[at-l] OT Outdoor Furnaces was Geo-Exchange -OT

[Jim Bullard]

On 1/1/07, RoksnRoots at aol.com <RoksnRoots at aol.com> wrote:

>        Just a slight follow-through on a previous OT topic:
...clip...
>
>            Also, the Times had and article telling how wood furnaces are
> becoming a problem because of their popularity. These furnaces burn at low
> temperature and oxygen rates, therefore emitting acrid-smelling, particulate-laden
> smoke into the local surroundings. Many communities are creating laws to limit
> their use because of this. Wood furnaces are a small shed-like unit placed
> outside the home that burn cut wood. Persons with a cheap supply of wood save on
> expensive heating oil or gas.

The "controlled draft" wood stoves of the 1980s burned in the same
fashion but weren't as direct a problem because they used a
traditional flue that exhausted the combustion fumes high enough for
the wind to dissipate them. Just as your clothing and even the hairs
on your body create an insulating envelop of air around you, so the
buildings and trees create an envelop of air close to the ground.
Traditional wood stoves have chimneys that extend above your roof
exhaust above that envelop but outdoor furnaces have short (or no)
stacks and exhaust directly into that lower envelop where the fumes
remain trapped.

The house behind mine has an outdoor furnace with no stack and when
the wind blows my way the smoke comes though my yard at 5-8' off the
ground. If I don't have my windows closed and sealed (I caulk them in
the winter) the smoke goes right through my house. It is like living
inside a chimney.

I sympathize that he has his money invested in that system and can't
afford to replace it right away but I had to complain because it makes
my house unlivable unless I keep it sealed tight. The current
compromise is that he only uses it in the winter months when my
windows are all sealed. If my town moves to ban outdoor furnaces in
populated areas however, I will be favoring the ban.
-- 
Jim Bullard
http://jims-ramblings.blogspot.com/