SMOKEY VALLEYS - WOOD FIRED FURNACES

10.30.08

As the weather has cooled the night, and early morning air has become aromatized with the smell of wood smoke, noted most in the valleys around the area. Driving between Sharon and Lakeville one can see the haze as well.

The season for using wood stoves and, more recently, the free standing, outside, wood-fired furnaces has arrived.

First, a caution about wood stove use, most often using fireplace openings and chimneys, but also using metal chimney piping: these chimneys need to be cleaned regularly throughout a heating season. The problem is soot build up within the chimneys. Burned "cold", they can cause concentrated soot build up that over time will result in a combustible material lining the chimney. If this build-up isn’t removed, it can ignite and possibly result in a house fire.

The free-standing outdoor wood fired furnaces may pose a newer problem for towns, if they grow in numbers. Burning "chunk" wood, they can produce far greater amounts of smoke than wood stoves, and often burn 24 hours a day, thus the haze and smell that have started to permeate the area I live in, in Sharon.

Some towns are "wrestling" with permitting these to exist. Some towns, and even States nearby have banned them outright. A real question may be respiratory issues with some people should several units exist in close proximity to each other. Time will tell.

©2008 R. Leech features.