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Show pod burning staves ,nerate cheap heat RVClndvRoert8n neighbor's new wood stove ''.gleam into the eye of a f as he envisions an easy 'rt'oe the high cost of heating '" to winter. With thoughts of 'back to nature" and cozy ' l0getherness completing the V excited homeowner may Mofte nearest dealter, install a ' j its chimney over the i and beam as friends com-''m com-''m on his good sense. ' ct that heating with wood is jj popularity can be seen by in wood permits from the 'm District. 0" said Mike Bergfield, forester, "we issued 1,123 !;loCut dead wood, but by 1980, -berhad risen to 2,508." Houses piles stacked against win-are win-are becoming a common ,) stove dealers report a volume of business. i(er a homeowner com-'.jg't com-'.jg't visit to one of these , needs to consider several ore he decides to add wood j as home. and grandma heated suc- ith stoves and fireplaces 'iW grew up with this way of and understood its needs and js. "People today," said Ron Sliding inspector for Vernal jie accustomed to relatively 3s or electric heat regulated by slat, and are often unwilling to mod stove the time and at-:il at-:il needs." ore buying a stove, the .aer should consider whether he i3Dts the added dirt in his house :oke and wood chips, the job of 2 out ashes, building fires day ;v, frequently having to adjust :'per, and the worry of chimney jnce. Additionally, how will he wood? Will he have to buy a it, log-splitter, and maybe even fWill he have the time required jienoughwood, and the space to jstson still wants to buy a wood I stove after weighing the time "it involved in heating with i will find that there are stoves description to choose from. :jces and old fashioned pot save been joined by Franklins, invert from a closed stove to an pored fireplace. Because these Cheating consume wood quite airtight stoves were developed Tucemore heat'from less wood , cg one oad lor 12 hours or :S have drawbacks, however, ;lrom their ability to consume :er combustion temperatures, -jwhen they are banked for the a the fire smolders overnight, ; stacks cool off, and creosote a more rapidly inside the flue. ls work on the priniciple of s only measured amounts of D feed the fire, but as the flow lent down, combustion becomes asmplete, allowing unburned to escape up the chimney, i the air. .Colorado, illustrates the "this can cause. So many stoves stalled in homes there that 3 noticed a change in air !. and the Environmental 'o Agency confirmed that the 'as mainly wood stoves and In the city of Portland, Ore., ! of all inhalable particles in 'ere found to come from wood lore than auto exhaust and oil according to a test conducted Jn Cooper. 'd burning appliances cento cen-to pollution, but airtights are "ess the owner learns how to m properly. r types of stoves available in-'ri in-'ri heaters with a flat surface "e, kitchen ranges that have a "g coil, and even full size tal furnaces that install in the aand heat the whole house. A 8 come with a detachable for burning coal. Ple build their own stoves. f kits are available that ex-' ex-' buila a stove from an oil most common type of I stove. Oil drum stoves give f& heat, but because they .fles, the fire doesn't last m, and the thin metal may : trough. Care must also be 'ect a barrel that has not wous substances such as i ' and flammable residues iSoroughly cleaned out before "explosions when welding. A .51 is the best size for most . 15 gallon drum stoves Ismail rooms, "t type of homemade stove v. a'rtight in function is . n'gh pressure steam pipe, .'7 'hat it doesn't need a ug. Leslie Thacker, an !CWelder' designed one for vitrf verticle Piece f Pipe; iffir is attached to a square d on the front. .'vjt ten of these so far," Jtu p imProving them." W dassic looks 60,1,31 10 Wels, are of different J i, ,, 10 30" in diameter, and 4 thick, "i used my stove .Pall winter," he added, tave to empty the ashes until the spring," a lAfi"nllr.h7lf made piPe stve. "sing a 16 pipe laid horizontally, is owned bv Larry Constantino, who has Tex cellent results from it. "The record Lr th,s stove." Larry said, As a horn on one load of wood." "Do-it-yourself stoves are not recommended for most people though because to make them safely one must have a good working knowledge of how a stove functions, and of iu design &PlCS' cauti Tom Robertson des.gner of several wood burners. Choosing the size of the stove is an important as selecting the style, though the kind of stove selected will affect its size since efficiency ratings differ with each ype. Fireplaces, for example, are usually only 15 percent efficient, Franklins and pot belly stoves are 30 percent, and airtights are as high as 45 to 65 percent efficient. Therefore, a smaller airtight will heat the same size room as a large Franklin. A stove dealer can recommend a size but he needs to know the total cubic feet of the room to be heated, how many windows and doorways are in the room as well as the amount of furnishings included and how well insulated the area is. Before purchasing a new stove, the buyer needs to give careful attention to the quality of his chimney. Older ones can be dangerous because of deterioration, and even newer chimneys chim-neys are often improperly constructed. Unless connected to a chimney that is safely and correctly built, even the best of stoves will be unable to perform properly. "Many residents of Vernal are unaware that there are ordinances governing the installation of a new stove and chimney," said Ron Stone. Permits from the city office are required, and rules concerning chimney height, stove clearance, flue size and other installation requirements must be followed. "Our office," Mr. Stone added, "is available to supply advice for installation, in-stallation, furnish reports on the function func-tion and safety of listed stoves, and give free inspections." After properly installing his wood stove and having it inspected, a stove owner must now keep it supplied with wood. Those who decide to buy wood will probably pay by the cord. A full cord of "wood weighs from 2-2lk tons, so if a seller says his ton pickup holds a - cord of wood, he is either selling a short --cord --cord or is being dishonest. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Resources, a ton pickup will carry a little less than half a cord, a "short bed" pickup about one-third of a cord, and a full size station wagon about one-sixteenth. one-sixteenth. Most people in this area cut their own wood instead of buying it, since, by obtaining a permit, they can cut dead wood on forest service land. A sheet of fourteen regulations is given with the permit, stating the limits that must be observed. Supplying a stove with wood is hard work, and the stove owner may wonder which type of wood will give him the most heat energy for his effort. Generally, hardwoods have more BTU's than softwoods, yet some hardwoods hard-woods such as aspen have less heat energy than pines. Also confusing is the fact that most of the wood ratings given in books were compiled by eastern writers, to they don't apply to western species. The Bureau of Land Management has studied the native trees here, and Earl Smith, a BLM forester, explained the burning properties of some of them. "Juniper, along with pinyon, is one of the highest in heat content," he said, "and is usually the preferred wood of the mountain shepherds." It has a tendency to crackle, but burns cleanly with a pleasant incense aroma, and splits and starts easily. "One drawback to juniper is that sand and dirt sometimes lodge in the bark and dull chainsaws," Smith added. Douglas fir, ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine all fall into the medium heat bracket, splitting easily and burning cleanly with little odor. Spruce, however, has a low heat value, and can be a problem in fireplaces since it is hard to start and sparks when burning. Though aspen and cot ton wood are classed as hardwoods, they both have low heat content. "Cottonwood burns completely but has, in my opinion, a bad odor, besides being hard to split Mr Smith said. Aspen, on the o her hand has no odor, bums readily, splits easily and leaves little ash. -Whatever wood is gathered," Earl stressed, "if it is burned while green or wet the heat content will be only partly Sized. The wood will b cooler temperature, and cause more Condensation and creosote in the chimney." How much wood will a wood stove burn' That depends, of course, on he SinT bills, though, n g.vegeS..doeathe how much wood will oe nwu winter. David Ivins, in m Woodburning Stoves, says thatM rough estimate one f cor of J equal to 200 ga ions of m f Jl . ton of coal, or 4,000 Kwnoi At current prices of oil and electricity fhe savings from a cord of wood could amount to over $200. . The number of people being won over to wood heat is growing, and wood stove owners point proudly to the money they tevesaved on fuel by using wood. Even E wood heat is not for everyone Some pe'optefeel the savings it prov.des are not worth the etfort involved. Leslie Thacker's wife is one. "I've made stoves for my shop and for mv friends," Mr. Thacker said, "and yet when I try to bring in a stove to heat our house, my wife meets me at the door with a broom. But she'll change her mind." he adds with a grin. -Just wait until the gas bill gets a little higher." |