1

HeatING wItH woodIN THE 21ST CENTURY

David Stobbe

Homefire

Homefire

HeatING wItH woodIN THE 21ST CENTURY

David Stobbe

Copyright 2019 David Stobbe

Published by Field and Farm Publishing, Nova Scotia, Canada

Printed at Halifax, Nova Scotia June 2019

Book design and editing: Newsworthy Communications

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

1

L et’s face it, it can be a confusing world out there in Homefire Land. With literally hundreds of models of stoves, fireplaces

and possibilities, and almost as many opinions on what’s right for you, the process can be daunting. Relax, find a comfy chair and pretend it’s in front of a radiant new wood-stove, and educate yourself. On a cold winter’s day, there’s really nothing like putting your feet up in front of a warm fire. A good book, your favourite beverage, and all is well.

A little knowledge goes a long way, and what you’re considering is a significant investment that will be with you for many years. Take your time, get informed, ask some questions, and get ready for years of safe and comfortable solid fuel heating.

Read on, this road leads to a warm, happy place.

2

3

Table of ConTenTs

1. Safety first! .......................................................................5

2. So, you want to buy a wood stove? ................11Will a stove fit in my house? ..............................................14

Wood or pellet?...........................................................................16

EPA, what does it mean? ...................................................22

3. Chimney .........................................................................25Inside or outside? ....................................................................25

Brick and stone chimneys ..................................................29

Stove installation—upstairs or downstairs? ............34

4. Fireplaces ...................................................................... 37Wood burning fireplace inserts ....................................... 37

Zero clearance fireplaces ....................................................40

5. Wood stoves ...............................................................43Small, medium or large? ......................................................43

Choose your stove: traditional, catalytic, high tech, radiant, convection? .......................................46

Can I still use my old stove and chimney? ..............52

Masonry heaters .......................................................................57

4

6. Hearth protection ....................................................59Stovepipe ......................................................................................62

7. Installation of solid fuel appliances ...............65What does WETT mean? ...................................................65

8. Fuel ................................................................................... 67Cord-wood or sawdust logs? .......................................... 67

Dry wood: what does seasoned mean? ....................69

How to make and manage a fire .................................... 72

9. Maintenance ................................................................ 79

10. Conclusion of the matter ..................................83

About the author .............................................................85

Businesses and resources recommended by author ............................................86

5

Safety first!

T he first of many considerations when installing a wood burning appliance is, of

course, safety. You have a significant investment in your home, and are now contemplating a major purchase that affects that investment. Whether the house is new to you and already has a

wood or pellet appliance, or if you want to add

one, there are some things to consider from a safety perspective.

If you’ve spoken with your insurance

company about heating with

solid fuel, they may have offered

1

6

some feedback. The cost of your policy may or may not change, depending on your insurance provider, but they are likely to insist that you get a WETT-certified inspector involved in the process. If you have an existing wood burning appliance in your home, they will ask you to have it inspected to ensure that it is safe to operate. If you are having a new system installed, they will want it done by a WETT-certified installer, who

will stand behind and certify their work.

For an existing installation, a WETT-certified inspector will usually perform what is known as a Level 1 Inspection, which is non-invasive and visual. In other words, no components are removed for inspection.

Although this doesn’t indicate what has been done within closed spaces, a professional will have a reasonable impression of the integrity of the system, just through a visual inspection.

What the inspector is looking for, is building code compliance. All WETT certification standards are based on the National Building Code, primarily the B365 portion thereof, which deals with solid fuel appliances. There is no conspiracy between insurance companies and inspectors, attempting to separate you from your hard-

“…they are likely to insist that you get a WETT-certified inspector involved...”

7

earned cash. There is simply a system of checks and balances that has been established for the purpose of conforming to the National Building Code. This code is designed to provide a high standard of building practices that will keep you and your family safe.

Insurance companies have a vested interest in your safety as well, and they are generally quite interested in helping prevent your house from catching on fire!

One of the most common deficiencies in a wood or pellet stove installation, is inadequate clearance to combustibles. Each certified wood or pellet appliance has a label on the back, which contains specifications based on tests performed in the certification lab. The specifications are indicated on the label, (see next page) including hearth pad (floor covering) dimensions and type, as well as proximity of the appliance to combustible walls and ceiling.

These clearances are very important to maintain, in order to have a safe installation that will keep you and your family warm for many winters to come. A properly installed solid fuel heating system, operated as intended with dry fuel, is a very safe way to heat your home.

8

Each certified wood or pellet appliance has a label that contains specifications based on tests performed in the certification lab.

9

I hope this gives you some peace of mind regarding safely heating your home with a solid fuel stove or fireplace. Now it’s time to educate you on the process, so you can make an informed decision.

“A properly installed solid fuel heating system...is a very safe way to heat your home.”

10

11

So, you want to buy a wood stove

C ongratulations, you’re about to join the ranks of millions who have gone before you,

who enjoy sitting beside a warm and sometimes crackling fire!

Well, maybe not millions exactly, but quite a few...and they do love their fires. There’s nothing like the comfort and warmth of a wood fire, with its radiant heat and dancing flames, viewed through a clean glass door. Electric heat is sort of warm, hot water and forced air heating systems can be nice, but a home fire...that’s in a class by itself. For millennia, people have sat by fires, cooking or being warmed, but often just staring mesmerized at the flames.

Wood heat is also sustainable, as the last time I checked, trees were still growing in the forest.

2

12

“Wood heat is also sustainable, as the last time I checked, trees were still growing in the forest.”

13

Wisely managed woodlots can continue to provide sustainable heat for many generations to come.

In blustery Eastern Canada, where I live, winter power outages are common, and I can’t overstate the satisfaction of knowing I’ll be cozy and warm, with or without electricity. With my stove, as long as I have a supply of dry wood, I’ll be fine.

Imagine, if you will, a world where you can fearlessly watch the snow fly, from the comfort and warmth of your home. Imagine also, that the lights in the neighbourhood are out, and others are sitting, cold and uncomfortable in the dark. You, on the other hand, are basking in the glow of a wood fire in your cozy living room. A kettle is steaming gently, a pot of stew is simmering on the stove, and you’re not particularly worried if the power comes back on tonight…or even tomorrow. You could always invite the neighbours over…

Let’s take a closer look at some important factors and dynamics, and determine if a wood stove is right for you.

14

Will a stove fit in my house?The short answer is yes, it probably will.

Stoves come in a multitude of shapes and sizes, which I’ll speak to a bit later in the section entitled Choosing Your Stove. A skilled installer, someone with professionalism and integrity, will be able to help you decide if it will be suitable, which unit would work best, and where it should be located. If they tell you it’s not going to work for you, they should be able to back that up with facts. Likewise, if they say it’s a good idea, they should be able to help find the optimum placement and stove, to make it work most effectively. If you’re not confidant in the professionalism of your sales person, or especially the installer, it would

probably be a good idea to find one you are more comfortable with.

Making certain they are WETT certified, is an important consideration. Just as a side note...it’s generally a bad idea

to install a wood or pellet stove by yourself. It will have to be certified to validate your insurance, and finding someone to certify a handyman installation may not be as easy as you think. Besides, protecting your home from potential fire is worthy of hiring a professional.

“...it’s generally a bad idea to install a wood or pellet stove by yourself.”

15

I was once asked to quote on installing a pellet stove, and the potential client didn’t like my price. They apparently decided to do it themselves. I mean, how hard can it be, right? I subsequently drove past their house, on my way to another installation, and noted the pellet vent mounted

on the outside wall. The joints between the pipe pieces were loose and crooked, and it looked like the whole thing could fall over. Besides that,

it was mounted about 6 inches from a door, a leaky old door at that. Code requires that all pellet exhausts maintain a minimum distance of 48 inches from any door or opening window. There’s also a bedroom window above it, which appears to be within the 48-inch no go zone. But hey, it didn’t cost them anything, and presumably the stove works just fine! Who needs to pay a professional, when you can do it yourself?

Did I mention that carbon monoxide is a byproduct of combustion, is deadly, and will find its way through cracks in doors and windows?

Do yourself and your family a favour, and hire a professional.

“I mean, how hard can it be, right?”

16

Wood or pellet?The next question might be, should I buy a wood or pellet stove? Generally, a wood stove burns real logs, requires no electricity except for optional blowers to move heat around, and requires a chimney to vent flue gases. There is currently no such thing as a direct vented wood stove, that just has a pipe or stainless steel box sticking out of your wall. Oil furnaces, yes indeed, they can be direct vented. Wood stoves, not an option.

Pellet stoves, on the other hand, don’t burn real logs. What they burn is compressed sawdust, formed into...you guessed it...wood pellets. The reputable suppliers, of which there are a few, all use a similar technology. Wood sawdust, under high temperatures and high pressure, is forced through a steel grate which shapes it into small cylindrical pellets, approximately 1/4” (7mm) in diameter. These are bagged into 40lb (20kg) plastic bags, which protect them from excessive moisture and make them relatively easy to handle. There is no binding agent used, at least in Canadian produced pellets. Pressure and heat cause the sawdust to bind and retain the shape of pellets.

I would advise you to be cautious when buying pellets that have a point of origin outside

17

of Canada or the US, as the manufacturing standards cannot be guaranteed to be as stringent. Hardwood and softwood sawdust are both used in the manufacturing of pellets in Canada, so you can choose which works best for you. Sometimes a bit of experimentation with a

few types of pellets will be helpful in determining which brand works best in your stove.

Pellet stoves have a hopper, or funnel-shaped metal box at the top, in which you place your pellets. From there, they are dispensed via

various electrical/mechanical means, to a burn basket, where they are ignited and produce a small fire which dances enticingly behind a glass door. This fire in turn warms a heat exchanger, a metal device through which heated air is moved by an electric blower into the room.

Almost all pellet stoves require electricity. To my knowledge there is currently only one on the market that relies on gravity to feed pellets, and dispenses warmth to the room through radiant heat alone. With this noted exception, electricity must be available, either from a wall plug, a back-up generator or a back-up battery

“...be cautious when buying pellets that have a point of origin outside of Canada or the US...”

18

pack. Back-up batteries generally run a pellet stove for 3-5 hours on a single charge. Unless you have a battery pack for short term power

loss, or a generator for longer term, a pellet stove won’t keep you warm in a power outage situation.

A pellet stove also requires a “chimney”, referred to as pellet vent. In some areas of

the US, a pellet stove can be vented straight out of the stove through the wall. In Canada, a rise of at least 4 feet is required, in order to induce a mild draft. Draft is the natural force of convection, whereby warm flue gases rise up the chimney, drawing more gases up behind them, thereby also drawing oxygen into the stove and

“...a pellet stove won’t keep you warm in a power outage...”

19

promoting combustion. This draft isn’t required for operation of a pellet stove, but in the event of a power failure, will help purge the existing flue gases from the house. Otherwise, they could leak out of the stove and cause smoke damage to the inside of the home.

Pellet stoves, like the ones pictured opposite and below, also require more maintenance than wood. For info on this see the chapter on Maintenance.

This is the US Stove Company Wiseway non-electric pellet stove.

20

To recap, a traditional wood stove doesn’t require electricity. (I should note, however, that there are now super efficient prototype wood stoves being developed which produce their own electricity to promote maximum combustion. More on this in the section on Choosing Your Stove.)

With one exception, pellet stoves do require electricity.

Wood stoves burn real logs, or compressed sawdust logs described in the chapter on Fuel.

Pellet stoves burn wood pellets, which come in a 40lb bag.

Whether or not you’re up to the task of handling real logs, or if a bag of pellets is more your style, is a personal decision. The cost of either a pellet stove or a wood stove installation is generally

similar. Wood stoves can be less costly, but require a greater investment in the chimney and pipes. Pellet stoves can be quite costly, but require a smaller investment in venting. As such, depending on the appliances chosen, the costs can be similar. Of course, this is a very

“Wood stoves can be less costly, but require a greater investment in the chimney and pipes.”

21

22

general statement, to which there will be many exceptions. On the previous page is a picture of a medium-sized wood stove, installed in an upstairs living room. In this case, being a fairly large house, we also installed an identical stove in the basement rec-room, thereby enabling the clients to effectively heat their entire house with wood.

EPA: what does it mean and why is it relevant?EPA stands for the US Environmental Protection Agency. This is, among other things, an emissions testing organization, which establishes industry standards for acceptable levels of airborne emissions. Currently in the US, all new, certified wood stoves must be subjected to EPA testing, and do not pass unless certain minimum standards are met. In Canada there is no federal statute to this effect, but most provinces have established their own regulations. By this I mean that most provinces have adopted the current EPA standards for new stove sales.

As of January 1, 2019, only New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have not enforced mandatory EPA standards.

23

It is important to investigate the standards required in your state or province prior to making a purchase. This is especially true if purchasing a wood burning appliance from out of province, state or country. I have seen European clients

import their stoves into Canada from their point of origin, only to find they couldn’t be connected due to lack of compliance with local code requirements.

EPA emissions standards can usually only be achieved through a system of secondary burn within the heating appliance. Oxygen

is introduced to the smoke generated by the primary combustion of the logs. This essentially causes the unburned hydrocarbons (pollutants) in the smoke to ignite, prior to the smoke exiting the stove and entering the chimney. This results in fewer emissions—a good thing—and produces more heat, also a good thing. The other way this can be achieved, is through the use of a catalytic combustor, which I will address in the chapter on Choosing Your Stove.

“It is important to investigate the standards required in your state or province prior to making a purchase.”

24

The following is an excerpt from the US government EPA website1.

“Emission Limits for Wood Stoves

The internal design of wood stoves has changed entirely since the EPA issued standards of performance for new wood stoves in 1988.

EPA’s mandatory smoke emission limit for wood stoves is now 4.5 grams of smoke per hour (g/h) under Step 1 of the revised standards of performance for wood burning room heaters;

Step 2 will take effect on May 15, 2020, when the standard will be lowered to 2.0 g/h. Heaters using the optional cord wood test method must meet a standard of 2.5 g/h.”

What the 2020 EPA standards mean for consumers is yet another level of efficiency in current model stoves. This will result in not only fewer emissions, but improved efficiencies and even more heat being extracted to heat their homes.

1. See www.epa.gov/burnwise/choosing-right-wood-burning-stove

25

902-527-4656 | South Shore902-489-2351 | Halifaxchimneyspecialist.ca

We take great care in installing high quality heating products in your home, safely, efficiently and with minimal interruption to your lifestyle.We supply and install: • EPA fireplaces• Fireplace inserts• Wood stoves• Stainless steel chimneys & liners• Pellet stoves

We provide maintenance and warranty service for major brands.We do brick and stonework, custom fireplaces, re-pointing and masonry chimney building.Our motto: Is It Safe? is our assurance that your safety is our primary concern!

Need a chimNey or fireplace?

26

Homefire is a somewhat quirky and entirely practical look at how you, as a homeowner, can be warm, safe

and comfortable heating with wood.

Let's face it, it can be a scary world out there in Homefire Land. With literally hundreds of models of

stoves and fireplaces, and almost as many opinions on what's right for you, the process can be daunting.

Together we will explore the options and possibilities that are available to suit your budget, your space, and

your lifestyle. Pretty much everything you need to know to get started, is at your fingertips.

Relax, find a comfy chair and pretend it's in front of that lovely, new wood stove. Put up your feet, and read

on... this book leads to a warm, happy place.

David Stobbe

David Stobbe is a WETT-certified installer and inspector, with twenty

years experience in solid fuel heating, plus a lifetime of heating with wood. His motto: Is It Safe?

Find David at davidwstobbe@gmail.com

chimneyspecialist.ca

$28