The New Woodburner's Handbook (Down-to-Earth Energy Book) [Paperback]

Stephen Bushway (Author)

Book Description

Series: Down-to-Earth Energy Book | Publication Date: January 9, 1992

Today's environmental concerns have led to a new generation of high-tech stoves, designed to burn cleaner and more efficiently than ever before.

The New Woodburner's Handbookis the essential layman's guide to both the latest improvements and the age-old wisdom of heating with wood. Chimney sweep Stephen Bushway presents first-time and long-time woodburners with all the information necessary to heat a home economically and safely, while safeguarding the environment for ourselves and our children. Topics discussed include: selecting the right home for your home and your lifestyle; tips for insulating and conserving energy at home; installing a woodstove safely, catalytic, noncatalytic, and pellet stoves -- pros and cons; masonry heaters -- an ancient and unsurpassed way of warming.

New federal regulations and air-quality laws make it more important than ever that woodburners know about all of the options available to them. The New Woodburner's Handbook helps you apply the latest developments in the industry to your specific situation and decide for yourself how heating with wood makes sense in your own home.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite the waning of interest in woodburning in recent years, Bushway adheres to the view that wood can still be a cost-effective and environmentally sound heating alternative. Here, he provides a wealth of information to help the would-be woodburner make intelligent choices in selecting, installing, and operating woodburning devices. Bushway covers--among other topics--stove types (including masonry heaters and pellet stoves), selection of firewood, and the proper installation and maintenance of chimneys. The book's best feature is a discussion of the nature of combustion, as related to how one uses a stove in a given application to ensure the cleanest and safest burn. This is recommended for public libraries as a solid guide to up-to-date information on using wood as a Fuel.
- Bill Demo, Tompkins Cortland Community Coll., Dryden, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Despite the waning of interest in woodburning in recent years, Bushway adheres to the view that wood can still be a cost-effective and environmentally sound heating alternative. Here, he provides a wealth of information to help the would-be woodburner make intelligent choices in selecting, installing, and operating woodburning devices. Bushway covers--among other topics--stove types (including masonry heaters and pellet stoves), selection of firewood, and the proper installation and maintenance of chimneys. The book's best feature is a discussion of the nature of combustion, as related to how one uses a stove in a given application to ensure the cleanest and safest burn. This is recommended for public libraries as a solid guide to up-to-date information on using wood as a Fuel.
- Bill Demo, Tompkins Cortland Community Coll., Dryden, N.Y.
(Tompkins Cortland Community Coll., Dryden, N.Y. )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 9, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882667882
• ISBN-13: 978-0882667881
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Preaching to the choir, December 25, 2000

By 

"foovay" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Woodburner's Handbook (Down-to-Earth Energy Book) (Paperback)

If you are THINKING about a wood stove, and wondering if it is an environmentally correct decision, if there are any real benefits to it, and have a bucket full of money available to you, this is the book to help make your decision. If you are a life long environmentalist who believes in getting off the grid but have a limited income and want practical advice about chosing a stove, used or economical, and installing it in your home, don't bother. I found this book useless.

33 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have-NOT for wood-stove virgins!, November 17, 1999

By 

"sandyinak" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Woodburner's Handbook (Down-to-Earth Energy Book) (Paperback)

This book concentrates on how to purchase a wood stove, the differences found among brands. We recently purchased a home that had an existing wood stove. I had never even lived in a home with a fireplace. I was looking for a book to direct me in how to start a fire, how to put out a fire if necessary, what to do if "something goes wrong", and how to maintain the fire once started, etc., this book gave me none of this. It had two pages on the topic of starting a fire. Wood-stoves are very dangerous things and I feel that this, or any book on the subject should address the dangers and these concerns.

I warn against buying this book. Don't waste your money!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ifd you know nothing about heating with wood, buy this book, February 12, 2011

By 

Valiant S. Vetter (Winnsboro, Republic of Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Woodburner's Handbook (Down-to-Earth Energy Book) (Paperback)

Though I've been burning wood in stoves old and new for near 20 years, I'm always open to learn new things and fine-tuine my skills - especially now that it is my sole source of heat. I'm sorry to say that I got nothing new from this book and it left me feeling extremely underwhelmed.

To start with, the author goes down a rabbit trail on the "global warming" topic - which, being junk science that has discredited itself, is a poor way to start a book that *should* be a technical manual, not a political statement. Like most proponents of anthropogenic global warming, he gets it wrong so shows himself to be either ignorant or intentionally promulgating known lies.

After that, he gets heavily into legalities and building codes and other such stuff as you can find in stove tech manuals. Between history of wood burning, the EPA, codes, and other ancillary stuff - he doesn't strike a match to light a fire until page 127 out of 140 (not including appendices) so if that's the kind of book you want on "wood burning" - this book might be for you.

Beyond that, there is precious little on proper cutting, splitting, and curing of cordwood. The chart of BTU values of various woods is handy, but this is something one can get off of any one of a thousand different web sites.

I've yet to find a "great" book on the topic, but so far every other one I've found is better than this one. I bought mine "used" (actually new, but a "remainder" - meaning they couldn't sell it for list price) but it arguably isn't worth the $1.99 + shipping I paid for it.

Unless you're trying to fill out a library, skip this one and keep looking.