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ENLARGE
Scott McKain
“Douglas County is the Saudi Arabia of biomass” — Joe Laurance, Douglas County Commissioner
We native Oregonians have another word for it: firewood. Our family has used firewood for heat and hot water most of our lives; it is part of our rituals of the seasons.
We cut or buy the wood in the winter, let it dry the next summer, and burn it the following winter. Then repeat. Relying on the land for energy is as natural as growing our own food. It is a part of being connected to this place.
I remember driving through the Medford area one winter in the 1980s when many people were burning wood in response to the last energy crisis.
The air pollution was thicker than anything I had ever seen in Los Angeles. Wood stoves then were simple steel boxes with an adjustable air draft.
Typically a person would load the box with firewood, start the fire and then prevent overheating by choking off the air. In terms of air-fuel ratios this was a “rich” mixture.
The fire would smolder along, producing plenty of smoke, which is actually unburned fuel. Lost energy and creosote buildup in the flue was the result, with the possibility of a chimney fire. There had to be a safer and more efficient way.
How a person operates the stove can help. Always burn dry wood, build a smaller fire and give it plenty of air. But a newer EPA-certified stove is really the way to go.
Most of these designs have a second air intake at the top of the firebox that enables the unburned fuel to flame off before going up the pipe.
These stoves use up to a third less wood than an older model. Watching those blue and orange flames dance in the firebox is way more fun than a lava lamp. Now go outside and look up: no smoke!
The ultimate biomass burner is the pellet stove. They are more efficient and produce only a fraction of the pollution of even a certified wood stove. The heat output is controlled by changing the flow of fuel into the firebox, rather that choking off the air.
Some even come with a thermostat or a remote control, as if we need another one of those. These units use some electricity to operate, but are clean in the house and convenient to use.
I was in a local farm supply store about a year ago and noticed they had wood pellet fuel by the bag. I examined the label: product of Wisconsin. I wondered why the “Saudi Arabia of biomass” was importing wood pellets.
Are we missing an opportunity? There was a small article in the News-Review a while back that stated Roseburg Forest Products had started producing wood pellets from waste sawdust and was working with Fisher's Hearth & Home in Roseburg on a bulk delivery system.
I realized this could be a real game-changer for how people in Douglas County heat their homes and businesses. This locally produced fuel is clean-burning, carbon pollution neutral, provides employment, and keeps our money in Douglas County.
I called Lyle Miller, owner of Fisher's, for the details. He said the Roseburg pellets were a very high-quality product made exclusively from Douglas fir.
The moisture content was 8 percent, as opposed to 20 percent for firewood. He said there are cheaper pellets, but they have less heat content. “Don't judge pellets by price. Judge them by BTUs” he said.
There are other shops in the area that are also carrying the Roseburg pellets, and he expects the distribution will grow. I would suggest people ask for it by name and accept no substitutes.
Both the certified wood and pellet stoves qualify for a federal biomass tax credit. This could be 30 percent of the cost of the stove, including installation, to a maximum of $1,500. See your local stove dealer or accountant for more details.
Scott McKain is a member of the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition. He is retired from the Douglas County Health and the Building Facilities departments. He has a degree in oceanography. Send suggestions to sjmckain@gmail.com.
We native Oregonians have another word for it: firewood. Our family has used firewood for heat and hot water most of our lives; it is part of our rituals of the seasons.
We cut or buy the wood in the winter, let it dry the next summer, and burn it the following winter. Then repeat. Relying on the land for energy is as natural as growing our own food. It is a part of being connected to this place.
I remember driving through the Medford area one winter in the 1980s when many people were burning wood in response to the last energy crisis.
The air pollution was thicker than anything I had ever seen in Los Angeles. Wood stoves then were simple steel boxes with an adjustable air draft.
Typically a person would load the box with firewood, start the fire and then prevent overheating by choking off the air. In terms of air-fuel ratios this was a “rich” mixture.
The fire would smolder along, producing plenty of smoke, which is actually unburned fuel. Lost energy and creosote buildup in the flue was the result, with the possibility of a chimney fire. There had to be a safer and more efficient way.
How a person operates the stove can help. Always burn dry wood, build a smaller fire and give it plenty of air. But a newer EPA-certified stove is really the way to go.
Most of these designs have a second air intake at the top of the firebox that enables the unburned fuel to flame off before going up the pipe.
These stoves use up to a third less wood than an older model. Watching those blue and orange flames dance in the firebox is way more fun than a lava lamp. Now go outside and look up: no smoke!
The ultimate biomass burner is the pellet stove. They are more efficient and produce only a fraction of the pollution of even a certified wood stove. The heat output is controlled by changing the flow of fuel into the firebox, rather that choking off the air.
Some even come with a thermostat or a remote control, as if we need another one of those. These units use some electricity to operate, but are clean in the house and convenient to use.
I was in a local farm supply store about a year ago and noticed they had wood pellet fuel by the bag. I examined the label: product of Wisconsin. I wondered why the “Saudi Arabia of biomass” was importing wood pellets.
Are we missing an opportunity? There was a small article in the News-Review a while back that stated Roseburg Forest Products had started producing wood pellets from waste sawdust and was working with Fisher's Hearth & Home in Roseburg on a bulk delivery system.
I realized this could be a real game-changer for how people in Douglas County heat their homes and businesses. This locally produced fuel is clean-burning, carbon pollution neutral, provides employment, and keeps our money in Douglas County.
I called Lyle Miller, owner of Fisher's, for the details. He said the Roseburg pellets were a very high-quality product made exclusively from Douglas fir.
The moisture content was 8 percent, as opposed to 20 percent for firewood. He said there are cheaper pellets, but they have less heat content. “Don't judge pellets by price. Judge them by BTUs” he said.
There are other shops in the area that are also carrying the Roseburg pellets, and he expects the distribution will grow. I would suggest people ask for it by name and accept no substitutes.
Both the certified wood and pellet stoves qualify for a federal biomass tax credit. This could be 30 percent of the cost of the stove, including installation, to a maximum of $1,500. See your local stove dealer or accountant for more details.
Scott McKain is a member of the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition. He is retired from the Douglas County Health and the Building Facilities departments. He has a degree in oceanography. Send suggestions to sjmckain@gmail.com.
