Wood Burning Stoves

FOREVER21

My neighbour has just had the latest" must have". echo friendly wood burning stove installed.
I have read that there has been much research done about the emissions from these. Like most things you will always have experts with different views.

But my personal vent is that we like to leave our bedroom windows partially open, as the house is well insulated and keeps it's heat.

A couple of nights ago I went upstairs and the smell of burnt wood had drifted into the rooms.The neighbour obviously had lit his stove. It took ages for the smell to disperse and was still there when we went to bed.
Now if I wanted to sleep with the smell of burning wood I could go camping but I do not want it in my home.
Also I thought I lived in a clean air area and smoke was not allowed, but his chimney still sends out smoke, but it is presumably ok for this new generation of fires.

Ok vent over I will just buy some scented candles, yes I know they will smell, but at least it will be a smell of my choice.

Ectophile

DEFRA maintain a list of wood burning stoves that are approved for use in clean air zones. See https://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/appliances.php. You are allowed to use these with the fuels specified by the manufacturer - typically wood and/or smokeless briquettes.

Unfortunately, when you first light the stove, it still produces smoke. Burning poor quality damp wood, or letting the stove run too cold also encourages smouldering.

I'm note sure which is worse - wood smoke or the evil chemical cocktail that gets added to scented candles.

Gloomendoom

I like the smell of wood smoke.

Gers

Ectophile wrote: »

I'm note sure which is worse - wood smoke or the evil chemical cocktail that gets added to scented candles.

Evil chemical cocktail of smells in scented candles is MUCH worse!

Korkyb

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12103003/Why-scented-candles-could-cause-cancer.html

Sledgehead

Korkyb wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12103003/Why-scented-candles-could-cause-cancer.html

a link that says:

Scientists have found some perfumed [with limonene] products in the home can create unhealthy levels of formaldehyde

but pray, what do you suppose is in wood smoke? That article gives you a clue, should you venture so far as to read it:

While it is already well known that limonene, which occurs naturally in plants, can degrade into formaldehyde ...

A rather unimpressive sample of 20 people in a Nordic survey suggest short term wood smoke poses no threat - but you'd have to conclude the same thing about scented candle smoke. Note the article you referenced merely concluded some scented products contain limonene - not that they affect your health; that was NOT studied.

teddysmum

Our next door neighbours and those semi to them have woodburning stoves and we think the smell coming in is horrible.In winter it is horrid waiting for the dogs to come in from the garden as the air (can't be seen as smoke) makes your throat itchy or sore, causing a cough. (It's going to be worse this year as our older dog is quite wonky so walks slowly)


We suspect that the second neighbour burns processed wood left from building work, as planks pile up, then suddenly disappear from the garden.


I don't know what the legislation is, but powers would be unwillimg to check on anything as they only work 9 to 5, while the burner owners are out.

Sledgehead

Gers wrote: »

Evil chemical cocktail of smells in scented candles is MUCH worse!

Not according to this: Is my wood burning stove really killing me? What happened when I monitored my exposure to pollution

You'll note that although both candles and stoves produce formaldehyde, the article concentrates on particulates. Why?

... particulates themselves “are a particularly dangerous type of pollution”, explained Jim Mills, the managing director of Air Monitors. “With gases, your exposure only lasts for as long as you are breathing in the gas. With particles, especially the very small ones, when you breathe them in, they are retained in your respiratory system.” They are linked to cardiovascular disease and birth defects.

So Harry Wallop decided to measure particulate levels in his environs with a meter.

Levels of particulates are measured in ug/m^3 (micrograms per cubic meter). Government guidelines suggest that a reading below 35ug/m³ is “low”. On the day Harry Wallop passed through a car-packed Trafalgar Sq on his bike, levels of PM2.5 (the smaller and most dangerous particulates) registered at 14ug/m^3.

So what did stove-loving Harry Wallop find when he trialled a particulates monitor in his home?

First, candles:

My chichi candle selection managed to push the reading up to 35ug/m³, but only briefly as the wick tapered in the draughty kitchen, before settling down to 22ug/m³.

Secondly the wood burner:

After an hour of mine burning brightly, the dial settled between 41ug/m³ and 43ug/m³ in my sitting room.

So that's:

Candles : 22ug/m³
Stove : 43ug/m³

ie practically twice as much harmful particulate from stoves.

sheramber

Test would be done by leaving a meter to register the pollution over a period of tome.

Sledgehead

Well, obviously this is not a scientific result, but as a rebuttal of the notion that wood burners are better than candles, even in your own home (forget what it is doing to the atmosphere for the moment), it's better data than has been offered by those who assume the opposite.

Sure, there are tests of the type you describe made by the manufacturers. They tell us all is well. Just like VW did with their diesel emissions.

And talking of better research and those awful polluting diesels:

2.4 times more PM2.5 pollution from domestic wood burning than traffic - BMJ, May 2015

and don't forget:

The European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates that PM2.5 caused 37,800 premature deaths in the UK in 2012

and here's a real shocker:

Few people who install wood stoves are likely to understand that a single log-burning stove permitted in smokeless zones emits more PM2.5 per year than 1,000 petrol cars and has estimated health costs in urban areas of thousands of pounds per year

No, I'm afraid it's pretty clear that there is nothing environmentally friendly or even progressive about wood burners.

forgotmyname

Stop breathing, stop farting and oh my do not eat anything. The pollution will kill you.

After going to a bonfire the smell on our clothes the next morning is horrible.
We started leaving clothes by the door and sticking them straight into the washing machine.

What is the law on wood burners these days? Someone mentioned a 20 minute window where you can create smoke whilst getting the fire upto temperature.
But as mentioned who will police it?