[SustainableTompkins] Re: wood stove suggestions?

[Jeni Wightman]

Dear Marlo,

It depends on what you want to heat and how.
If you have a hot water system, i highly recommend looking at TARM USA for 
both efficient and intelligent furnaces that get around 90% efficiency and 
make life easier with their clever design.  for details: 
http://www.woodboilers.com/.  these furnaces can be purchased with back up 
oil.  they also sell pellet furnaces.

If you just want a smaller stove for section heating, why not try out a 
multi fuel pellet stove.  right now, the cheapest fuel (besides harvesting 
your own wood) is corn grain.  if the corn grain prices rise,  you can use 
wheat, grass, wood, and fruit pits in some cases.  for stoves that can burn 
multi fuels, check out jerry cherneys 
website:  http://www.grassbioenergy.org/res/pellet_stove_demo.asp#stove. 
does not require any special chimney, many range from 80-92% 
efficiency.  many can ONLY burn wood.

Other than that, try to get the stove dealer to tell you the efficiency of 
the stove.  The more efficient the stove, the cleaner the burn and the 
warmer your house per unit wood.  Your stove should be at least 80% 
efficient.  However, this is often hard to determine as the EPA does not 
require efficiency testing on wood stoves (all oil burners are 
required).  An high efficient biomass stove is good for the forests, good 
for your neighbors air and good for your warmth and wallet.

To calculate price per million BTU, it is always important when dealing 
with biomass to include the moisture content of the biomass and the 
efficiency of your stove to determine the price paid per felt heat.  two 
good biomass calculators are:
<http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel_value_calculator.pdf>http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel_value_calculator.pdf
http://energy.cas.psu.edu/costcomparator.html

And write a letter to eliot spitzer suggesting he sue the EPA to get 
biomass stove efficiency regulated so the myth that all wood stoves make 
for bad air quality can be rectified, and stove buyers can make safe, 
clean, environmental choices when looking to heat their home.  some wood 
stoves are terrible for their particulate matter.  an 80% efficient wood 
stove has essentially the same impact on air quality as an 80% efficient 
gas/oil stove, except the wood stove reduces the greenhouse gas impact by 
cycling surface carbon as opposed to fossilized carbon buried deep within 
the earth.

Also, keep track of your installation records.  If RGGI (Regional 
Greenhouse Gas Initiative) makes it, you might be able to get c-trading 
credits for your change in practice starting Dec 20, 2005.  Some people 
don't like the idea of trading, but if you used the money you got for the 
credits from your biomass stove, you could put that money toward better 
insulation in your home or other mitigation strategies and do more to 
secure a sustainable future (or you can keep them and wink to the moon).

Good cheer-
Jeni


At 10:23 PM 8/19/2006, you wrote:
>we're planning on installing a wood stove this fall but aren't sure what 
>the best type is.  our current line of thinking involves a porcelain 
>stove, but we'd love any feedback about hybrid stoves or "other" burning 
>stoves.
>
>does anyone have websites we could do some research with or input of their 
>own?
>
>thanks,
>marlo
>
>
>
>Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
>Listen to the DON'TS
>Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
>The IMPOSSIBLES and WONT'S
>Listen to the NEVER HAVES
>Then listen close to me-
>Anything can happen, child,
>ANYTHING can be.
>
>-shel silverstein
>
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