Interesting article

[WVwoodsman]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-15-furnace-inside_N.htm

 

[Wood Scrounge]

Sounds like city people in the country again

 

[pacman]

owb

I read that in usa today this morning . It seems like to me if you have a owb and you have people living close to you , you need to burn some good seasoned wood so it burns good and dosent smoke as much . I dont really know about owbs` but I know how people will blow things out of porportion and boo hoo like a baby about any thing to get their way . I also know that people dont care about others and they might be burning green wood in the owb`s that might be smoking like a freight train too . I have read that some are putting green wood in them so go figure .

 

[hornett22]

i agree.

Sounds like city people in the country again

like the a$$hats that move in across from a farm and then complain about the fertilizer (manure)smell.stay in the city with the rest of your yuppie friends.

 

[iCreek]

Sure glad we don't have any whinny neighbors. Heck my nearest neighbors are family, and they each have OWBs!!!! Some people will just complain about anything.

 

[cabinman]

Big Oil

Sure glad we don't have any whinny neighbors. Heck my nearest neighbors are family, and they each have OWBs!!!! Some people will just complain about anything.

I expect to see BIG OIL supporting that bill, look out,..

 

[FerrisDiesel]

Retarted!

We have the same problem here in Rhode Island......My grandfather, who was born in the bedroom he sleeps in, has an OWB. Now granted, if he was burning dryer wood, it would not smoke as much, but still.......75 year old grandparents, trying to save some money and burn free wood instead....Well he lives across the street from the school, and has a jerk of a next door neighbor.....moved in from the city....Anyways, the school called the fire dept one day cause they thought his garage was on fire...hahahaha, I'm on the Department, so when Grandpa lights it off I call dispatch and let them know it's just Manny lighting off the OWB! The neighbor had the beans, to come over and start busting my grandfathers b@$#s about it......My grandfather told him, "you knew when you moved in here I had all this junk in my yard and that OWB, so guess you shouldn't have moved in! Now get off my property and on the other side of your fence!" He's pretty quick for a 75 year old hahaha

 

[Hugenpoet]

I live in a Town (Amherst Massachusetts) that is an ultra liberal New England College Town with too many people who believe that government has solutions to all mankind's problems. It is an actual fact (go on the Town website if you don't believe me) that a resident has to have a Wood Burning Operator's License in order to legally operate a wood stove in their own home. The test is ridiculously easy, but that is not the issue. Fortunately I live in South Amherst-the old farming section of Town, where there is limited developmental density as many parcels of 10-50 acres have remaind intact and many of my neighbors use wood for at least a portion of our heating needs.

Regarding wood burning boilers, by local ordinance virtually every municipality in Massachusetts is in the process of regulating these boilers out of existence. These devices have been assigned to the category of "public nuisance", and I would be very surprised if they are allowed to make a comeback even in an more environmentally friendly form.

Hugenpoet

 

[daemon2525]

The article mentions, "just like burning leaves". Yes, but you do not burn leaves every day. Our neighborhood (20 - 2acre plots) is great about allowing leaves, burn barrels, and Party fires in the yard, but i would not want to smell an OWB every day.

 

[computeruser]

Just as there is a right tool for every job, there is a right heating source for every living situation.

There is no question that OWBs generally smoke a lot more than EPA woodstoves and furnace add-ons. So given this reality, the folks who choose to install OBWs need to be aware of the proximity to neighbors, prevailing winds, the type of wood they burn, etc. If you live in the country on a chunk of acreage, that's one thing, but if you live on 2 acres immediately adjacent to another neighbor, well, that's an entirely different situation.

Based on the proclamations of OWB proponents, posted here and elsewhere, the "ability" of OWBs to handle green and junk wood at the cost of smoke and inefficiency will be the undoing of the OWB movement. The fact that your OWB can burn crap doesn't mean that it should be used for that purpose when such conduct needlessly creates a nuisance for others.

There is a fundamental difference between a pre-existing farming operation and the use of an OWB, both in practical terms and under most state statutes. Even if there wasn't, the argument could be made against the person who engaged in farming practices which were not best practices, just as is being made against wood burners who are similarly engaged in needlessly offensive burning behavior. Both behaviors could properly be enjoined by the courts, and likely would be.

If the neighbor was burning tires, we wouldn't have any problem agreeing that the smoke billowing on to neighboring land was a nuisance. The fact that the OWB is used to heat a home does not materially change the standard by which we would review the nuisance of the smoke and particulate matter deposited on neighboring parcels, at least so far as I can see.

 

[Corley5]

If you've burned bales of hay in an OWB you know what a stinky smokey fog it'll produce the first couple cycles. I don't often burn it but it's a good way to get rid of rained on hay and a 60lb bale typically burns about 8 hours. I also wait until the wind is blowing towards the house infection next door. Yes, I'm part of the problem

 

[MS-310]

Every one has a good point, but listen. OWB have there place, I had an OWB at my house in town, I took it out after some issues with putting a 30ft stack on it. They can be in town you just need to put a tall stack (30ft) and have 10 to 15 ft offsets from other people. Also burn clean wood in town! I dont care if you burn wet or dry wood if it doesnt harm anyone near you.....Its every year we have this fight about OWB.....I have talked to people about the new EPA OWB and I think we are getting closer to it. I know next year are shop will have at least 3 of them on the lot, but the cost a crap ton more.

I think OWB saves lives.

 

[David Wayne]

I know one of the advantages of OWB are only loading it once or twice a day. But if they were sized smaller & loaded more often wouldnt they burn hotter all the time & produce less smoke?

Dave

 

[Hugenpoet]

Fortunately sometimes and unfortunately at other times when you live in a Democracy what is right is not what an individual thinks is right but what 51% of those within voting distance think is right. You can rant and rave all you want about freedoms and pre-existing rights and city folk coming into the country and screwing it up, etc., etc. but the reality is that through taxation and regulation the majority can take anthing they want from the minority.

As Archie Bunker once said "The problem with this Country is that the Minority is becoming the Majority".

Hugenpoet

 

[spike60]

Just as there is a right tool for every job, there is a right heating source for every living situation.

There is no question that OWBs generally smoke a lot more than EPA woodstoves and furnace add-ons. So given this reality, the folks who choose to install OBWs need to be aware of the proximity to neighbors, prevailing winds, the type of wood they burn, etc. If you live in the country on a chunk of acreage, that's one thing, but if you live on 2 acres immediately adjacent to another neighbor, well, that's an entirely different situation.

Based on the proclamations of OWB proponents, posted here and elsewhere, the "ability" of OWBs to handle green and junk wood at the cost of smoke and inefficiency will be the undoing of the OWB movement. The fact that your OWB can burn crap doesn't mean that it should be used for that purpose when such conduct needlessly creates a nuisance for others.

There is a fundamental difference between a pre-existing farming operation and the use of an OWB, both in practical terms and under most state statutes. Even if there wasn't, the argument could be made against the person who engaged in farming practices which were not best practices, just as is being made against wood burners who are similarly engaged in needlessly offensive burning behavior. Both behaviors could properly be enjoined by the courts, and likely would be.

If the neighbor was burning tires, we wouldn't have any problem agreeing that the smoke billowing on to neighboring land was a nuisance. The fact that the OWB is used to heat a home does not materially change the standard by which we would review the nuisance of the smoke and particulate matter deposited on neighboring parcels, at least so far as I can see.

As is usually the case, Computeruser makes the most sense. The tire analogy is a brilliant illustration.

We should all be concerned about the arrogant attitude of those who don't believe anyone has a right to object to their OWB smoke. The backlash, once unleashed, could reach farther than just OWB's and lead to needless restrictions on wood burning in general. It's easy to set this stuff in motion, but it's not so easy to see how far it will go and where it will end.

We had a situation in a neighboring town where this arrogance led to a town wide ban on OWB's. A guy who was on some, probably bogus, disability deal was using one to heat not only his house, and hot water, but his JACUZZI. And the jacuzzi was part of his "therapy" for his back ailment. And he needed this "treatment" all year long. So, he had his OWB going all summer. It's one thing in the winter, but all summer when people have their windows open? His attitude was screw everybody else. He had a note from his doctor after all. Showed zero consideration for his neighbors. Made no effort to burn less or to put a higher stack on his stove. He thumbed his nose at everybody, while their noses had to deal with his smoke.

So the neighborhood figures, here's this guy, doesn't work cause he's on disability, lays around in his jacuzzi all day, and flips everybody off who doesn't want to smell his smoke all year long? Talk about activating the body politic! They got together and put a stop to it. And of course you can't show discrimination towards the one idiot, so the only solution was a total OWB ban for the whole town.

Let me put this another way. My neighbors and I all burn wood. We all have indoor stoves with tall chimneys, and smoke is not a problem from any of us. I have a modern EPA stove and there isn't even any visable smoke except for a few minutes when starting or loading. But if someone put in an OWB and there was a thick fog of woodsmoke around my house there would be a serious problem. Nobody has the right to do that to their neighbors, and any of you guys who think otherwise are itching for a fight that you will ultimately lose. It's just a silly as standing on the property line and banging on a drum all night and then saying "Hey, I'm a musician, I have a "right" to practice".

 

[Woodjack]

The nerve of those neighbors complaining about smoke. It's only smoke. It won't kill you tomorrow. It will take years for their children to have any health effects. And haven't they ever heard of dust masks. They should buy a case and leave it near the front door so the kids will always have one available when they play outside. Also, they can get googles cheap at Harbor Freight for adequate eye protection. Man, city people are so stupid.

 

[Woodjack]

Calm down. No one is proposing a ban of OWB's. However, your rights end where mine begin. As soon as your behavior infringes on my life you're overstepping the bounds of freedom. I believe we should do everything possible within reason not to disturb our neighbors.
see: Hatfields vs. McCoys

 

[computeruser]

Unfortunately you don't have a clue because the pollution from sitting in traffic and your indoor air along with that released by AEP is far worse than the local OWB.

Now, I'm not saying I disagree with canning the clown with the jacuzzi but if you speaking about banning something due to 'pollution' you are bombarded by far more everyday than your miniscule exposure to some OWB woodsmoke though I'm sure you know that diesel exhaust and subway particulates are KNOWN to cause arteriosclerios? You sure don't worry about that, do you?

I bet nobody in those homes smokes around those children they are so worried about and they have hepa filters to remove the indoor air pollution as well as same filters in their cars when sitting in traffic?

You can rail all you want on how righteous those people were, but in the grand scheme of things they are IGNORANT as to what the problem really is in addition to the fact that wood burners are an ASSET to reduction in reliance on foreign oil as well as reduction of methane which is a far more dangerous greenhouse gas released by termites and bacteria breaking down the wood that OWB or any woodburner isn't burning.

People just have to be able to have something petty to bit+ch about and try to push somebody around to make them feel important and smart and you lie down and let them or fight back.

BTW, their dogs never bark, do they? What's the difference between noise pollution and wood burner pollution? Pollution is pollution and if you are excising one you should be excising all which includes elimination of dog ownership.

Stand up or be stood on.

That has to be one of the most innane posts I've seen on here in a long time.

 

[hoot gibson]

i live up the valley from a man that put in a owb . i burn allot of wood in my add on wood furnace . dry clean wood . when your outside you can smell it allot sometime , not an offensive smell at all . but when the wind is blowing up the holler and the neighbor has his stove fired up it smells allot like crap . sometimes almost unbearable. he Burns all his wood wet . or green so to speak , the creosote from the wood built up all over the roof of where he stores it looks horrible , like ready for a fire . but the smell is horrible . nothing like Wood smoke. maybe he burnes his garbage in it . i don't know but it smells like it . i don't complain , but i could understand where some people would . h

 

[beerman6]

I have a OWB and I can see/smell why neighbors would complain,I'm just glad I dont have any close.