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That was what I tried to point out in my opening comments. Here is a YouTube video from one company pushing the newer technology that allows wood to burn smoke free:
What I see, with all of this wood dying in the next few years, is plenty of wood to fuel these newer furnaces and inserts. Eventually the pest will die as their food is exhausted and then wood will become scarce - but that might take many years. In the meantime heating our houses is one productive way to get rid of much of the dead. But there will still be plenty left to deal with.
If you are looking for wood boiler look in your backyard.(pun intended). It's not cheap but one of the best products on the market for burning wood.
I had the pleasure of being there a few weeks back, they had a wood boiler on display rated for 999K BTU but owner said it went much higher. They had to keep advertised rate under 1 million or they started running into issues with regulations because it went into an industrial classification.
In a word, hugelkultur is the only thing than needs to be done with it. It's the most practical, natural and cleanest thing to do. What is wrong with that?
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That might be a great idea for my brush pile that is currently about 150' long and 12' high. I have been wondering what do with all of my brush; the pile keeps growing. The last time I got a permit to burn a 50' foot round pile I had the DEP stop over with clipboards in their hands. Fortunately I had all basses covered; but I could see the hunger in their eyes! My current pile is far too big; but that is a very interesting idea.
I think what you are showing here is an outdoor furnace, that heats water, or some other heat transfer fluid, and that fluid heats the house. This puts the ash and mess outdoors, but, you have to go outside to fuel it. Lot of colder winter nights, I get up (as older guys do anyway) and I put a few logs into the stove. Would not want to go outside without getting at least somewhat dressed. Although these big furnaces probably can burn more than 24 hours on a full load of wood.
EPA started regulating wood stoves around 1990. The big outdoor furnaces somehow avoided being regulated, and were said to be smoky. (I have never seen one in real life so don't actually know.)
While EPA regulation of cars, for a time, say 73 to 77, was somewhat of a disaster, the "rated" wood stoves are far superior to the old school stoves, using about 1/3 less wood to produce the same heat.
They needed regulation because the older ones would smoke up a valley when they fired them up. Unfortunately the regulations went the wrong route; they went after the chimney height instead of the reburning of the combustion gasses (that I think came from the industry itself; I could be wrong).
I have never owned one and I don't work for any company associated with the wood furnaces or wood burners. I had originally had electric heat that was far too expensive. I ripped it out our house and installed a hot water oil furnace and have been happy ever since. At one time, with the electric heat, I was also burning 16 cords of wood a year. I spent around a month of my off work time in the forest getting firewood. I am very happy that I don't have to feed wood stoves anymore! At sometime I will have all the dead wood remove from my property and I will no longer have any wood to even think about one of these outside furnaces!
One thing about feeding wood into a inside boiler is the dirt and bugs you bring into the house. There is nothing like grabbing a log and not seeing the hole in it and then bringing it in to warm up; later to find hundreds of ants crawling all over your house. Of course then there are the many spiders that you also bring in.
I love getting carried away throwing a log into a wood burner and pinching my finger between the log and the door!
I am very happy with just turning up or down a thermostat!
In a word, hugelkultur is the only thing than needs to be done with it. It's the most practical, natural and cleanest thing to do. What is wrong with that?
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I've never heard of this, but I'm going to try it, thank you!
For that much wood I would seriously consider making charcoal. That would give you an end product that could be sold. You likely could get rid of it via assorted vendors at farmer's markets. Actual wood charcoal is a relatively expensive and highly prized. I make small batches in may back yard with my trimmings from my fruit trees.
For that much wood I would seriously consider making charcoal. That would give you an end product that could be sold. You likely could get rid of it via assorted vendors at farmer's markets. Actual wood charcoal is a relatively expensive and highly prized. I make small batches in may back yard with my trimmings from my fruit trees.
I liked Zoisite's 'hugelkultur' but I have enough to also give charcoal a try. I might as well think of other uses for my brush pile. Thanks!
It is if you are not smoking out your neighbors that are suffering from allergies and asthma. Then it becomes a battle cry.
It isn't only smoke problems; it is also about safety on our roads. There is a wooded short section (.8 miles) of road I take to get to work. Just a few days ago a front moved through. Before the worst rain and wind I had to go into work. There were two trees down in that short section of road before the worst of the worst came through. When I came back home there were signs that a third tree had been cut up and also removed from the roadway. If you are not paying attention, and hit a foot or more in diameter tree in the road, it could be fatal. Even smaller trees could be fatal.
t.
I'd suggest not driving through the area at top speed after a storm. Might be a prudent thought? Plus using headlights help a lot.
I'd suggest not driving through the area at top speed after a storm. Might be a prudent thought? Plus using headlights help a lot.
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And that is why I did not hit any of the downed trees! But not everybody thinks about dead wood laying in our roads. Sometimes it falls down in beautiful weather without any wind. On the other hand I was driving home late at nigh during an ice storm one time. I was taking my time (crawling) being that I was on black ice and going downhill. I encountered a 12 inch diameter pine tree laying across the road and I barely came to a stop. It was so slippery, that when I got out the car, I fell. I even managed to simply give the very heavy tree a nudge with my foot and the top slid down the hill and out of the road. But that tree was almost impossible to see; there was a little fog and the tree looked black in my headlights.
What I am saying is that there will be more laying on our roads and drivers have to be aware. Trees are made a lot heavier than our vehicles and they can kill if you hit them too hard. Our car manufacturers love to sell large motors cruising on empty roads; just be aware that you could be sharing the road with a tree!
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