The signs say heavy snow and cold weather for the Midwest

The rabbits, cats and dogs in the Midwest area have a noticeably heavy coat right now – according to folklore heavier coats on any of our animal friends indicates very cold wet weather coming soon. But that is not the only way to predict the weather using non-scientific means.

Persimmon Seeds: According to Mike Dougherty of Tree Management Company in Lenexa, Kansas, find persimmon fruit in the supermarket or on a persimmon tree in your neighborhood. Note: You can eat persimmon fruit but most people don’t think it is very tasty and prefer to leave it for the deer, squirrels and raccoons. The fruit should be locally-grown to reflect the area weather. Cut one of the seeds inside the fruit open and examine the shape of the white kernel inside.

• If the kernel is fork-shaped, we can expect powdery, light snow and a mild winter.
• If the kernel is knife-shaped, expect to be "cut" by icy, cold and cutting winds.
• If the kernel is spoon-shaped, lots of heavy, wet snow will fall. The spoon is supposed to represent a shovel, which you will need to have on hand.

Animal Folklore:

·         If a mole digs its hole 2½ feet deep, expect severe weather; if two feet deep, not so severe; if one foot deep, a mild winter.

·         When pigs gather leaves and straw in all, expect a cold winter.

·         When rabbits are fat in October and November, expect a long, cold winter.

·         Wooly Worms: According to folklore, the black-and-brown caterpillars can predict the weather for the coming winter. If you find one during the fall season and see that the brown band is narrow, winter weather will be harsh. Supposedly, wooly worm weather predictions have been accurate 80% of the time since tracking began in the 1950s.

·         Insects and birds nesting high in the trees in the fall indicate a harsh winter is ahead.

·         Tough acorns: A thicker, harder shell than normal on acorns is a sign of hard weather to come.

·         Squirrel activity: If the squirrels are bustling around and storing more food than normal, or burying their acorns deeper than normal, expect a hard winter.

The accuracy of these folklore traditions may be questionable, however, it will be interesting to see what actually happens this winter. If there is a lot of snow, I’ll be a believer.

Moon Signs:
“Clear Moon, frost soon.”  When the night sky is clear, Earth's surface cools rapidly—there is no cloud cover to keep the heat in. If the night is clear enough to see the Moon and the temperature drops enough, frost will form overnight, so expect a very chilly morning.

Farmer’s Almanac: I prefer to check a publication that has been around since 1792. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, December temperatures will average 30° (2° below avg.) and precipitation will be low at 0.5" (1" below avg.). The Almanac shows snowy and cold periods from December 12 – 27, then very cold.

And then there is the Weather Channel, which reported today that a Polar Vortex is on its way to Kansas City. Oh, yea, winter is here already!

Hearth Applicance Installation Training For Pros Aug 8-10, 2014

The Midwest Chimney Safety Council is hosting a charity hearth workshop August 8 - 10, 2014 at the Boy Scout Camp at Lake of the Ozarks. 

The workshop includes installation of a wood-burning freestanding stove, installation of a Class A stainless steel chimney, different methods of crown building, how to build your own chimney chase top, and Business and Personal Risk Management. Instructors are Steve Hoover, Gary Hart, Gene Padgitt, and Lisa Hatcher.

An auction will be held with auctioneer Steve Hoover and items donated by suppliers and manufacturers in the industry. 

Camping is available on site or stay at a nearby hotel. 

CEU's have been applied for from the Chimney Safety Institute of America and the National Fireplace Institute.

The MCSC will also hold their annual meeting.

All hearth and chimney professionals and their employees are invited to attend. Visit the website at www.mcsc-net.org for registration and pricing information. 

Missouri Says No to Blanket EPA Regulations on Wood-burning Appliances

Governor Jay Nixon signed legislation Friday prohibiting the Department of Natural Resources from regulating wood-burning heaters, unless specifically authorized by the Missouri Legislature.

High-efficiency freestanding
Wood-burning stove

The legislation was introduced in an attempt to prevent Missouri from helping implement a proposed rule change by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. That proposal would give manufactures five years to meet tougher standards reducing emissions from wood stoves by an estimated 80 percent.

The EPA's existing regulations implemented in 1988 caused emissions to be reduced by as much as 70% due to the use of new technology, and don't apply to all of the different kinds of wood-burning devices now in use. Older stoves sold prior to 1989 produced emissions of 20-40 grams per hour. Today's stove emissions are 1.9 - 4.6 grams per hour, which is a significant reduction that likely can't be reduced. The new regulations are so strict, that manufacturers may not be able to meet the guidelines.

Manufacturers have said the EPA proposal would drive up their costs and force them to raise prices to a point where many consumers could no longer afford to purchase their products.
Wood stove bill HB1302 sponsored by Representative Tim Remole, and co-sponsored by Paul Fitswater specifies that Missourians have the right to heat their homes and businesses using wood-burning furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, and heaters. The bill becomes effective on August 28, 2014.

In part, the Bill reads "New rules or regulations shall not be applied to existing wood burning furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, or heaters that individuals are currently using as their source of heat for their homes or businesses. All wood burning furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, and heaters existing on August 28, 2014 shall be not subject to any rules or regulations enacted after such date. No employee of the state or state agency shall enforce any new rules or regulations against such existing wood burning furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, and heaters."

The Midwest Chimney Safety Council says that this is good news for homeowners who wish to heat their homes with wood and for businesses that service chimneys, fireplaces, and wood-burning stoves. If wood-burning were to be drastically reduced or eliminated thousands of jobs would be lost in the hearth sales, stove manufacturing,and chimney service industries
in Missouri.

Masonry heater workshop April 18-24, 2014

The Masonry Heater Association of North America will present a masonry heater, bake oven, and masonry skills workshop at Wildacres Retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Asheville, North Carolina April 14 – 20, 2014. 

Masonry heaters are site-built wood-burning appliances that radiantly heat a home with wood.  They are very efficient and use relatively small amounts of wood heat without the use of electricity, gas, fans, or ducts. Wood is burned in a firebox, which connects to channels inside a large thermal mass.  After the fire is out the appliance gradually radiate heat to the living space for many hours without causing large temperature fluctuations or drafts.

The annual meeting and workshop will include hands-on training for a Kachelofen (tile) heater with Jessica Steinhauser and Mario Zauner; A Five Run Masonry Heater with Testing Demo by Doug Hargrave and Norbert Senf; A Finnish Heater for Beginner Masons by Marty Pearson and Jeff Owens; A Bake/Pizza Oven by Pat Manley; a Small Guastavino Vault Demo by Tony Bioundo, a Bricklaying Clinic by Tom Trout and Pat Jenkins, a Grundofen J Loop Masonry Heater with Domestic Hot Water by Eric Moshier, Dan Givens, and Joe Copeland; and A Brick Hammer and Trowel Only: 36” Diameter Clay Brick Dome Oven by Alex Chernov and David Moore. 

Classroom seminars include Google Sketch-up Clinic with Boris Kukolj; What Does it Mean? By the Technical Committee; A Unique and Challenging Heater Built by Jerry Frisch, Masons on a Mission Presentation by Pat Manley, and Untold Stories and Ooops that Confront a Masonry Heater Builder.  The Heater Mason Education and Development class will be held throughout the week.

The annual Design/Build Contest for masonry heaters, bake ovens and masonry will be judged during the week and trophies will be awarded at the final meeting.

An auction will be held on Thursday night, and the Pizza Party, where participants can sample pizza from the wood-fired ovens is held on Friday afternoon.

For more information on how to join the MHA or attend the workshop contact Richard Smith, Executive Director, at 520-883-0191, e-mail execdir@mha-net.org or visit www.mha-net.org.

Use of fireplace for heating can cause house fire

Photo: CScottDorrett - Fotolia.com

During the extreme cold we are experiencing throughout much of the United States this winter many people attempt to use their fireplace as a source for supplemental heat. But what most homeowners are unaware of is that fireplaces are designed for ambient fires only, and are not meant to be used for heating purposes.

Open fireplaces are inefficiently designed so that most of the heat escapes into the flue, rather than the home. In fact, open fireplaces use heated room air for combustion, thereby lowering the temperature inside the house. Exception: Rumford style fireplaces.

According to the Midwest Chimney Safety Council, chimney sweeps are reporting record calls for chimney service, no doubt due to the unusually long and bitterly cold winter. What the chimney sweeps are finding out is that their customers have been using their fireplaces as a heating source, rather than for just the occasional friendly fire. That is when trouble can happen.

Open wood-or gas burning fireplaces are designed with clearances to combustibles set at certain distances with the idea that people will use their appliance for short periods of time – up to four hours in duration. Once that time has been exceeded, or before if improperly installed,  the nearby combustible materials may overheat and ignite. Combustible headers and studs, which are hidden from view by finishing materials may not be properly installed with proper clearance, which makes matters even worse. Unfortunately, improper construction around fireplaces is a common issue and many house fires have been the result.

Nearby combustible wood may pryolizes over time due to exposure to heat through the masonry or metal fireplace. Pyrolization is the chemical alteration of wood, which lowers the ignition temperature significantly. Wood normally ignites at 500 degrees, but pyrolized wood can ignite at 180 degrees or lower.

After a Raytown, Missouri house fire in 2009 Fire Investigator Gene Padgitt was requested to find the cause and origin of the fire. The customer had used their masonry fireplace as the sole source of heat for three days while they had no gas after moving in their new home on a Friday. Combustible wood framing, which was improperly installed above the fireplace without proper clearances, ignited due to exposure to heat for the prolonged period. Padgitt said that this scenario is all too common and that unfortunately, he sees it often.

In yet another fire investigation in Topeka, Kansas in 2012 Gene found that the homeowner used a manufactured gas fireplace for seven days straight when wood framing, which was properly installed, ignited. The fire caused a total loss. The homeowner thought that he could heat his house with the fireplace.

This type of burning is called "Over-firing" in the chimney and hearth industry. The fact is that masonry fireplaces do not come with a homeowner's manual, and rarely do new home buyers find a manual for their manufactured fireplace. So it is up to the homeowner to get operation information from his chimney sweep or from websites.

Certain wood and gas appliances are designed for heating, while others are designed for ambient fires. Since there are no standards in the industry that have been adopted for masonry fireplaces, Padgitt suggests that homeowners use common sense when operating a fireplace or stove.  He suggests the following:

Appliances designed for ambient fires:

• Wood-burning manufactured fireplaces (read the manufacturer instructions)
• Wood-burning masonry fireplaces
• Gas-burning manufactured fireplaces (read the manufacturer instructions)
• Gas-burning masonry fireplaces

Appliances designed for heating:

• Wood-burning freestanding stoves with proper clearances
• Wood-burning fireplace inserts in masonry fireplaces
• Wood-burning masonry heaters
• Direct-Vent Gas fireplaces (per manufacturer instructions)
• Non-Venting gas logs in masonry fireplaces (read the manufacturer instructions which likely state that they are not to be used for longer than four hours at a time)

All gas and wood burning appliances should be installed by a professional technician, and inspected annually and swept or serviced as necessary by a professional chimney sweep or certified technician. Wood-burning stoves and inserts should be swept at least twice per season if used for primary heating purposes, or used on a regular basis in order to remove flammable creosote.

Note: Non-Venting gas logs and wood-burning fireplace inserts should never be installed in manufactured fireplaces. To do so voids the warranty on the fireplace, and alters the fireplace which is a code violation. Any alteration can be a fire hazard.

Resources:
Masonry Heater Association of North America
Chimney Safety Institute of America
Midwest Chimney Safety Council
National Fire Protection Association

EPA plans its only hearing on proposed wood stove rules in Boston

EPA plans its only hearing on proposed wood stove rules in Boston
The Portland Daily Sun

On Wednesday, Feb. 26 in Boston, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held its only national hearing about a proposal to regulate emissions from wood stoves. Critics say the proposed regulations will backfire, prompting people to use non-compliant wood stoves and inordinately hurting low-income residents who rely on wood heat. The EPA says the health benefits of the rules outweigh the economic costs.  See More

New Wood-Fired Magazine

HearthMasters, Inc. announced today that their new Wood-Fired Magazine will be published this summer.  Editor Marge Padgitt has been working on the project for the past two years and is ready to publish the first issue.

Wood-Fired Magazine covers design, construction, maintenance and use of wood-fired appliances. This includes chimneys, fireplaces, masonry heaters, heating appliances, smokers, bake ovens, cooking and baking. Writers interview expert chefs, restaurant owners, masons, tile makers, manufacturers, and chimney sweeps to produce in-depth articles with quality photos of their work.

Chefs, designers, architects, builders, masons, chimney sweeps, and homeowners will find the articles interesting and informative. The magazine will be available in print and via digital download at different price points. Subscriptions are available. 

Marge Padgitt is the author of 12 books including The Chimney and Hearth Pro's Resource Guide and the Homeowner's Operation Manual for Chimneys, Fireplaces, and Heating Appliances. She is a national speaker and has been heavily involved in the chimney industry for almost 30 years.

Article guidelines, calendar, classified, and display advertising information are available at www.hearthmasters.net.