Interesting Article About Smoke/EPA Certification

[stoveliker]

My question as a scientist would be how the existing numbers have come about; in particular for a system with variability (weather, wood) one can't conclude anything about emissions unless multiple runs are done, and an agreed upon procedure is used to average how the emissions vary with time during a load.

And yes. Chimneys...
Like regulating an ICE without checking the exhaust system for pressure...

 

[begreen]

I do have to agree with the report finding glaring inconsistencies in reporting from lab to lab. There are major variances in simple info like the stove's firebox capacity, both advertised and measured. Sometimes this is in the lab report, but one has to dig for it in some table somewhere. Other reports have it right up front in the stove description. The overall value of reading the EPA lab tests varies from informative to a downright pain in the butt for others.

Also, the EPA database has some profound errors. How many I can't say, but a for instance is that the big VC Defiant is reported as a 1.3 cu ft stove instead of 3.2 cu ft. I didn't find a link for error reporting, but this kind of misinformation puts the reliability of the database info in question.

 

[BKVP]

I do have to agree with the report finding glaring inconsistencies in reporting from lab to lab. There are major variances in simple info like the stove's firebox capacity, both advertised and measured. Sometimes this is in the lab report, but one has to dig for it in some table somewhere. Other reports have it right up front in the stove description. The overall value of reading the EPA lab tests varies from informative to a downright pain in the butt for others.

Also, the EPA database has some profound errors. How many I can't say, but a for instance is that the big VC Defiant is reported as a 1.3 cu ft stove instead of 3.2 cu ft. I didn't find a link for error reporting, but this kind of misinformation puts the reliability of the database info in question.

This is also incumbent upon the manufacturers to point out to EPA errors. But yes, there are issues.

Keep in mind please that in 2010, industry suggested to EPA the agency should develop a template for all 6 labs to use. That would provide consistency in the reporting structure and also alleviate concerns relating to omissions.

 

[begreen]

Keep in mind please that in 2010, industry suggested to EPA the agency should develop a template for all 6 labs to use. That would provide consistency in the reporting structure and also alleviate concerns relating to omissions.

Seems like a no-brainer. Make it so!

 

[Caw]

Seems like a no-brainer. Make it so!

 

[DeadTreeBurner]

Seems like a no-brainer. Make it so!

We're talking about the gov't. There are a lot of "no-brainers" working there, which explains a lot.