Page 20 RAIN October 1978 It's quite evident that p~ople in government (bureaucra~~) have ignored reality in allocation of R&D grants in the bio-rhass· ener-gy field. While "BIG" government supports academ.ics and "BIG" business through "BIG" money R&D grants, large numbers of homeowners are quietly -buying wood-burning stoves to reduce energy costs. Small-sGale qirect coml;mstion appliances are and have been sold in the United Stat¢s for over 200 years. Wood combustion has in the past provided over 90 percent of all home heating,needs. As recently as 1950, over 70 percent of all counties in the USA (1950 Census) listed direct wood combustion as the predominant home heat source. Increased research in direct wood combustion is needed and could produce the following immediate benefits: 1. Higher efficiency would further reduce fossil fuel use. 2. Creosote by-products may be eliminated from chimneys. 3. Consumer ,protection from relatively short-lived throwaway products. Documentation indicating the benefits of small-scale, localized energy sources abound nearly everywhere. Transponing energy from one place to another via railroads, pipelines, and high voltage electrical grids is both costly and wasteful. I encourage readers to promote wood heating to government policy makers. A little encouragement might help wood (the dark horse) win the energy race. Of course wood may eventually have to share the spotlight with wif\d. European products are a.gain leading the pack in wood-coal combination appliances. Not only are these imports higher . quality and more efficient than our own; there is a greater . variety to choose from. As a rule they are more compact and of better design than heating-coo·king appliances manufactured here. Volume imports of products bearing such brand names as "De Dietrick," "F-ranco Belge," "J~tul," "Buderus," or "Koppe" will soon make them common names here. Here at' RAIN we expect to begin the testing and e.xiami!1ation of some wood-coal domestic wat;er heaters. I've noted that many European.cookstoves ar~ also waterboil.ers which are '. designed to provide.hot water heat to an entire home. If any readers have had go d experience with any product in this field, we'd appreciate any feedback offered. Before firing up your woodstove or furnace this fall, perhaps you'd find it wise to do the yearly inspection-maintenance chores that were forgotten last year_. Did your chimney get its periodic inspection and cleaning? Chimney fires result from use of dirty chimneys. A chimney in poor condition, combined with a chimney fire, can cost your home or-life. (See RAIN, Jan. '78, for more information). An eighth-inch of soot inside your woodstove can reduce he_at radiation by 30 percent. A little fu'rnace cement applied to the seams and joints of your woodstove will help resto're its original efficiency and give you more control .over the combustion. Your local fire department or woodstove shop can , help you find the necessary tools for cleaning and maintaining your chimneys and wood-coal appliances. Please feel free to write Bill Day, c/o RAIN Magazine, 2270 N.W. Irving, Portland, OR 9721 O, if you have seemingly unsolvable wood com-' bustion problems. There are still a few people using galvanized stovepipe inside closed structures. When the zinc is heated,·noxious-poisonous fumes are emitted into the air. New blue stovepipe costs very little compared to the potential loss of health. A definite trend 4as begun in the Midwest an.cl Eastern States. Most of the recently marketed steel box heaters sport cast iron doors and door frames. Earlier" '73 oil shortage expediencies," such as Fisher, Frontier, Earth, etc., ignored the air leakage problems caused by warped doors or door 'frames built of structural steel. Many of the new welded steel stoves now'incorporate a Scandinavian style air baffle in-side the stove. It appears that steel stove manufacturers have received a message- build a better product or go out of business. These newer designs should be much better, longer lasting, more efficient consumer products. Bill Day's
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