and now they are all dying off, making way for maples, cherry, oak, and even some new ash trees are popping up.

Yes, if I get some oak or locust it will need 2 years of seasoning time. I tried some elm after 1 yrs of seasoning and it did ok. This is where a properly used moisture meter tells all.

 

[Wildflush]

Also did the survey. I couldn’t get all my stacks in one pic because they are spread out but provided a sample.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Got most the way through and then felt weird that they asked for pictures of my house and contact info.

 

[Wildflush]

Got most the way through and then felt weird that they asked for pictures of my house and contact info.

I did not think it was very invasive. Just a pic of my stove, class A chimney and a sampling of my wood stacks. Really no house pics.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I did not think it was very invasive. Just a pic of my stove, class A chimney and a sampling of my wood stacks. Really no house pics.

I hear you, to each his own. I just sort of didn’t see the point of having to upload the pictures at all.

 

[begreen]

Got most the way through and then felt weird that they asked for pictures of my house and contact info.

That's optional, and definitely not required. They just want to see the chimney, not the house. Contact info is only if you want to further participate and so that they can contact you if you are a winner.

 

[EbS-P]

Survey completed.

As a professor I will offer some thoughts and suggestions.

Have you taken a quantitative data class not just a stats class? Survey design is everything. If you haven’t I highly recommend you take one.

The survey was long. If I wasn’t super committed to your work I would have given up if I wasn’t d finished in 8 minutes.

I would suggest more Likert scale questions.

Have you come across any previously published wood burning surveys? They might not be perfect but not starting from scratch is a huge time saver.

 

[stoveliker]

Done.
No pics though, as I concur with the survey being long. I did not want to get out and take pics (in a way that preserves some privacy).

No question on how long my wood dries (3 years in a shed - lots of hard woods, though I also have burned (pitch-)pine after a year when it was already <16%).
No question on what is more important than drying time: moisture content. Do burners know the moisture content of what they burn is about the most relevant question for those wanting to promote clean burning.
No question on how tall the chimney is (only how many stories the home is).
No question on whether the chimney is insulated (not so important for clean burning, but more important for safety).

All these parameters matter for parsing the results of the survey. Without them, many answers don't mean much.

 

[begreen]

It's a work in progress. These suggestions and feedback are very helpful. I agree the survey is too long for most people and sent them suggestions on how to consolidate portions.

 

[armanidog]

They need to add red oak to the list. It's big here in the East.

 

[Wildflush]

They need to add red oak to the list. It's big here in the East.

I thought I saw it on the survey

 

[osu_heating]

Survey completed.

As a professor I will offer some thoughts and suggestions.

Have you taken a quantitative data class not just a stats class? Survey design is everything. If you haven’t I highly recommend you take one.

The survey was long. If I wasn’t super committed to your work I would have given up if I wasn’t d finished in 8 minutes.

I would suggest more Likert scale questions.

Have you come across any previously published wood burning surveys? They might not be perfect but not starting from scratch is a huge time saver.

Thanks for your thoughts! I have not taken a quantitative data class, I appreciate the recommendation.

As for previously published wood burning surveys, yes, we created this survey by looking at other surveys that had been published in academic literature and comparing the questions they asked, while keeping in mind the main goal of our survey - which is to inform our engineering design.

 

[EbS-P]

Thanks for your thoughts! I have not taken a quantitative data class, I appreciate the recommendation.

As for previously published wood burning surveys, yes, we created this survey by looking at other surveys that had been published in academic literature and comparing the questions they asked, while keeping in mind the main goal of our survey - which is to inform our engineering design.

Other may not like my recommendations but graduate level qualitative data classes (and quantitative too) in The college of education are my recommendation. They hit all the basics to make and analyze a good survey in a single course.

 

[osu_heating]

They need to add red oak to the list. It's big here in the East.

In our survey it is listed as "Northern red oak," I'm sorry that wasn't clear! Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[JamesGuido]

 

[stoveliker]

View attachment 311467

lol exactly what I wrote as well