Health concerns

[Wood Shed]

Every year I get concerned about breathing the cloud of smoke that is in my face when I open the door of my CB 6048.   In the past few years I have tried using a mask but never seem to be successful.  So going to try it again.  I have never smoked at all so that furnace smoke has got to be a shock to my lungs.  Do any of you have the same concern?

[Bert]

I dont make a habit of breathing OWB smoke but no, no real concern for me. I just hold my breath for a second, pitch the wood in, and call it a day. Alot of things way worse than a little wood smoke I think.

[Wood Shed]

It is not just the smoke we are exposed to it is that super hot air that singes the hair on your hands, arms, and face.   If you have not lost hair (which I do not have much to spare) to your furnace you must know some tricks that could help us all.  I do not let my wife load our furnace for just that reason.

[dave_dj1]

Open the draft a few seconds before you open the door, you need to get a draft going to have the smoke go up the chimney.

[TKehl]

I stand to the side and hold my breath a moment when I open the door (crack it a few seconds to increase airflow then open), then walk a few steps to get my sticks, squat low, and toss them in. 

I try to avoid the smoke, but don't worry too much about it.  The first WOOUUFFF when I forget and just throw the door is opened is what I avoid the most. 

[thecfarm]

A good idea to protect your lungs. Never know in 25 years how that will affect you.
I had a job that was smoky. I had no idea what it was doing to my lungs. Now that I am no longer there,I feel much better. But some damage has been done.

[Logging logginglogging]

Its just wood smoke, just like a camp fire....
I use to clean my 2300 wicked good every 3 weeks, to the point i would scrape the entire inside. I would cough up a lil black stuff after in the shower but no big deal really. Now its you are burning, trash or treated wood i could see the concern.

[thecfarm]

Yes,it's only wood smoke,but I suppose he is filling the OWB twice a day,from Oct-May. Not around a camp fire for that long.
Now if I get behind a diesel truck that is not burning correctly,I have to find another road to take or pull over for a few minutes and let it get ahead of me.

[Hilltop366]

I crack the door open for a minute before I open it if the draft is shut but my boiler is inside not a owb so I can see where a person would not want to stand around in the dead of winter waiting for the smoke to clear up before putting wood in it.

Now if you could open the draft with a switch from the house while getting your coat and boots on then the smoke would be minimized by the time you get out there, I guess a timer instead of a switch would be better because I know I would forget to shut it off half the time!

[Engineer]

That's the problem with a lot of the older wood boilers - open them up and smoke gets in your face.  I had a CB Classic CL5648 for about 12 years, always got a faceful of smoke even if the fire was low.  Cleanout was a pain too, always with a cloud of fine ash coming out the door.  Best thing you can do is stand to the side, open the door and let it sit there open for 5-10 seconds without touching it.  You'll still get smoke out the door at the top of the opening, but you can get low and put your firewood in.

I solved the problem by getting rid of the leaky piece of junk and getting a Heatmaster SS G200 gasifier.  There is a smoke bypass so it never comes out the door if you follow the instructions.  Plus I burn half the wood for the same amount of heat.

[Logging logginglogging]

it's best to open the bypass for a few, and go have a cigarette while you wait for the smoke to clear!!

[Wood Shed]

Engineer,

I really like the Heatmaster SS G200 idea and have been seriously considering doing the same thing.  Having mostly dry wood to burn seems to help the smoke problem most.  I am in my 12th heating season and only in my second year with a good drying woodshed.  Neighbors should be happier too.

[E Yoder]

Yes, the smoke bypass has really been a hit. Works quite well.

[Ron Scott]

http://sciencenordic.com/no-serious-harm-breathing-wood-smoke

[gspren]

 On my older conventional P&M boiler the door latch allows you to open about an inch and wait a few seconds for a controlled puff which you may or may not get and then swing it open while you walk away and wait for the smoke to level out and mostly go up the stack. Now with 8+ years of operating it I can predict about 95% of whether or not it will puff a fire ball, if the blower is on it won't but crack the door before stopping the blower, if the blower is off I check the temp and if it's near the lower kick on point it won't puff, if the temp is near the upper or just kicked off point it might. Is any of that clear?

[doctorb]

Well, my $0.02.

No, it's not harmless.  Never believe that something with as high a concentration of particulate matter as wood smoke is harmless.  While I do not have a reference, there are world public health publications that state that open burning across the planet, especially for cooking, is a huge health hazard.  Breathe in as little of it as you can.

What is startling is that, when you think you're out of the smoke, you're not,  If I stand back in the dark at night, with the shed lights on my OWB's open door, I can clearly see the smoke arising from the top of the door.  But I also see a cloud of particulate stuff floating around that is not part of the smoke stream.

I always use the bypass to load my stove.  No, I don't use a mask except for cleaning.  But I am concerned about the long term effects of this exposure.  As for the Danish studies posted by Ron, don't let the headlines fool you.  This was short term exposure - 3 hours - and they were looking for damage to the lining of the trachea and lungs.  Nice that they didn't find any, but it misses the point about particulate crud in your lungs.  It's not the single exposure that causes cancer and emphysema, but long-term chronic exposure. 

So, my advice is, take in as little as possible, within reason.  If, for your stove, it means wearing a mask, then wear a mask.

[Roger2561]

Since day one I have always held my breath when servicing the E-Classic 1400.  Instructions say to open the by-pass and wait for a least 15 seconds so the smoke and gasses can escape from firebox, it doesn't work, smoke will come at you.  So, I hold my breath while raking the coals, step back, take another deep breath, grab some fresh wood and toss it in.  Next month, it'll be 25 years since I had my last cigarette.  It was a 2 and 1/2 pack per day habit.  I quit for 2 reasons; it was costing me a fortune even back then; and, I saw first hand what those thing were doing to my lungs.  Not only was I an EMT on our local EMS squad, I also watched my dad die a slow death from emphysema (he was a 3 pack per day habit).  So, if I have to hold my breath to service my OWB, so be it, I'll do it.  I don't want to experience what my dad experienced.  Roger 

[Logging logginglogging]

ever sit around a camp fire?

[woodmills1]

Lost many a hair from many locations, eyelashes are the worst.

[Logging logginglogging]

i hear that...