By Keith Whitcomb Jr.
Staff Writer
Those wondering whether their firewood is too green to burn may be able to turn to their local library for help.
Since early September, moisture meters have been available for borrowing at 50 Vermont libraries.
A list of them can be found on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s website, dec.vermont.gov/wood-burning. Among them are the Whiting Library in Chester, Hartford Library, Norwich Public Library, Springfield Town Library, St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, Butterfield Library in Westminster, and Windsor Public Library.
Bennet Leon, section chief of the Air Quality and Climate Division of the DEC, said the moisture meters were purchased with air quality in mind through a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Leon said that in the winter time, temperature inversions can trap smoke from wood stoves closer to the ground where people breathe it. This tends to happen in valleys. The DEC uses a mapping tool from the EPA to identify areas that are prone to this, then it worked with the Vermont Department of Libraries to contact libraries in those areas that serve larger populations. All but a few readily agreed to lend out the devices.
Since then other libraries have expressed interest.
“They’re pretty simple to use,” Leon said. “Essentially you take the cover off, and it has two sharp probes that get stuck into a log, and with the press of a button, within seconds, you can get a moisture reading.”
The device can tell how well the wood is conducting electricity which is how it determines the moisture level, Leon said. Wood is best burned when the moisture reading is below 20%.
There are benefits to burning dry wood, as most wood stove owners know. Leon said dry wood produces less particulate matter in its smoke, which makes it less harmful to air quality, plus it doesn’t get one’s heating system as dirty. Dry wood also burns more efficiently so people using it can burn less wood overall.
Leon said people should still have their chimneys inspected and cleaned regularly. He said the devices cost about $60 each.
Lisa Miser, director of Proctor Free Library, said the one her library has in-house has been checked out 16 times since it became available. Three of those times were by the same person, who she believes wanted it to check wood at a camp, and then for a relative.
“It seems pretty easy. I haven’t had anyone call with difficulty using it,” she said.
Randal Smathers, director of the Rutland Free Library, said relatively few people have checked out the moisture meter on loan there, though he said he hopes that changes as word about it spreads.
Smathers said he thinks it would be a popular device, as other libraries have asked to borrow it.
“Anytime somebody wants us to loan out something that’s non-traditional, not a book, not a DVD, not an audio CD, the question we have is what’s it going to take for us to be able to accommodate this,” Smathers said. “And in this case, it’s super easy. They did a great job. It’s all in one package, it comes with instructions, a description of the program, and why you should burn dry wood instead of wet, it’s just very easy for us and the public to use.”
Given the expense and the likely low frequency of use, Smathers said he doubts most people would purchase one of these on their own.
“When I was burning wood myself, I would not have thought to buy one, but I’d have borrowed one from the library,” he said.
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
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