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Thread: How to reduce visible smoke from a fireplace or wood shove?

  1. #11
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    The only way to reduce it is to make sure your chimney height is correct for your installation (proper draft), your stove or fireplace has sufficient air for good combustion AND well seasoned proper wood.

    Some woods burn with more smoke than others, dry seasoned wood with a low moisture content is the best.

    From a survival standpoint, you don't want any undesirables to "see" your smoke, but one thing to keep in mind whether anyone sees it, they WILL smell it, and there are other things to consider.

    Bad guy #1, "Those houses look abandoned, lets move on."

    Bad guy #2, "I am not so sure...I think I caught a whif of wood smoke....Yep, look right there at the 3rd house, all the other roofs have snow all over, that one has a big bare dry spot a couple of feet around the chimney, someones home....mount up!"

    Smoke is one thing....there are other variables unfortunatly.
    "Disperse you rebels!, Damn You! Throw down your arms and Disperse!"....British Major Pitcairn at Lexington, April 19th 1775

  2. #12
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    Good epa or catalytic stove, properly seasoned wood, proper draft, and appropriate burn temp. I ran an englander nc-30 at about 600 stovetop, 21" of triple wall chimney 6 feet above the peak of my roof and about 6 feet out (this exceeded building code and provided great draft), and burned well seasoned (1+ years) wood. Other then the smell, having a clear roof, and having tons of split wood on my property, you would have never known I heated with wood.
    Acta Non Verba

  3. #13
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    I have a bit of an alternative method to submit:

    A Russian (or Finn if you prefer) Stove also referred to as a masonry heater.

    Essentially it is a large wood stove that relies upon thermal mass to heat a structure. Essentially a small combustion chamber is attached to a complicated set of ductwork that runs through a brick, stone, concrete or other medium heating it. This makes it slow to warm but also slow to cool. So two burns per-day will more that adequately heat a home with a centrally located stove.

    Due to its flue design I am told that it greatly reduces both smoke and particulate matter coming from the chimney.

    It's also far more efficient; 1-3 max full burns a day in the dead of winter is supposed to provide plenty of heat.

    Unfortunately I am told that they are usually very expensive (10K ‘ish), require a substantial foundation to support all of the weight, and typically require a gifted mason w/ some experience in building these though I have also read of amateurs having success with the concept as well.

    Caveat emptor- I am a fan of the concept. I have never actually seen one or used one myself. I hope to change that in the near future! (moving up north soon!)

    So that’s my solution. Better tactically, for the wallet, the back, and the environment. Seems like a good choice to me. I’d be curious to know what you all think of this &/or if any of you have experience with the design.
    I like this book. it raises the functional to artistic and esthetically pleasing.

  4. #14
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    Was looking at anthracite coal and its pricing per ton is cheap so I will try a few 50lb sacks and compare its smoke output from my stove. It wont be until the end of Oct. when I head up to the camp to do some archery hunting.

  5. #15
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    Just make sure you can burn coal in your stove. Typically, you can't burn coal in a wood stove effectively.
    Acta Non Verba

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by lethal dose View Post
    Just make sure you can burn coal in your stove. Typically, you can't burn coal in a wood stove effectively.
    This. For both efficiency and safety sake.

  7. #17
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  8. #18
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    Pictorial...

    Abou the Dakota fire pit, that was alluded in the previous message.

    While I too have known it for a long time, I never build it because of time constrains, as noted in the survival blog article.

    Most of my camping trips as a scout were weekend only, so we usually resoterd to the trench method.

    http://www.survivaltopics.com/surviv...kota-fire-hole

  9. #19
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    BBQ'ing this weekend and once again was amazed by the lack of smell and smoke produced by regular BBQ Charcoal. Now I can see a real tactical advantage to using BBQ charcoal during a SHTF event over wood but I did see a few draw backs that would limit it use.

    First BBQ charcoal burns fast and the average burn time of 25 briquet's at a temperature capable of boiling water was 22 minutes and provided radiant heat for another 30 minutes after the boiling stopped. But one would need some tonnage to make it thur a winter and proper storage conditions are called for as water can damage the charcoal.

    As I posted before I purchased numerous 16.6lb bags of Range Master BBQ Charcoal when it was on clearance at Aldi's last year and added to my stock this year when the price was once again reduced at the end of the season to move the inventory. I estimate my stock would last only two weeks in a real cold snap and up to two months during warmer times.

    I have to sample different types of coal to see if any come close to the smokeless/odorless characteristics of BBQ Charcoal with a better resistance to weather.
    We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals; others, by their acts.

  10. #20
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    The big problem with trying to avoid detection is the odor. As others have stated there is not much you can do to prevent the odor.

    As far as coal goes, I use a coal boiler from Nov-April to heat the house (using radiant floor heat, and hot water operated air handlers) and it is great!! I have since recovered the intial cost of the boiler, installation and all of the coal purchased in 3 seasons of using coal vs. oil. I just got 8 tons delivered and I'm in the black this year due to the savings from the price of oil.

    I bough the coal boiler as a supplement to my oil boiler when I built my house, but have since switched to all coal for the fall/winter/early spring season. Coal is a little bit of work but no where near the hassle of wood (which I still keep 6-8 cords ready to go and can use in the same boiler if needed)

    For more info on coal boilers/stoves etc. Check out the NEPA crossroads forum: http://nepacrossroads.com/

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