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The Rural Voice, 1993-12, Page 44air SIMPLY THE BEST • These are the absolute BEST stoves we have ever sold! • At reasonable prices 6 enamel colours • Ash pan, gold plated door, and efficiency gauge are standard features THE SPECTRUM [!cic 11ic ENERGY THE CHIMNEY SWEEP'S Stove Parlour & Gallery 368-5274 2 KM W of Tiverton on Inverhuron Road OPEN 9-5 MONDAY THRU SATURDAY '24`11111 ol►l Season's Greetings Head Office Dufferin Mutual Insurance Company Contact our Broker In your area and ask for ... DUFFERIN MUTUAL Collingwood ....... Howard Noble Insurance Ltd. 705-445-4738 Simpson & Company 705-445-3151 Dundalk Howard Noble Insurance Ltd. 519-923-2313 Durham Chapman, Graham & Lawrence Insurance 519-369-3131 Grand Valley Grand Valley Insurance Brokers 519-928-2851 Hanover Chapman, Graham & Lawrence Insurance 519-364-2790 Markdale Tebbutt Insurance Brokers Ltd. 519-986-2167 Chapman, Graham & Lawrence Insurance 519-986-4351 Meaford Georgian Bay Insurance Brokers Ltd. 519-538-2102 Owen Sound LA. Chester Insurance Ltd. 519-371-0232 Shelbume Crewson Insurance Brokers Ltd. 519-925-3145 Southampton Stan Hills Insurance Broker Ltd. 519-797-3431 Thornbury Howard Noble Insurance Ltd. 519-599-3812 Walkerton Chapman, Graham & Lawrence Insurance 519-881-0611 Shelburne, Ontario 110 Adelaide St., P.O. Box 117, LON 1S0 519-925-2026 1-800-265-9115 Fax 519-925-3357 40 THE RURAL VOICE 1895 — 100 years — 1995 where it was 100 years ago, improvements slowly began to be made. As interest in wood heating has revived, the profession of chimney sweep has come back into its own. Marshall Byle says, "One of the things I'm most proud of is our training. We developed a program for chimney sweeps and solid fuel technicians. In 1987, the Wood Energy Technical Training was ' devised." Trainees must take a two week course that covers everything from background and theory to installation and troubleshooting. They must then serve as an apprentice in the field for four years before becoming licensed as either a Master Chimney Sweep or a Master Solid Fuel Technician. Byle says, "This technology has advanced more in the last five years than in the last 100, because of people worrying about emissions. It is a worldwide trend. Wood burning technology in Europe and Canada has really improved." Indeed, some stoves today have reached efficiencies of up to 80 per cern, whereas wood stoves of the 1970s averaged top efficiencies of only 53 per cent. This is accomplished by innovative baffle designs and injecting preheated combustion air at strategic locations inside the stove. Other recent trends are the different types of stoves on the market. Natural gas or propane powered stoves are one alternative. Gas stoves try to mimic the look of a wood fire, while eliminating the inconvenience. Most turn on with the flick of a switch. Another recent innovation is the outdoor stove, which is actually more like a furnace. Located at a distance from the house, it has a huge firebox to allow loading with lots of big blocks of wood. It is surrounded by a water jacket, which carries the heat to the building in the form of hot water, and uses an exchanger to heat the air in the house as well. Indoor mess is avoided, but the unit's cost can be higher than regular wood stoves, at $5,000- $8,000 installed. While the thermal efficiency is very high, the combustion efficiency is low, with often incomplete fuel burn, which can increase air pollution. Another fairly recent concept on 1