air quality

[hammerlogging]

Ladies and gentlemen,

I enjoy AS, mostly talking felling and all in the F&L section.

I heat with wood. I've heated with wood for about 12 years. For the last 5 years I guess you could say my wife has too. In a few months someone else , a new quite young fellow will be joining us, in theory he too will be a wood burner, as he'll be living with us for a good many years!

So, the wife is concerned about air quality, and to her credit I think she is correct in some ways. We live in a little 740 sf house with a stove in the lower floor, a shed kitchen tacked on the side. We are renters so I don't want to spend TOO much for improvements on drafts, insulation, etc., but some is ok. We're on top of a hill and its pretty windy here. I burnt a #### ton of wood last year considering our squarefootage, over 6 cords, although it was a tough winter.

I need to work on preventing backdraft when feeding, I need to work on not having to crack the bedroom window at night where smoke swirls around and comes billowing in the crack- I'll overload the stove right before bed so it has coals still by morning but that first hour with it all loaded up, stove entirely shut down, hot.

Can anyone offer air quality info or advice? A new stove cap? A more finesse approach to feeding? Evidence or advice on heating with wood with soft little babyt lungs nearby? I don't want to have to succumb to a bunch of ####ty inefficient plug in electric heaters.

Thank you.

 

[coog]

You are right to be concerned. I would start by adding a section to your chimney.Easy and pretty cheap. Good luck with the new resident.

 

[Mike PA]

First, congratulations on the new addition! You're in for a life change that is very difficult to anticipate where you are going. Enjoy the trip.

You are definitely burning a lot of wood to heat the place, but i know the feeling. I'm burning 7-8 cords to heat 1500 sq ft, so we are in the same boat. First, i think you need to try to determine why your draft is poor. Do you have an external chimney? What is the height of your chimney? A short flue or external flue can both cause drafting issues and both may be solved (or helped) with additional lengths of chimney. For external chimney, building a chase around it may also help. If you think the draft problems are because of swirling wind, addind a cap is a cheap potential fix. Any combination of these things may be what you need. A little more info here is helpful.

Also, the more you damp your stove, the more problems with smoke and draft you will have. Consider adding a more efficient stove to burn more of the smoke off. Make sure your wood is plenty dry. Prior to opening the stove to feed it, open the draft for a little to increase the heat and draft. When you are around to tend the stove, build smaller fires with the draft open more. Also, make sure you actually have enough combustion air available for your stove, as the house itself may be causing draft issues. Consider all other potential air drains, such as bath fans and dryers (when these things are running, maybe you shouldn't open the stove?). Also, given the way you burn, you may have creosote buildup in your system, which would certainly affect your draft.

There are a lot of things that could contribute to draft problems, so it will be a bit of a process for you to work through this, but a cap is a cheap thing to start with. If you install a cap, you may need to keep an eye on it for creosote build-up, given the way you burn. Unfortunately, I am not an expert and can only provide things for which you can look and some ideas to consider. Good luck

 

[Ambull]

As far as smoke coming out of the stove, a different stove may suit you better. I have noticed that stoves with reburn systems or catalytic converters tend to not draw as well, and put smoke and ash into the room when you feed them. I had been using these stoves for over 10 years. I then got an old Round Oak stove, and I could not believe the difference. I am not saying that you need a Round Oak, but I think that any pre-emmisions stove would improve indoor air quality.

Here is my stove:

 

[coog]

I'm burning 7-8 cords to heat 150 sq ft,

I really hope this is a typo, Mike. Good advise on all counts.

 

[Mike PA]

oops. 1500 sq ft.

 

[Ambull]

I'm burning 7-8 cords to heat 150 sq ft,

Hopefully that is a typo. If not, it is time to insulate your 15X10 shed......lol

 

[mtngun]

Aside from fixing a possible chimney problem, I think the biggest safety factor with kids is keeping them from being burned on the stove. Not sure how to handle that, short of building a wall around the stove.

With regards to a little smoke, people were living in teepees and huts for thousands of years before chimneys were invented. Smoke helped to keep the skeeters at bay. I'm not saying there are zero health issues, but unless your kid has asthma, I don't see a logical reason to be alarmed.