Sometimes I ENJOY 'pollution'....

[AJMD429]

I know many places are trying to outlaw heating with wood-burners, in some cases due to those who stand to make more money forcing alternative energy sources or selling catalytic combustion units, using naive 'concerned citizens' to lobby against the large-particle pollution coming from wood-burners, but......

.....I really like to load the furnace up with a bunch of cherry firewood on a winter-drizzle day (when the smoke will hang low in the little valley we live in), then go outside a few minutes later to do chores. The whole valley (only one other family lives there, and they also heat with wood) smells like cherry pipe-tobacco.....

[Old Ironsights]

I always liked that smell. Over in Lander Valley we would get inversions that would keep all the cold and smoke in the bowl. You could come over the rim and see the woodsmoke rising up to the inversion layer and spread out like it had hit a sheet of glass.

Best smell of the winter.

[Bulldozer]

"lobby against the large-particle pollution".... So there are environmental activists in USA too!
So sad...

[GunnyMack]

I was given a wood stove, for my shop. Set it up, new double wall pipe then find out it has a cat. I was skeptical about it but boy does it save wood! Last night I stoked it up about 8, banked it down, this morning around 5:30 I checked it while walking the girls and it still had wood shaped hunks of charcoal. Still not a great fan of the cats but it does work!

I live on second or third highest point in my county so to get anywhere I have to go down into the valleys and take great enjoyment in seeing the smoke easing its way along the river valley!

[1894]

I also love the smell of cherry wood smoke from a wood stove. I don't have any more on our little lot at camp but several neighbors do . Makes for an added bonus walking with the dog up or down the road.
I also made sure to bring home a few sections from the pin cherry tree that got too big for being so close to the camp. A couple small pcs on the charcoal when cooking on the webber , or a larger chunk for slower cooks adds that bit of smoke flavor and smell to the air

ETA Pics :

[Sixgun]

I too, love the smell of burning wood.

There was an article on MSN a couple of weeks ago urging people not to warm up their cars in the winter......that it was not needed as today's engines get hot fast.......it was an obvious ploy by the greenies ........one reader wrote, "oh! Now that you have reminded me, I'm going out in the garage and start up every gas engine I have and let it run.....snowmobiles, trucks, tractors, chainsaws, motorcycles, .......". I was laughing mao!-----6

[OldWin]

That B.S. about not warming up your vehicle is a load of garbage. Might be true if their idea of cold is 45deg. Trust me, you light er' up and drive away at -10 every day and your transmission, crank, and rod bearings wont be long for this world. There is no greater threat to anything mechanical than cold.

As for wood burning, they stop that here and there will be a revolt. Holy smokes, firewood is a currency.
But.... that's part of the problem. Burning wood is "too freedom-like".

[M. M. Wright]

Sorry about being away from the computer so long but I had to put some wood in the stove.

Ours is an Earth Stove and it had a catalyst until I removed it. Exhaust from the catalyst is so cool it deposits on the pipes and chimney really bad. Had a couple of flu fires so I quit using it.

[Larkbill]

"That B.S. about not warming up your vehicle is a load of garbage. Might be true if their idea of cold is 45deg. Trust me, you light er' up and drive away at -10 every day and your transmission, crank, and rod bearings wont be long for this world. There is no greater threat to anything mechanical than cold."

Especially automatic trans. If you are using modern synthetic oil of the right weight you may get away with a one minute warm up on your engine, but your trans is hurting if used before the lube circuits are flowing well. Even with the newer fluids. I try to walk the line between fuel dilution and a functioning trans by warming 2-3 minutes when below 10 degrees when leaving work. My garage rarely goes below freezing so not much concern there.

[Blaine]

"That B.S. about not warming up your vehicle is a load of garbage. Might be true if their idea of cold is 45deg. Trust me, you light er' up and drive away at -10 every day and your transmission, crank, and rod bearings wont be long for this world. There is no greater threat to anything mechanical than cold."

Especially automatic trans. If you are using modern synthetic oil of the right weight you may get away with a one minute warm up on your engine, but your trans is hurting if used before the lube circuits are flowing well. Even with the newer fluids. I try to walk the line between fuel dilution and a functioning trans by warming 2-3 minutes when below 10 degrees when leaving work. My garage rarely goes below freezing so not much concern there.

I like to let it sit until the High Idle kicks off. I have to go about 1/4 mile down a very slow private road to get out of my place, and I believe this gets the juices going. (and, it really doesn't get that cold 20 miles south of Tacoma)

[piller]

We heat with a wood pellet stove.

As for warming the car, how are you supposed to remove the ice when it is coated with ice. Scraping is helpful, but running the car to warm up and warm the glass while you scrape so that the ice comes off is the best way I know.

[AJMD429]

I have a 35 year old truck with a heavy steel engine block, and even at 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit, if I don't let it run 10-15 minutes, it will stall out on the road a few yards after I pull out of the driveway.

[GunnyMack]

I DONT idle my truck, Cummins say not to for long periods of time as unburned fuel can dilute the oil. I will idle my jeep though.

I have 2 pellet stoves, keep basement stove going from mid November until March. Shut it down twice a month to clean it. Stove on main floor gets lit when it's really cold. Keeps the oil consumption down!

Wood stove in the shop only runs Friday to Sunday if I'm working out there.

[Gobblerforge]

I have two rocket mass heaters. Very little to no pollution and less wood used. Works for me.
Gobbler

[Griff]

I idle in the Summer and the Winter... if I don't, I have no A/C or Heat. I don't set it at "hi" idle, just a 50 or 75 rpm adjustment to take the injectors off the "idle" circuit.

On the diesel p/u, if I don't let it warm up when it dips below freezing, the trans, power steering, & brakes are a little sluggish. The best invention are the heated seats in the dually... run outside, crank it up, turn on the seat heaters, dash back inside!

The wife's p/u is gas, and warms up much quicker! On 'em all, I tend to let the water temp get to at least 100ºF before I drive. The wife complains that I purposely didn't order her p/u with heated seats... I have to remind her that she's hot enough! It pleases her I can still say that, but I don't think she really buys into it!

GunnyMack, 10 minutes ain't a long time, and that's usually long enough to move the fluids enough to get them circulating properly... My big Cummins idles @600rpm at its lowest setting, 800 at high idle; if I'm idling for long periods I usually set it between 650 or 700.

That B.S. about not warming up your vehicle is a load of garbage. Might be true if their idea of cold is 45deg. Trust me, you light er' up and drive away at -10 every day and your transmission, crank, and rod bearings wont be long for this world. There is no greater threat to anything mechanical than cold...

Other'n heat, you're right!

[GunnyMack]

I keep my p/u plugged in on a timer so I'm warming the fluids and block before I start it. When it's real cold I'll let it idle for a few minutes and then keep rpm down, helps it's down hill from the house to anywhere I have to go.

I have spent the majority of my adult life outside, hot , cold and I prefer the cold so having heat in my truck doesn't mean anything to me BUT I do use my heated seats!

My 5.9L needs to be plugged in and running at speed for at least 20 minutes for temp to come up, but if ya flip the heat on when the needles starts moving you can watch the temp go down.