What is wrong with using wood to heat your home?

Lakeland living

Life is good
Location
Ontario Canada
We can have some very long winters in Canada, in winter I use propane and wood to heat my home and cook. I have been told by some people that
it is wrong to cut down trees, even those dying or dead and yes I can tell the difference. I see it as me cleaning up the forest, like people they grow old and then fall and rot. Right or wrong?
 

We can have some very long winters in Canada, in winter I use propane and wood to heat my home and cook. I have been told by some people that
it is wrong to cut down trees, even those dying or dead and yes I can tell the difference. I see it as me cleaning up the forest, like people they grow old and then fall and rot. Right or wrong?
There’s nothing wrong with burning wood for heat.
We have a wood stove and it’s a true pleasure in the winter. We live in the forest and cut down dead trees to use often. Yes it’s better than having them fall and rot. There’s always going to be nay sayers about everything. Don’t worry about them. Enjoy your fire.
 
We can have some very long winters in Canada, in winter I use propane and wood to heat my home and cook. I have been told by some people that it is wrong to cut down trees, even those dying or dead and yes I can tell the difference. I see it as me cleaning up the forest, like people they grow old and then fall and rot. Right or wrong?

We moved to 40 acres of dense forest when I retired. Our house is total electric, and the first Winter, our heating bills were quite high. It didn't take me long to figure out that I could put the dead trees to use, and I had a big outdoor wood furnace installed. In the years since, I go through the forest and harvest the dead or damaged trees, and cycle that wood through the furnace. Doing so has cut our Winter electric bills down to less than half that first years amount. Sure, it creates a little smoke, but most of that "carbon" finds its way back to the ground within a short distance, and probably creates less overall pollution than our usage share from coal fired utility power plants. Plus, all the physical activity required in harvesting, splitting, carrying all that wood is proving to be some Great exercise. With all the trees we have, I figure I'll have this forest cleared in about 130 years.
 
We can have some very long winters in Canada, in winter I use propane and wood to heat my home and cook. I have been told by some people that
it is wrong to cut down trees, even those dying or dead and yes I can tell the difference. I see it as me cleaning up the forest, like people they grow old and then fall and rot. Right or wrong?
Cut the dead wood out and dont feel guilty. Wood is one of the few renewable resources left. The trees that are still alive and need the sunshine will thank you for it and the ashes are one of the best fertilizers going.
Wildlife like moose need the open areas to browse.
 
If I had a proper stove, access to the dead wood, I would do it. Love the smell. And it does heat well.
I think clearing out the dead wood is good for the environment, in that it makes room for new growth. Some folks do not get it. I had a couple friends come over to cut down some overgrown shrubbery and weeds in the back of the house earlier this summer. They were going to put the cut branches in the trash bin. I stopped them. We have a large wooded area across the street, dips down into a valley of sorts. I said, bring it all over there and throw it there. Give it back to nature. They kind of groused at the extra work, but they did it.
 
I heated with wood from 1975 til 1990; since then I burn wood and then coal for the worst months of winter. I have my own woods and cut from it for years. I looked forward to being in the woods in September/October, taking in the fall scents, cutting wood, and getting good exercise to boot.

But in the past 6-8 years I just don't feel like doing it anymore. It's mental laziness, not a physical problem. So I buy a few face cords from my buddy.

Something some people don't realize: Trees are a crop; they grow back all by themselves. If you cut down a big tree in the middle of the woods, there will be sunlight on the floor for the first time in decades, and you wouldn't believe how quickly the brush and saplings will take over.

Although I do have a yard, the woods and brush comes right up to the edge of it. Every few years I have to cut things back because they grow up, then start hanging over the lawn. Mother Nature would completely take over my lawn if I didn't beat her back on occasion. And this year things were getting overgrown and I said I have to do it. But I didn't yet and probably won't til next year.

It's the mental laziness thing again. :(
 
Nothing if you're not too stubborn to look into efficient burning rocket stoves, well ALL of them are horrid but there's a couple that have been updated with a HUGE THICK CATCH PLATE Or super thick heat plate ... oh and
a nice seal-able stick bin ... this is remotely close but not really what it would look like, NO HEAT out pipe or very little, 2 weeks burn a little in a campbells soup can HALF FULL of light dust ash > I FYOU BUILD IT RIGHT,
this is not it, but gives slightly the idea.

maxresdefault.jpg
 
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NET LAG, bad connection... meant FEED BIN, one pictured hardly exists too tiny(45 degree thing there at the front) thing HA ! yeah that be the techie name.

Done typing NET LAG BAD CONNECTION, lucky to post at all in the great white north LATERZZZZZZZZZ.
 
We have a vast amount of wood burners in the uk. now ' nothing wrong cleaning up the forests '
the wrong thing is industries like news papers - rubbish advert mail ' being used for meaningless
crap that comes through the letter boxes ..trees being cut down for that-now that is a crime in my eyes ………………….
 
Some of us have trouble breathing the smoke bits in the air. Other than that, it's a good way to help the forest grow new growth, and that type of heat feels good and cozy!

If you're talking about particles in the house, as the poster below you mentioned, you shouldn't see much if at all. How do you even know?
 
Very few particles come out of the newer air tight stoves, the last thing I want to see on the snow is a layer of black soot.
Plus for me it is great exercise, I don't have a gym to go to
Agree. My house came with a fireplace that rotted out (it's from the 1950's). I had a high-efficiency insert, with a fan, put into the opening so I can mostly heat my small home with just a few pieces of wood at a time with very little coming out the chimney. As long as I properly dry the wood, there is next-to-nothing smoke or particulates. I have a mesh screen on the roof which catches the small amount of particulate that goes up the chimney. "Old fashioned" fireplaces are romantic, but pollute and provide little to no heat because they suck in air from the house.
 
I am glad to learn that the newer ones are made more airtight and better, because I did love to heat with it, many years ago, but there was smoke in the house, and I found it difficult to lower it, with the stoves I had back then.
 
We partly heat our house with wood. The house is almost 200 years old and had a fireplace in every room (except bathroom!). Now we only have one usable fireplace, but when the had the chimney swept after 6 years of use, the flue was almost clean. The stove also produces very little ash.

Wood is in many ways just like any other crop. When it is ripe, you harvest it and replant.
 


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