You’ve got to watch what wood you burn, particularly if it’s been treated.
My new neighbour came in and halved the size of his laurel hedge and decided to burn the cuttings. It was horrendous.
AI says .. “The strong almond smell from crushed cherry laurel leaves is due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides, which release hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid). This compound is toxic, and while a crushed leaf’s smell is usually not dangerous on its own, it is a warning that the plant is poisonous if ingested. “
Same could be said for BBQ’s I guess ND12, But that is another matter. Anyhow, I’m having a woodburner installed in oir Summer Hut to extend our Autumn & Spring use. We only have 1 household it could affect really…and he is a retired Firemaster as it happens and normally downwind. We struck a deal….if he wants to get peace and read a book with a glass of vino, he gets his copy key and goes and builds his own. We’ve known them 33 years…sort of extended “family”….both our sons went into the Army same year bla bla. There’s some sort of stink free low ash nugget stuff, he knows what he’s on about. So, he can teach me. No issues installing in a wooden building if done properly so we are leaving it to him. We have the permissions and there is a good bit of engineering in it but hey ho!
BBQ’s aren’t on literally all day for months on end, and 5-6 on the go simultaneously at that.
(btw, I detest BBQs too. More as it is usually associated with people enjoying themselves )
And it’s literally unenforceable when people do it. Imagine you rang your environmental health dept as it was going on. I wonder what would be the chances of them de facto blue lighting and busting in lol People can literally burn what they like. My issue is they all stink, whatever they’re burning.
I can’t smell the coal burned in China, nor I don’t hang my clothes out to dry in Beijing, nor is my ND parked on a drive in Wuhan.
Recall my own issue wasn’t preaching from the eco tree, indeed it wasn’t concerning that aspect, it was explaining a local issue.
I think if you are going to have a wood burner, one needs to take some responsibility for what one burns.
The difference between burning low moisture sub 20% that is, hardwoods & any old crap that will burn makes a huge difference to what exits ones chimney.
China is causing harm, so it matters not what we do. I’ll go back to burning tyres on a bonfire like I did in the ‘70s! Additionally, China’s pollution doesn’t directly screw up my lungs.
People can do as they wish, it matters not to me, but they’re not the green solution many wood burner resellers claim (and users think), and they are proven to be bad for your health.
Chap selling stoves near me had one in his showroom pointing towards his office a good 6m away. I stepped in for a chat and was surprised how warm his office was despite no heating in there. He relied on the little fan atop a stove in the showroom.
Another interesting point. He had 2 further stoves burning well seasoned wood in another part of the building, and I couldn’t smell anything remotely bad about either of them.
My conclusion- it’s all about the wood you burn and how well your stove works. If all is as it should be you should have no indoor smells and minimal chimney smoke.
Come to my neighbourhood
New burners, recently installed, with one or two definitely burn the ‘proper stuff’ (if there is such a thing). They all stink the street out most of winter, and even basic stuff like taking the advantage of a crisp, windy winter’s day to dry some clothes outside is a thing of the past.
We can all say one has got to burn the proper stuff, just as we can all say no one should park on double yellow lines )without an exemption), nor ‘buiders’ and ‘scappys’ ploughing over speed bumps shedding nails and debris from their open back. Still occurs though and when it’s pretty much an unenforceable area, always will.
It really does sound to me that something is not quite right there. It certainly sounds a lot worse than it should be. I feel for you I really do. Must be like London used to be in the smog! You definitely should not be getting layers of ash and stinging eyes.
My issue is its prevalent everywhere. It was almost comical that earlier, taking a pic of my dog, some wood burner stinking somewhere nearby was rank. That was 3 miles away from my place. I smell shed loads of them everywhere. Walking down a street I don’t think I should be able to smell someone’s heating. LIke I said, with a bit of luck the nanny state will ban them eventually. For new sales after a given date that is of course. When they fire them up too, and it’s like Chernobyl for half an hour with the smoke coming from them ‘flues’
An outright ban would severely affect rural areas. Which rely on oil fired heating which sometimes cannot be delivered due to extreme weather conditions/landslides or flooding causing road closures. So there must be some flexibility in these circumstances.
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Good debate though.
