Print

[browncty]

This is my second season owning my American Royal Wood Boiler. This evening I received a call from my neighbor that the smoke smell has been bad the last week and told me to do something about it. Some things to ponder while you look to provide me with advice.

* I live in a City but on the edge of a small town. Boiler is located almost on the City Limits. Boiler was place more than 100 yards from the neighbors in the City when I installed it last year.
* Last year I had no chimney extension first year running boiler, this I added a three foot extension. Note my property is lower than my neighbors.
* We only burn wood no garbage. We burn any type of wood and I burn large pieces some times. I don't always split the fire wood. The last week we have had some large pieces of box elder we have gotten to in our wood pile. I will place any large pieces I can fit in it.
* Boiler has a shaker for ash and it has a blower. I also don't have a defuser or chimney cap.
* Note: There is no prohibition against the OWB in the City. There two of these in the City Limits. This is my first phone call about this issue.

Questions:

1. Would splitting larger pieces of wood help with smoke issue?
2. Would a chimney defusser help?
3. I plan to let what's in there now that's large burn down and not fill it as full to help it burn more efficiently and burn some of my oak that's split, would this help?

Please provide with any advice you can me about this issue of smoke or extreme smell. I look for to your responses.

[racnruss]

Just basic stuff but

Cured wood at least a year is best, keep rain and snow off wood that is up next to burn, load at strategic times of day, ect.

I have a gasifier and live in the heart of large city.  I've seen my friends/family conventional boilers smoke like crazy when they burn whatever and can't imagine trying to use one of those near anyone else.

Usually the first couple cycles on a new charge of wood are the worst for smoking.  Will your load last 24 hours? and if so, how about loading that bad boy at 11 pm?

[browncty]

I don't go to bed until 11-12 most nights and I could load it then. Would this help with the smoke issue?

[woodman]

The time of day won't affect the output of smoke only the sight. I don't think a diffuser would help much, a taller stack would help to get it up and away on most days. Smaller splits will burn hotter faster resulting in less smoke. Some wood stinks more than others, I think beech and cherry are the least offensive, willow and box elder some of the worst. In my experience well seasoned wood smokes very little and should be the ultimate goal with close neighbors.

[browncty]

I just spoke to a friend and had two ideas.

1. Add a chimney cap
2 remove my chimney extension see if that solves the issue.
3. Here even recommended a chimney cap after taking off extension.

[slimjim]

Your friend will make matters much worse with the cap! Could you try adding a layer of brick to the sides of the firebox, keep the grates accessible but brick the sides, this helps to insulate the fire from the water jacket, you might also load less wood more often and only stuff it late at night.

[caper]

here's my two cents worth as I had the same issue, of course only burn good dry wood and no garbage, I put three lengths of pipe up ,its almost ten feet high now, supported  as well, a kit, basically two metal poles that attach to pipe and roof of boiler, my stays strong even with 100 km hour gusts, and finally as someone already mentioned, boiler only really smokes bad when new wood is introduced, so fill before sun comes up and fill again if you can before bed when its dark and everyone else is in ,lol. these rules helped me a lot, of course there is gonna be some slip ups but heh, and finally if that doesn't keep him happy, tell them to go --------------------. burn baby burn, warm house and no big bills

[browncty]

Mostly box elder in the stove last night and last week. It was lots of coals and had an off smell when I opened the door. I'm going to let it burn down and not burn it alone or until it's super cold with othe wood. I have oak mixed in with mt piles and I'm going to burn that for a while maybe in a few weeks and see if ad voiding the box elder help or atleast not filling stove with it. I'm also going to change my stove operation as to when I load even if it's not easy on mt schedule. I burn lost of pine and it didn't cause a smell even green.

Note: Additional Chimney sections may cause problem to increase as my stove is lower than my neighbors to the Northwest and my home does block there view of the stove one reason for placing it there.

I didn't get any complaints last year without the section of chimney but we got some smoke. Our boiler is 52-55 foot from the house. I added it to get smoke away from a neighbor in the Town and from our home.

[caper]

another good reason for taller stacks is that its keeps the smoke from flowing close to the ground, at least if its in the air higher , it may blow away quicker, before I raised the chimney ,the smoke used to hover over the ground close to my neighbors ,at least now its always trying to get to the sky.

[browncty]

Burned off the box elder and started burning other species of wood, smell seems to gone. Also, my nieghbor stopped by office at work (I work for the City's) and apologized for his crappy behavior at 8:30 pm the other night. I accepted his apology. We also discoursed the wood smell and I told him I figured out the current smell issue. He told me his issue was they have a home air circulation system and it was pull the smell in the house. I also have a system but it had no affect our home inside environment. He thought another section of pipe might do the trick. We we also had a couple day no wind, today the wind is taking the smoke toward the large wetland across the street like it normally happens.

Thank you all for your advice and help with this issue. I will be doing some of the additional suggestions recommended by the replies to my post. Again thank!!!

[lindnova]

I burn a lot of box elder and it tends to stink worse than elm or oak.  Especially when it has some mold under the bark.  I would rather not burn it as it doesn't coal very well, but I have so much of it we are always clearing out I hate to waste it all in open fires.

I don't have neighbor complaints, but my jacket really smells when it gets moldy box elder smoke on it.  Dry, clean box elder is ok.

[mlappin]

Burned off the box elder and started burning other species of wood, smell seems to gone. Also, my nieghbor stopped by office at work (I work for the City's) and apologized for his crappy behavior at 8:30 pm the other night. I accepted his apology. We also discoursed the wood smell and I told him I figured out the current smell issue. He told me his issue was they have a home air circulation system and it was pull the smell in the house. I also have a system but it had no affect our home inside environment. He thought another section of pipe might do the trick. We we also had a couple day no wind, today the wind is taking the smoke toward the large wetland across the street like it normally happens.

Thank you all for your advice and help with this issue. I will be doing some of the additional suggestions recommended by the replies to my post. Again thank!!!

If it's a problem again maybe offer to pay to have his intake moved to the opposite of the house? Or split the cost?

[dukethebeagle]

just my opinion,but these boilers are not really intended for city use
what they don't see don't hurt them.
you can't help but seeing and smelling these boilers

[browncty]

It's a rural community and the boiler is really far from the city dwellers and it cost me extra expensive to install it that way. I am also as close as you get to be in the country. I agree boilers are not good in a city in most locations. Mines not a gasification unit but those would be better. I own a lot just over 2 acres and have room to store wood, smaller lots can't fit the amount of wood needed to heat a home in NW Wisconsin.