Wood stoves/furnaces
How to Get the Best Firewood for Clean and Affordable Energy
Mother Earth News / John Gulland / October/November 2011
Firewood is better than money in the bank. It’s the tangible result of your labor, and it represents warmth and security through winter. If you know how to dry firewood properly, wood heat can be a clean, renewable energy that’s more accessible than solar or wind.
The three essential ingredients for efficient and environmentally appropriate wood heating are good stove technology, good fire-building techniques and good fuel. We’ve covered the first two topics in the past (see “Resources” at the end of this article). Now let’s look at what you need to know to have the best firewood.
Living Off the Grid in Eastern Ontario
Mother Earth News / William Kemp / October/November 2011
Twenty years ago, when my wife, Lorraine, and I decided to move off the grid, our motivation was simple. Lorraine wanted to move closer to her family, preferably to a piece of land large enough to offer some privacy and plenty of room to support her “addiction” to animals. A lot at the back of her family’s farm fit the bill (and the wallet). There was only one downside: It would have cost tens of thousands of dollars to connect the property to the nearest electric lines. The solution was obvious: Don’t connect to the grid and instead plan to run our house entirely with renewable energy. We put our plan into action, and have been enjoying off the grid living ever since. Here’s how we run our rural Ontario home using an absolute minimum of fossil fuel energy.
Hands-On Guy Makes Pellets Burn Efficiently in Airtight Woodstove
Mother Earth News / Steve Maxwell / 18 November 2011
Wood pellets offer an inexpensive, environmentally responsible way to heat your home, but there’s a problem. Pellets won’t burn in an ordinary woodstove and dedicated pellet stoves are much more expensive than regular woodstoves. Pellet stoves are also more technically complicated, more trouble-prone, they need electricity and you can’t burn regular logs in them. But in the true spirit of self-sufficient problem solving, all these facts got a handy guy named Brad Palmer going.
Working in his own home workshop, he created a simple and effective device that allows pellets to be burned safely and efficiently in any woodstove. I’ve used his “Bradley Burner” myself and it works perfectly. But what’s even more interesting to me is how Brad came to create his invention, and how this is an outstanding example of self-reliance for all of us.
Brad is frugal by nature, and that stopped him from forking out thousands of dollars to buy a pellet stove when he and his wife decided that burning their airtight woodstove was too troublesome and messy in their suburban home. Brad tried burning pellets in this stove, but found that a heap of pellets only smolders uselessly -- burning about as well as a phone book or pile of magazines. The problem was air. It couldn’t get into the heart of the pile, so pellets simply sat there and smoldered. At least they did until he invented an elegant and simple solution.
Burn It Smart
City of Nanaimo
If there is a lot of wood smoke coming from your chimney, or if you can smell it long after your fire has been burning, the 'Burn It Smart' campaign can help. Both novices and seasoned veterans can learn how to have cleaner, safer, more efficient fires that reduce wood smoke.
When wood is burned at a high temperature, virtually nothing but carbon dioxide and water vapor are produced, but when you allow your fire to smolder then blue/grey smoke is produced, which means creosote is forming at the same time. Creosote is deposited on the inside of your chimney when wood is not burned completely and becomes a highly volatile fuel during a chimney fire!
Safe and healthy wood burning go hand-in hand. When little or no smoke is produced, both the chimney and the air are kept clean. At these workshops, participants learn about good wood-burning practices, WETT certified installations, and the benefits of EPA / CSA -approved appliances so they may achieve a more efficient (less polluting) and cozy wood fire.
Videos
Firewood: from the Forest to the Shed (10:44)
Wood Stove Operation (12:49)
Straight Answers to Tough Questions About Wood Heat
The Woodpile / John Gulland / 30 November 2010
When a local journalist asks for an interview you never know what kind of question you might be asked. With negative news about wood smoke pollution in the media these days, there is a good chance you will be asked an awkward question. You don’t want to be stumped, first because it is embarrassing and second because you’ll miss an opportunity to set the record straight. You might even be asked difficult questions by customers who need assurance that wood heating doesn’t have to be ‘dirty’.
Livin' the Dream, Off the Grid and Thriving
Mother Earth News / Cam Mather / 04 August 2010
Twenty years ago my wife Michelle and I had a dream to get out of the city and move to the country. We wanted to live more sustainably and have space around us. Almost 14 years ago we found our little piece of paradise on 150 acres in Eastern Ontario. The nearest utility pole is 3 miles to the east and 4 miles to the west and we power the house entirely with the sun and wind. It truly is a dream come true.
CN growing “green” wood pellet traffic at double-digit rates
CN / Press Release / 05 November 2009
North America's largest mover of forest products – is on track to haul more than 800,000 tons of wood pellets this year and sees more opportunities in the future for this “green” source of heating energy.
“Since 2005, we have experienced a 16 per cent compounded annual growth in our wood pellet traffic, and we see growing potential for this business in domestic and international markets,” said James Foote, executive vice-president, Sales and Marketing.
