Comments for Lightly Energy Newsletter

Comment on A new look at an old technology by Jim White

Jim White — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:55:12 +0000

With the traditional Russian stoves, to avoid the carbon monoxide problem, unburned coals were removed from the fireplace before the damper was closed. The charcoal could then be burned later in a samovar for making tea. The samovars could be attached to a separate small chimney to duct the exhaust outside the home.

Comment on A new look at an old technology by Susan

Susan — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:36:14 +0000

Mary Ann Derr has first-hand experience with this type of stove. She sent this response in an e-mail:

When I built my home in Plain I selected a radiant heat stove with an oven that fit the size of the home. I purchased the inside bricks from a company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and then selected the glacial deposited rocks (river rock but not from the river) that are on my property to have a mason assemble the stove. When it is cold I fire up the stove two times a day and then try to match the high heat for bread baking, baking potatoes or any foods that are oven prepared. There was enough excavation done on the property that I was able to free up enough stones for the project.

Beware of your advice to close the flue at night. Once the stove is burning and drawing the oxygen needed to keep the fire going then one can close the damper enough to hold the heat but not let the carbon monoxide fill the home. One must install a CO detection unit in the house.

The heat disperses in the home as a radiant heat which does not cause cold drafts like a fireplace. The most effective use for these stoves is to have them away from an outside wall. When on the outside wall you are allowing the heat to go out and then you lose heat.

Comment on A new look at an old technology by Kris and Joanna Norby

Kris and Joanna Norby — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:03:39 +0000

We have a masonry heater in our home. It is our main source of heat for the main floor and upper story of our log home on Chiwawa Loop. During the recent power outage we had pot roast with vegetables, baked ravioli, potatoes, and apples, scones, quiche…all baked in the oven. In the past we have baked bread, cookies, pizza, and we traditionally roast our Thanksgiving turkey in our fireplace oven. We love it. Ours is faced with river rock. The only drawback is if you’re away from home in the winter, it takes up to 48 hours to warm the house back up to a comfortable temperature. For the coldest winter months, we burn 2 fires a day, morning and evening. If temps drop below zero for more than a day or 2, we will usually squeeze in a third fire mid-afternoon and push the evening fire to just before bed. We find we go through about the same amount of firewood in a winter as friends with a wood burning stove and our power bills are consistently lower. Plus we don’t have to tend the fire all day and it does burn very clean.

Comment on Anti-icers are our friends, mostly by Susan

Susan — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:27:44 +0000

Derek Sheffield of Leavenworth e-mailed this comment:

Another result of de-icers that isn’t mentioned in your article is dead birds. Every winter many birds (hundreds? thousands?) die on the passes. They ingest the de-icer when getting grit from the roadways. The de-icer disorients them so that when the plows and other vehicles come by they can’t fly out of the way quick enough. You’ll find their bodies by the hundreds in the snowbanks along the pass highways. I’ve encountered this on Stevens Pass.

Here’s an article about it that appeared in the Wenatchee World: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2008/feb/20/huge-increase-in-bird-kills-on-winter-highways/?print

Comment on Cool down with a ductless system by Susan

Susan — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:02:10 +0000

Larry, from your description, it sounds like your economic benefits would be neglible.