Wood heat and state barriers

Dear Tom
I was a student at UM0 in the seventies, was impacted by the possibleunavailability and very real price jump of oil and bought a little wood lotto secure my energy needs for the future. For several years my sons and Icould often be found there preparing inventory for the next heating season.At that time I read of Professor Hill's experiments with wood heat andbought a copy of his groundbreaking heating system and its associated howto build it and required materials list. I still have the package. As myhome heating system then and now is hot air, the conversion would be quiteinvolved and expensive, involving the addition of sweated copper plumbing,etc. The dream of the new heating system languished, oil prices dropped,and the project laid aside.Oil prices have reinvigorated my interest in the project and, now beingretired,I have more time than most to build and install this intriguingsystem and am pretty darned handy in building ability. But times havechanged. Upon talking with Bangor's fire code inspector, Maine State lawhas forbid home built heating systems, whether boiler or furnace. Further,the City of Bangor disallows outside boilers. I'm sure there are soundreasons for implementing these restrictions but they also outlaw one of themost well-documented and analysed heating systems in existence today.Although clean and thorough burning, extreme efficiency of conversion offuel to heat, kindness of burning emissions to those downwind, the baby gotpitched with the bathwater.Perhaps you might integrate some of this into one of your columns. I reallyenjoy them. Thanks for your attention.David Stevenspushawdave@verizon.net


Hi Dave,
That stinks!I agree, there are reasons to not encourage DIY wood systmes, but it seemscounter to our Yankee nature! Another hurdle is the insurance companies!
I will ruminate on this one.
Thanks,Tom