Burning Wood (houses, live, oil)

[Vjoe]

In the past few years, there have been quarrels about wood burning furnaces in Connecticut. Towns are passing regulations banning them due to neighbors' complaints about smoke. Are there similar problems in Maine, or are most people who burn wood far enough apart that no one cares? Just curious.

Thanks

[Submariner]

For the most part, no body cares.

[mainebrokerman]

depends where you are

id be asking the town office for any ordinances/laws

many neighbors did complain in southern maine

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Burning wood in wood stoves indoors is no problem. The smoke rises well away from homes. The problem comes when a homeowner has one of those outdoor wood boilers. The exhaust stack is low to the ground. The combustion gas is heavier than it is from good dry wood. People tend to burn wet wood in outdoor boilers. It creates a condensate called pyroligneous acid and it's a foul choking nuisance.

People who run those boilers put them east northeast of their houses to minimize the smoke problem. The flip side of that situation is that the unfortunate neighbor who may be located to the east northeast of the boiler has the gas going directly at his house. On damp mornings it flows low to the ground.

The problems with these boilers can be avoided if the owners simply followed the directions that come with the boilers. Burn dry wood that produces hot stack gasses. Hot gas rises. This is not rocket science.

[Vjoe]

That seems to parallel what does on down here. People that don't set them up correctly cause problems. Then the towns pass regulations that make it difficult for those that do set them up right.

Do many people heat with wood in Maine? The impression here is that almost everyone heats with wood, at least as a supplemental source.

Thanks

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Almost everyone does except in the cities.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Almost everyone does except in the cities.

Or on the coast....

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Vjoe

... Do many people heat with wood in Maine?

Perception.

Given where I live, when I look around, I see most homes with stacks of firewood.

Some also have a propane tank, some also have an oil tank. It seems to me that most use wood. If not entirely, then at least partly.

However from reading this forum, I am often amazed to hear so many who rely on oil.

Maine is a state of diversity.

[BoxCar Willie]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Burning wood in wood stoves indoors is no problem. The smoke rises well away from homes.

Usually BUT when low pressure moves in it CAN force it almost to the ground. I've seen it happen many times. THEN someon can complain [most don't tho].

[brfire]

One problem we have had in my area is not so much the outdoor boilers, but that people were burning their trash, tires, etc etc in them.