Homestead mailing list

[tonitime AT juno.com]

Greetings and Good Thanksgiving Week, Folks!
     I've been away conferencing alot lately, and have missed this good
list.  I'd just asked my bro about the magic heat device, as he is in the
know about many of these gadgets!  Here was his reply about it:

I do like that heat exchanger product, and another from that company that
is an inline oven.
BUT there are some potential problems with these heat exchangers.
1. Don't install one if your chimney draft is marginal. Your stove will
start smoking into the house at times when it wouldn't have otherwise.
2. This unit will take a fair amount of heat out of the flue gases, so
there is increased likelihood of creosote depositing in the chimney. What
happens is that as gases cool, the moisture precipitates out of the gases
and onto the walls. The H2O has dissolved stuff and particulates on it,
and then the heat bakes the deposits onto chimney walls. This stuff will
burn, so the next time you have a hot fire, it could ignite the deposits
into what is called a chimney fire. Chimney fires are a major cause of
house fires. So with one of these things inline in the chimney, it
becomes more critical than ever to do chimney cleaning. One might even
need to clean (or at least inspect) the chimney more than once per year,
which is what is recommended for most chimney situations.
 
These units will pull extra heat out of the wood heater, but they are
definitely NOT for folks that aren't in tune with their systems. 
 
Hmmm, I wonder what the fire marshal would have to say about those units
(check with nfpa.org). Folks should also remember that putting unapproved
things on their chimneys may invalidate any fire insurance claims if they
do get a fire. Check with your insurer.
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Time to hit the hay, bigtime cooking for Feast of Thanks Day is coming!
28 beloved friends are coming over, and the best dining in Kentucky is
sure to be here among those homesteady types!
Toni