Manufactured logs offer alternative to traditional cord wood
Q. I always buy firewood to use in my open fireplace. I burn it just for ambiance, not really for heat. I thought about using fireplace logs instead. Are they as efficient as wood, and are they good for the environment?
A. If you are using a standard openfront fireplace, it is not efficient, no matter what type of fuel you burn.
It may feel warm directly in front of the fireplace, but that opening draws a huge amount of heated air up the chimney — and this makes your furnace or heat pump run more. At the very least, you should install tight-fitting glass doors on the fireplace.
Burning regular firewood (called cord wood) can be both good and bad for the environment.
From the standpoint of climate change, cord wood is good. When the wood burns, the same amount of carbon dioxide is released as if it were allowed to rot on the ground over time. When other trees grow up where a tree was cut for firewood, they will consume the carbon dioxide released by burning the wood.
On the negative side, burning cord wood gives off a lot of particulate matter (ash and smoke). If just a few homes in an area burn wood, this is not a problem. If most homes burn wood for heat, there may be an air-pollution problem. Air pollution is not just a summertime issue.
Burning manufactured fireplace logs can be a good alternative to burning cord wood if you don’t use your fireplace as your home’s primary source of heat. Fireplace logs will produce plenty of heat, but the cost per Btu of heat is higher than burning cord wood — and you can often find cord wood for free at construction sites.
There are quite a few manufactured-fireplace-log options. The most common is a combination wax/sawdust log. These are usually rated by the estimated number of hours of burn time. These burn significantly cleaner (up to 70 percent less smoke and ash) than cord wood and are much easier to handle.
In the past, most fireplace logs combined petroleum-based waxes with the sawdust. Today, more environmentally friendly logs are made using natural-based waxes. This reduces the logs’ carbon footprint and our overall oil demands. These newer logs burn just as well and as hot as the petroleum-based ones.
Even more environmentally friendly are Java-Logs. These manufactured logs replace the sawdust with recycled coffee grounds. With all the coffee shops around today, you can imagine how many pounds of coffee grounds there are. These burn hotter than sawdust logs and produce a more brilliantly colored flame. If you tear the wrapper on one, you’ll notice that the log smells like coffee.
If you are a purist and want to burn all wood, several companies now make fireplace logs and blocks using 100 percent sawdust. These are created using technology similar to that used for making wood pellets for pellet stoves. Various-size blocks or logs weigh from 4 to 8 pounds. A pallet holding 34 cubic feet of these logs or blocks produces as much heat as a full cord (128 cubic feet) of firewood. The logs are convenient to handle and burn cleanly.
The following companies offer fire logs: Bio-Diversity (570-884-3057, www. bio-div.com), Duraflame (209-461-6600, www.duraflame.com), North Idaho Energy Logs (208-267-5311, www.north idahoenergylogs.com) and Pine Mountain (877-402-5185, www.pine mountainfire.com).
Q. I want to use a portable heat pump in my bedroom and sometimes in the dining room. I know it will have to be vented out a window, but we have casement windows. How can the unit be connected to a casement window?
A. Most portable heat pumps and air conditioners include a flat window adapter. This adapter is connected by one or two ducts to the heat pump.
You can also build a tall adapter that will fit in a partially open casement window. The window must be wide enough that the flat adapter can be mounted vertically in it. Your adapter will need to have triangular top and bottom sections to close the opening. Crank the window sash tightly against weatherstripping on your adapter edges.
Send inquiries to James Dulley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244 or visit www. dulley.com.
"If you are using a standard open-front fireplace, it is not efficient, no matter what type of fuel you burn. It may feel warm directly in front of the fireplace, but that opening draws a huge amount of heated air up the chimmey."