Watch out NH OWB owners!

[cmonSTART]

http://www.wmur.com/money/17213174/detail.html#-

Interesting. The article didn't go into much detail about it and remained kind of vague. OWB's do tend to be smokey, but I wonder of someone will try to push this towards wood stoves too.

 

[BrotherBart]

The bad part is that it doesn't take into consideration the new gassifier boilers that don't smoke.

 

[WoodNotOil]

BrotherBart - I think that would be included in "Newer models will also have to meet tightened emission standards starting next year." Gassifiers would meet the EPA standards which I assume are the tighter standards they are referring to.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I couldn't make it to the hearings on this bill, but from what I hear, the "growing number of complaints" was actually six.

Unfortunately, as with most legislation like this, it sets arbitrary standards which will work in a small number of situations, and just be pointless regulation in the majority if situations.

"You can't choke your neighbors with smoke" is one thing.

"You must have your boiler an arbitrary number of feet from a property line, regardless of how little smoke it makes" is something very different, and just encourages folks not to use biomass for heat, maintaining our dependence upon oil and other such fuels.

Joe

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

BrotherBart - I think that would be included in "Newer models will also have to meet tightened emission standards starting next year." Gassifiers would meet the EPA standards which I assume are the tighter standards they are referring to.

Yes, but they still need to be the same arbitrary number of feet from the property lines, regardless of how little smoke they make...

Joe

 

[pybyr]

I've driven past some OWBs here in VT that are belching noxious crud that makes me wonder what the heck people are burning in them (trash bags?), so one one level, I can understand _some_ of the concern.

That said, I get tremendously PO'd at the current prevailing mindset that seems to operate on the assumption that all progress is achieved by prohibition, opposition, restriction, and NIMBY (rather than pro-active problem-solving)- and those dynamics seem to dramatically characterize the predominant activities in legal arenas, both in terms of what laws are enacted, and how they get litigated and enforced, by legislators, regulators, private litigants, and courts or other quasi-judicial tribunals.

So many folk seem unctuously holier-than-thou about _someone else's_ perceived or purported impacts, but then simultaneously seem utterly oblivious to the implications of their own personal patterns of use of energy and/ or materials.

 

[FrankMA]

The neighbor of a friend had one of those OWB systems. The guy PO'd the whole neighborhood by burning everything from trash to pressure treated lumber scraps (on a regular basis). My friend and his neighbors bitched and complained to the town management who were initially reluctant to help.

The town building inspector (on an unannounced visit) finally caught the guy loading up the furnace box with trash and PT lumber scraps - a mere coincidence. He was shut down and eventually told to never burn anything but non PT wood.

I don't mean to upset anyone here and can see the practicality if you have the room to use this type of system. It's horrendous however, to see this thing "fire up" - the smoke it produces is incredible. Very offensive if your in the line of smoke in a residential area. Just my opinion.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I don't mean to upset anyone here and can see the practicality if you have the room to use this type of system. It's horrendous however, to see this thing "fire up" - the smoke it produces is incredible. Very offensive if your in the line of smoke in a residential area. Just my opinion.

If you are burning it properly, then it should not produce any more smoke than a woodstove.

If you are burning it improperly and poisoning your neighbors, like the guy in your example, then the issue should be dealt with in some manner.

The problem with the government rules on these things is that they punish the majority who are not causing problems, just to take care of a small minority who are causing problems.

Joe

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

dont forget to consider the height of the chimney where the smoke comes out. might make a diff to the clothesline next door.

Speaking only for myself, I hate it when a woman's panties smell like smoke.

Though I burn wood outside, I can sympathize with some people who complain. Seems to me that no one should have to be subjected to unpleasant AND health damaging from a neighbor. I think this includes ALL types of incendiary devices. A wood stove which is allowed to burn out, then is restarted, will produce more smoke than a gassifier that is run continuously.

Do people that use wood stoves burn garbage in them?

Does a higher stack actually fix anything? or just spread the particulate to a more distant neighbor?

Oh, in case anyone here likes smokey panties, check out (broken link removed)

Jimbo

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Don't worry..they'll be coming after the gasifier and woodstove crowd next!

 

[pybyr]

Don't worry..they'll be coming after the gasifier and woodstove crowd next!

"... from my cold dead hands..." besides, since my Econoburn will be in my cellar and won't smoke, who'd know?

and besides, wood _with_ reasonably efficient and low emission combustion is the ultimate in renewable, carbon neutral, locally-sourced energy

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

and besides, wood _with_ reasonably efficient and low emission combustion is the ultimate in renewable, carbon neutral, locally-sourced energy

Which is why the establishment types hate it so much.

Can't have folks heating with something they don't need to buy from mega-corporations, now can we?

Joe

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Note that the NY DEC has specifically exempted outdoor boilers from its proposed ban on 'open burning'.

(broken link removed to http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/43445.html)