Woodheaters
You will find information on Council regulations set out for noise, environmental pollution and food with the primary aim of helping residents with these important issues.
- Woodheaters and your Environment.
Many Australian households use woodheaters and open fireplaces for home heating which comes at a cost to the environment.
- How a typical modern woodheater works and the secret to successful burning.
Find out how a woodheating works and how to optimise the burning for more heat and less smoke.
- Tips for managing your fire and using the right fuel.
Use the right fuel for your woodheater and how to buy the best woodheater.
- Selecting the best woodheater for the job.
If you would like to maximise the heat and minimise the smoke, read these tips on how to purchase the best woodheater.
- Ensure your flue is well designed and maintained.
Make sure your flue or chimney meets the minimum height requirements.
- Woodsmoke as a nuisance.
If you're constantly being bombarded with woodsmoke you can seek assistance from the Council in resolving the issue.
You can help to improve air quality in your local area and ensure your community breathes easier by operating your woodheater better.
Many Australian households use woodheaters and open fireplaces for home heating. As a consequence, levels of winter air pollution may be unacceptably high. This pollution is made up of very small particles that can be taken directly into the lungs and contains a number of toxic and cancer causing agents. Many people don't realise that smoke from their woodheaters and fireplaces can present a real hazard to their neighbours, causing physical discomfort for those with respiratory problems, especially older people and young children.
Primary air is drawn in through a sliding or hinged air control mechanism, usually above the door. The air is preheated before being directed down the inside of the door, helping to keep the glass clean. It then enters the base of the fire. This primary air supply determines how quickly the fire wood burns. Secondary air is heated to a high temperature before entering the firebox just below the baffle. This air does not influence how fast the fire burns, but is critical in ensuring a strong flame and a clear burn, even when the heater is burning slowly.
When wood is completely burned, you are left with carbon dioxide and water vapour, which escapes into the air, and leaves an ash residue. Complete combustion is important to the performance of your woodheater and to reduce woodsmoke.
The following conditions are needed for your woodheater to achieve complete combustion:
- Dry, seasoned firewood
- A fire that is hot enough
- Sufficient air flow to provide enough oxygen for combustion
- Sufficient mixing of air and the hot gases given off by the fire
- Enough time for burning to be complete
If there is a lack of any or all of the above incomplete burning will occur. You can tell if you have enough heat and air mixing if the coals are glowing brightly and the fire contains bright swirling flames. Incomplete combustion will lead to the generation of toxic pollutants, such as particles and carbon monoxide, which means you are wasting both wood and money.
When lighting a cold woodheater always use sufficient dry kindling to establish a good fire quickly. Place kindling and small wood in the fire-box so that there is at least 2cm between each piece. This allows air to circulate freely and leads to faster combustion and cleaner burning. Ensure you have also placed two or three loosely crumpled sheets of newspaper on top of the wood when first lighting the heater as this will burn the paper rapidly, heat the flue and create a draught quickly.
It is also important to get the wood-heater hot as quickly as possible. To do this the air controls should be left fully open for at least 20 minutes to create the right conditions for the wood to burn completely and cleanly right from the start. A hotter fire means there will be less smoke so always leave a bed of ash in the fire-box on which to light the next fire, as this will assist burning.
If a woodheater is operating well 20 minutes after lighting or loading, there should be no visible smoke.
Use plenty of paper and small kindling as paper will produce a hotter fire more quickly than fire lighters. If you have larger wood only use it when a bed of coals has been established and make sure you wait for the fire to be fully established before adding extra fuel. You can also try opening the air controls fully every time you add more firewood as failure to do this may generate excessive smoke however if there is a vigorous flame established when you add more firewood, most of the smoke will be burnt before it reaches the flue which prevents it from polluting the atmosphere. Burning this smoke means you are producing more heat, as well as reducing pollution.
After 20 minutes, when all the wood is burning fiercely, you may then turn down the controls to provide a comfortable fire and if it begins to smoke you may need to open it up a little until it stops.
Follow the tips below for successful management of your woodheater:
- Do not block the incoming air supply with pieces of wood
- Do not pack the firebox too tightly
- Do not use wood too big to burn properly
- Do not burn your wood-heater overnight on reduced air flow
- Do not use a single large log on the fire
- Replace your woodheater if it won't stop smoking as the extra smoke may pollute your family
The sequence shown above (click for a larger image), shows a well maintained fire. New pieces of seasoned wood are added only when a good bed of coals are established so this makes the fire burn efficiently to produce less smoke and to save you money.
When purchasing your wood you should buy a variety that is fully seasoned. You can test whether the wood is fully seasoned by striking two pieces together as dry woodwill typically offer a sharp 'crack' while unseasoned wood sounds more like a dull 'thud'. If you collect your own wood, or prefer to buy unseasoned wood, try to pick it up a year ahead to allow it at least one year to dry out sufficiently so its fully seasoned, although some wood may take longer to dry out.
When selecting a woodheater, the appropriate heat output for your house is important as operating a woodheater that produces more heat than required will lead to increased heating costs, and will therefore create pollution for neighbours when operated on low air flow. It is better to operate a smaller woodheater at its full capacity than a larger one at a lower capacity.
Some design features that promote complete burning in your wood-heater are:
- Provision for preheating the incoming primary air to be directed through the active fire or the secondary air above the fire insulation of the flue as high as possible to minimise condensation fouling and assist both dispersion and air flow to the fire.
- Before buying a new woodheater check with your supplier that it meets Australian Standards. Heating appliances are regulated within the Building Code of Australia, in Part 3.7.3 of Volume 2, which requires that heating appliances be installed in accordance with AS 2918 (Domestic Solid Fuel Burning Appliances - Installation) or in accordance with acceptable construction practice.
- Preferably purchase a cleaner-burning woodheater, one that emits less than 2g of particle pollutants per 1kg of dry wood.
Make sure your flue or chimney is high enough to allow the combustion gases to disperse. If you are unsure if your chimney or flue meets minimum height requirements, check with an accredited installer or the City of Rockingham.
Do not fit a 'Chinamans cap' or any rain protector which restricts the upward flow of the hot gases, instead fit only concentric or parallel rain excluders. If you have a cap on your flue and have tried other measures to reduce woodsmoke without success, try removing the cap.
The Health Act 1911 contains provisions relating to the creation of a nuisance, and enables Council's Health Services to assist a complainant in trying to resolve the matter. As smoke is a subjective issue and health effects are difficult to prove, the focus of Council's Health Services in assisting with smoke complaints will be one of education and prevention, with legal action a very last resort.
