New EPA Regulations

[maple1]

Huh.

Like I said above, '...if this EPA 'thing' had caused all those boilers to stop being made & sold, then there was something wrong with that 'thing'. These are clean burners - I think my oil boiler put more soot in my chimney than my new wood boiler.'.

 

[poppledungeon1]

just checked the Tarm Biomass site and they now only show the Frohling wood boilers...

 

[maple1]

Also must be why they had that blowout deal on the Bonus. That was one of those 'jump on it now' deals, if you were looking for a new boiler.

 

[lexybird]

Also must be why they had that blowout deal on the Bonus. That was one of those 'jump on it now' deals, if you were looking for a new boiler.

I noticed that too around Christmas our penny shopper paper featured several boiler manufacturers offering blowout super sales on their products . Seems They were desperately trying to dump them before the new strict regulations went into effect

 

[maple1]

I don't think they were saling them because they couldn't meet the regs - it's because the testing & cert process seems so screwed up. Also sounds like EPA is changing some of that process on the fly too. Gotta feel for some of the dealers - they've got stuff that passes the regs fine but the red tape sounds brutal.

 

[Buzz Saw]

I don't think they were saling them because they couldn't meet the regs - it's because the testing & cert process seems so screwed up. Also sounds like EPA is changing some of that process on the fly too. Gotta feel for some of the dealers - they've got stuff that passes the regs fine but the red tape sounds brutal.

Does Canada have similar regulations to the USA for wood burning appliances?

 

[maple1]

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[hobbyheater]

Does Canada have similar regulations to the USA for wood burning appliances?

Our small town (Port McNeill, BC) has adopted the policy that all new wood burning stoves installations have to be EPA approved or no install permit will be issued.

 

[WoodChoppa]

I don't think they were saling them because they couldn't meet the regs - it's because the testing & cert process seems so screwed up. Also sounds like EPA is changing some of that process on the fly too. Gotta feel for some of the dealers - they've got stuff that passes the regs fine but the red tape sounds brutal.

I don't know if this is true or not because the companies on the approved list obviously took it seriously and got their ducks in a row in time to meet the new regulations at a great expense. I suspect that it was either finances or the hope that State law-makers like Michigan might throw a monkey wrench into the EPA's plans by over-ruling them. Still a possibility I guess but I wouldn't want to call the EPA on their bluff as their credibility comes into question if they can't execute the laws they enact. I wouldn't expect individual States to put up much of a fight because the wood boiler community consists of an insignificant fraction of their total constituents.

 

[Hannes @ Effecta]

Just wanted to make a comment on this topic to avoid any misunderstandings. The first test method of EPA was basically not suitable for gasifiers using accumulator tanks since the boilers needed to modulate down to about 20% which is impossible for any high end Lambda controlled log gasifier with high efficiency and low emissions. As soon as something is modulated that far the emissions will go off chart, that is the reason for gasifiers in Europe to load an accumulator tank and to be fired in batches at full output. Also to clarify not only gasifiers will have emissions shooting away at tick over, all log fired products will. A lot of emissions and particles is released during the low output firing cycle.

When this was understood the BNL method (i believe Nyserda was a important decision maker of BNL Method) was developed which basically lets gasifiers fire flat out as they are designed to an accumulator and then the consumption is modulated which gives the same result to a heating interface (house) but gives the option of different technologies available for the US market.

Since the BNL method came rather late and very few labs know the method well enough to offer tests for it everything has been delayed. We are going to undertake the tests for the Effecta Lambda range as soon as all is sorted, we are then hopefully also fulfilling step 2 of the EPA that comes in 2020 at the first test. If we translate our EN 303-5 tests to what the EPA 2020 needs it is well below.

Our pellet range of products is however EPA approved and we are just waiting for a updated list at the moment.

We welcome the EPA regulations since it opens up for a higher level of technology in the US and in the end hopefully will make the market grow in general as more really efficient units are sold in the market giving log firing and pellet products an even better reputation.

Furthermore i want to adress the discussions earlier in the thread about these type of boilers being sold under the radar, that is not at all the case when it comes to Effecta range of log boilers. We are not selling the log range of products until they are EPA approved. Meanwhile we are working with new distributors getting everything ready to start sales as the tests has been passed. We are changing distributor since our previous one (Up North Alternative Energy Solutions LLC) tragically passed away at a too young age.

With the pellet range it is different, they are being offered and in stock in the US at the moment.

Have a nice day!