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Posted to uk.d-i-y
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Wood burning stoves - what is the state of the art?
wrote:
wood burning is the most natural fuel on the planet. In a wood burning
stove, the fire is controlled so that it doesnt burn up too quickly.
You say they chuck out huge amounts of pollution. Care to explain the
pollutants?
Unburnt fuel, smoke, CO. Many woodburners are simply a steel container
for a fire. Few have an thermal efficiency of above, or approaching,
50%. They work most efficiently if the wood is burned fast and the heat
stored in a thermal store, by which I mean a water content of 1000+
litres. Reducing the air supply to control the burn rate will increase
the amount of smoke produced. They cannot be compared with modern
condensing oil or gas boilers in terms of efficiency.
Surely oil fumes are a much greater pollutant.
Yes. But you would have difficulty in finding a smoke plume from even
one oil or gas boiler in your neighbourhood. Most wood/coal fire can
usually be smelt or seen. If a large percentage of households suddenly
start lighting wood burners, that they hadn't used in years, then you
may have a problem.
Actually to illustrate that, I once started a small petrol engine
generator inside a house forgetting to site it outside the door and
went upstairs for a few minutes.
To my horror the house filled up in minutes with terrible fumes and
Of course it did. If you'd lit a small wood fire in the middle of your
kitchen, that would have filled the house with smoke and fumes as well.
Dont knock it if you havent experienced one. I wouldnt trade it for all
the oil in Arabia.
I have There isn't as much oil left in Alaska as there once was.
As for feeding them, dont you have to feed every fire?
OIl and gas are automatic, no effort involved. You don't have to go and
fetch oil in buckets or hand pump it out of a well.
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