Switching to an EPA stove?

[Marc]

Marc,
L-O-L
You posted that just to confuse me… didn’t you? (that’s all I got… L-O-L)

I'm a hit at parties

 

[Marc]

Can you huff and puff for hours with an up to date respirator? Can you work long shifts with it on? Long being 16 to 18 hours? Those were normal hours when I went on crews. We put in some 30+ hour shifts on initial attack. Crews aren't supposed to do that anymore.

The same goes for fire fighting in our woods. We did and they still do, carry fire shelters which we called Shake And Bakes. I think they'd get in trouble using that term now.

You can, until the filter cartridges start to clog with particulates. I'd imagine that you'd have to replace the cartridges pretty often if it were really dusty or ashy. But I've worn them in the past doing overhaul on structure fires and you huff and puff pretty good in full bunker gear ripping down walls and ceilings and humping charged lines up multiple flights of stairs.

If you're on a closed system, you can suck in all the air your regulator can flow, but obvioulsy you can't wear air packs on a wild land fire. We don't wear anything for brush fires, which out here are probably less severe than your controlled burns.

 

[ancy]

Where to start?

WE don't out here, and I too have gone on the line. We go back to camp or home horking up major loogies. I quit going to fires because I'd come home half the time with a roaring case of bronchitis.

That'd be WHY we wear them!

Oh, the timber crews and loggers tried to wear respirators shortly after Mt St Helens blew up. They had to work in the ash to get the trees prepped and logged. They found that they could not breathe properly with the respirators on if working normally. We have steep slopes and even the most physically fit people huff and puff doing that kind of work. The respirators provided were made for less strenuous activity. So, they were not used. But you live in Iowa, and that is a more dangerous place!

You get inside a smoking house about to flash over trying to look for occupants and see how much you huff and puff! We do have 45 minute tanks on but seen them go dry in less than 10 minutes in a burning house, guess what happens then? Believe it or not we do have trees and hills here!! It is very dangerous here so please please stay where you’re at, please!

Can you huff and puff for hours with an up to date respirator? Can you work long shifts with it on? Long being 16 to 18 hours? Those were normal hours when I went on crews. We put in some 30+ hour shifts on initial attack. Crews aren't supposed to do that anymore.

The same goes for fire fighting in our woods. We did and they still do, carry fire shelters which we called Shake And Bakes. I think they'd get in trouble using that term now.

Marc has it right above.

Like I said I knew you'd know better than me!

 

[tbow388]

Whew

After reading all of this, All I have to say is "Sure is gunna be a nice day outside"!!:msp_smile:

 

[ancy]

After reading all of this, All I have to say is "Sure is gunna be a nice day outside"!!:msp_smile:

Yep heading out chasing the big one here shortly.

 

[CWME]

I took an Englander SC-30 and did about the same thing as you WS. My solution to the smaller stove not heating the house below 10 degrees is to switch back to the wood furnace for those weeks I use the furnace for the fall and spring times when I don't run full time. That way I can get heat upstairs quickly. As you said I have found that the heat is slower to come with the EPA, my reasoning is different though. I can't run a blower on the SC-30, the air intake is designed so that a blower forces air not only into the air jacket but also the firebox. So my heat delivery times will suffer there with no blower directly circulating air. I get the coal buildup as well. As you said pulling the coals to the front helps. I also keep the ash to lower levels in the EPA than the furnace so the coals get as much exposure as possible.

I really like the lower fuel consumption of the smaller EPA stove but also like the massive amount of heat output of the wood furnace. Best of both worlds having two stoves sitting side by side. Like using the .22 for smaller game and the 45-70 for the big stuff. Nothing like having the right tool for the job. Something to think about before tearing into the new stove. or not

My 2 cents.