I have the capability to do all of thise. Might even give me a reason to make the splitter out of this old gas engine I have!
The taking out the ashes I can do but It bothers me thinking of spilling them on my carpet. I also worry because I know alot of house fires are started in the chimney after cresote collects in it.
So there is a "liner" i could stuff through the current chimney pipe I have?
How do I figure all this out?
See that is the thing. I dont have brick. It is an insert and my chimney is covered in vyinle to the top. Can I still use a stove?
Yes you can.......check out the following links for liners to use in existing chimneys.
There are a lot of good energy efficient wood stoves out there. I wold not really be concerned with taking out the ashes, as they have a ash pan, and its a simple matter of just opeing a door, and sliding out a pan that contains the ashes. Not taking into account an accident like tripping and falling with a pan full of ashes etc, but the general procedure of ash removal is as safe as carrying a pot of hot food off the stove and setting it on the counter......Its what you make of it. Certainly no real danger of ashes spilling etc (as long as you do not let it get overfull)
Retrofitting a liner system is pretty straight forward. All the fittings (elbows ,T's etc you may need are able to be assembled in place, unlike conventional stove pipe. If you use say a 6" flue, all you need to install a 6" T, would b e a hole large enough for the outside diameter of the T to fit into, as the side tap of the T is able to be attached to the main section by way of inside the T itself. The liner itself (if you use the corrugated type) can be crushed down a certain percentage and not affect its draft so it can be snaked through a smoke shelf or dampner etc. and then reformed round again. They make a ceramic fiber liner that wraps around these liners to retain heat so you do not have a cold chimney (cold chimneys lead to huildup of creosote quicker) . Its a blanket of approx 1" thickness that is attached around the liner, and secured with wire, and then a sleeve of woven stainless mesh (like a stocking is pulled over this insulation blanket to protect the insulation while the liner and insulation is slide into place.
Another good thing about the corrugated type liner systems is that they expand and contract during use, and helps in knocking off any buildup in the flue pipe. When I used regular stainless smooth walled pipe aI still had a pretty decnet buildup or creoste sometimes and it would have to be brushed out on occassion, but since using the corrugated stuff I can go an entire heating season and the pipe is virtually free of any deposits that would hamper proper draft or operation of the stove. I have a drop leg that extends behind the stove and into my old built in ash dump opening in the old fireplaces floor that is used to collect these deposits that drop off over the heating season, and I can just uncap the drop leg from outside at the clean out door while the stoce is in operation and dump itys contents if need be. This drop leg remains pretty darn cool during use.
Liners are not all that hard to install, and they can be dropped into the typical metal tripple wall pipe commonly used today and secured on the existing chimney top with a seal and cap made specifically for that use. Visit my website:
If you want the pure economic calc it goes something like this: A full cord of dry hardwood runs around 3500 pounds and has 5300 Btu's per pound. Translate that to oil and you get 220 gallons of fuel oil = 1 dry cord. Propane has less Btu's per pound (forget the conversion) but it translates to something like 300 gallons of propane = 1 cord of wood.
Most newer oil/propane furnaces run in the 80% to 90% effiency range, you need to have a good wood furnace to get that high with wood.
So you need to ask yourself if you can cut, spit, haul, tend, sweep the floor, deal with smoke (ask the spouse on that one!),and dispose of the ashes for what you save in fuel. The answer tends to be yes but you have to value your time and convience fairly low. If you have some downtime between jobs, go for it. If that is your busy time of year, not a chance.
Your house wasn't likely built for a wood stove. A liner should solve the flue problem. The other problem is the interior. Check local code to see how the interior walls should be constructed near a wood stove. Your walls should now meet code for the insert but may not for a wood stove.
Shawn
On 23 Sep 2004 06:09:43 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Don) calmly ranted:
Probably not. Insulated pipe diameter is usually larger than existing uninsulated pipe because the IDs are standardized.
1) Take pictures of your current setup and print them out. 2) Research/price aspects of the piping type/price/installs online. A start would beYou'll be familiar with all the facets of piping from your research on the Web and can talk with the guy to see if he is trying to sell you something more than you need. Since you now know the average pricing, you might be able to talk his prices down reasonably, too. If the price is still too high, you can always buy online. But make sure to include the freight charges in your price comparison. It can make the fireplace store's retail prices look better.
-------------------------------------------------- I survived the D.C. Blizzard of 2003 (from Oregon) ----------------------------
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Burn corn. It's cheaper AND has more heat energy. I have been looking at a pellet/corn boiler for the shop. Granted I have an unlimited supply of corn, but it's a very cost effective method of heating.
Has anyone here built a pellet stove? I have been trying to find drawings/tech descriptions and they are hard to find. The dealers around here have not been willing to let me get a good look at any floor models to see how they work.
JW
Yea but it sure is nice to come in on a cold day and stand over the stove. I grew up in an old farm house with three wood stoves and no other heat. I miss it but at least I have one in my garage.
You forgot to mention the smoke and increased particulates in the house. Houses used to be drafty so it wasn't a problem. With modern insulation and windows I can see this being a problem for many people.
Matt.
If your fireplace was designed to work then you can use the insert. My stove is one of the little 2 hole horizontal ones that is about 2' long with the flue at the back. I don't need a really hot stove so it only gets loaded full enough to get the house hot. I also keep a pan on the top of the stove with water in it and that boils nicely when the stove is hot so as to keep the humidity nice in the house. In addition, I have fans blowing on the stove to move the air around (efficiency goes up a lot when the stove is being cooled by circulating air!) as well as blowing down the flue to gain the additional heat from that source. Aside from the initial firing (paper tends to make smoke), neighbors don't even know that I'm running the stove and when I go outside, I barely smell the stove running nor see any smoke coming out of the stack. I'm planning on rebuilding the flue system every few years just as insurance as the top part seems to attract the rust readily. Seeing as to how that is just a matter of buying 2 6' sections of pipe for replacement, that isn't an expensive proposition.
-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works every time it is tried!
Haha.....persnickety and attitude ???
....LOL....
I just do that on occasion to see what kinda response I get outa someone, and picked you outa the hat is all.........nothing to get all upset about, why some folks consider it an honour........
=========
I never bought pellets in my life but understand theyre pretty cheap around here.
I heated with wood most my life but now I dont really like the mess it makes--that combined with the sheer amount of space I got to keep warm in winter would make wood cutting just about a fulltime job.
gallon--for a 1
Bob, I hope that you live on an isolated 10-acres or so of land, because if you are doing your wood burning with a $100 stove in a residential community, you are causing your neighbors potentially serious grief. Have you ever witness the effect that some wood smoke has on an allergy sufferer?
Then too, what type of wood do you burn? This too has a major effect on the health and well being of your neighbors.
Harry C.
I live in an old folks trailer park which has a number of custom houses around it. I'd go out on a cold night and smell wood smoke all over the place from the custom houses as they are often burning mesquite or oak or whatever else that they feel is a nice wood to burn for the effect. I'm buring kiln dried fir from a local truss manufacturing plant and that burns nice and clean and without smoke. I could probably really stoke up the stove and get some smoke but that would be way too much heat for the place. As it is, I get 85F after about 2 hours of burning wood at a moderate rate in the trailer and that is quite warm!
-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works every time it is tried!
One thing about burning fir, is its great for a good hot fire, but one draw back is it does not last as long as oak or kickory, but if you got a heap of a supply thats should not be a problem.
I certainly would not be concerned about smoke or folks with allergies.Let em close their windows and fire up their electric heater and turn on their air purification system. I myself am tired of all the beauracratic bullshit concerning this and that. One state can another state can't, one town is allowed to another right next to it is not allowed...Its all who stand to profit the most $$$ out of whatever the laws and so called EPA regs, and thats what they push as being correct in todays age. Visit my website:
Yup.....just as I suspected--(I sure know how to pick em, alright)........
Roy,
You Fuckwad, Im terribly allergic to some kinds of smoke, fir bark being one of them.
May you choke in hell from all the smoke you done sent out to your neighbors during a temperature inversion.
Asshole !!!
Perhaps you could apply for aid for your disablity through the Americans With Disability Act?
Once again..a person with a birth defect is attempting to cram his problem down everyone elses throat and expect everyone else to pay for his problem.
Gunner
"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke
alright)........
Hi, Gunner.
Wouldnt it be nice if *someone* could be using all them empty parkin spots ???
Aww, shuddup!!!
Speaking of problems, wondering how your doing after that surgery--hoping alls well there with you.
Cheers,
Ayup. And the Car Pool lanes during rush hour.
Doing better, but not as good as I expected. Much less energy than a year ago, though I dont need to nap during the day and I fall asleep less often after eating. (that was quite a standing joke around my friends, and caused me to not eat during the day very often)
Ive not had to use the nitro in a couple months, though Ive become quite cautious about doing strenous stuff. I still do it, just use more aids. The heat really bothers me a lot now and saps my energy. Ive been on some of my meds now for about a month and a half, and I still cant say if they are doing any good, though my blood pressure is way down now. As is my sex drive...sigh. Not dead..but not in high gear like it used to be. Ladies have commented. Not complained..but commented. Sigh again. I can only afford 4 of the 7 they perscribed on a regular basis, but the other three I think Im working around with diet.
Ive tapered way off on the smoking, but am totally unable to quite completly. Im down to about 1/3 of my pre Event level. Food tastes better now and I dont wheeze when I lay down.
Im hoping that now that cooler weather is around the corner, my energy will return. Working in the heat now, I perspire far far more than I did before, and get drained faster. Not a good thing. I can spend less time working in my shop when its 100F+ or even in the 90s.
But it was damned nice of you to ask. Much obliged.
Gunner
"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke
It's too bad that Darwin has been over-ruled by governments. :-) ...lew...
Background Wood stoves are becoming more common in Canada. Some people use wood as a primary source of heat, and others have wood stoves as a back-up in case of emergencies, such as power failures. Wood heating is popular in some areas for cultural reasons. It can be beneficial because wood is a renewable fuel.
However, the smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces pollutes the air outdoors. Smoke from outside can seep into buildings, including nearby homes, affecting indoor air quality. The air inside your home can also be affected when you open the stove to add fuel, or if your wood stove leaks.
The Pollutants in Wood Smoke The main pollutants in wood smoke that cause health concerns are:
a.. Particulate Matter: This is the term for solid or liquid particles found in the air. They can be very small and can travel deep into your lungs, causing respiratory and heart problems. b.. Carbon Monoxide: This is a colorless, odorless gas that is poisonous at high levels. It can interfere with the delivery of oxygen in the blood to the rest of your body. c.. Volatile Organic Compounds: These are a wide range of compounds that usually have no color, taste or smell. Some cause direct health effects, while others contribute to smog. d.. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: These compounds are a health concern because of their potential to cause cancer. In communities where wood heating is common, wood smoke can be responsible for as much as 25% of the airborne Particulate Matter, 15% of the Volatile Organic Compounds and 10% of the Carbon Monoxide in the atmosphere. Wood smoke also contains other toxic compounds, including nitrogen oxides and chlorinated dioxins. These can contribute to environmental hazards, such as smog and acid rain.
Health Effects Associated with Wood Smoke Exposure to the pollutants in wood smoke can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, nausea and dizziness. Wood smoke can also make asthma worse, and has been associated with an increase in respiratory problems. In large populations where wood smoke is a significant contributor to outdoor air pollution, studies have linked wood smoke to severe health risks, including increased hospital admissions and even premature death.
In addition, studies of laboratory animals suggest that prolonged exposure to wood smoke may weaken the immune system.
Breathing wood smoke is not healthy for anyone. However, the health risks are greater for people with existing heart and lung problems. Children are also at greater risk because their respiratory systems are still developing, and because they inhale more air due to their higher rates of activity.
Minimizing Your Risk The most effective thing you can do to reduce the risk of health effects from wood smoke is to switch to a different heat source, such as natural gas or oil. If you do heat with wood, you can minimize your risk by installing an "advanced combustion" wood stove or fireplace insert that reduces toxic emissions. When buying one of these appliances, look for a sticker from the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The sticker certifies that the appliance emits up to 95% fewer particulates and is up to 20% more fuel efficient than conventional models.
In addition, you can reduce the amount of wood you burn and lessen the impact of wood smoke by following these steps:
a.. Use dry, clean wood that is properly seasoned. It should be cut, split and stacked in a covered area for about six months (including the summer months) before burning. b.. Allow more ventilation when starting a fire, and close the dampers when the wood is well charred. This technique produces more heat, so you use less wood. c.. Use smaller pieces of wood. They burn more efficiently so they are a better source of heat. Also, try to avoid burning wood on days when the air pollution level is high, and never burn wood that has been painted or chemically treated. On a related note, you should not bring wet or moldy wood into your home, as this may expose your family to molds and spores that can harm their health. People with respiratory conditions are thought to be especially sensitive to mold.
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