Very clean burning wood?

[rob546454]

I am in need of a recommendation. I Need nice dry clean burning wood.
The local environmental health officer has responded to the email I sent them about a WFO in the town centre.

Thanks for your enquiry about the use of wood fired pizza ovens in Calderdale. Most of the area, certainly the town centres, are contained within smoke control areas whereby smoke emission is an offence unless it is caused by the burning of authorized fuel (wood is not authorized) or where an exempted appliance is used.

This would seem to preclude the use of most wood fired pizza ovens but it has to be remembered that the legislation is aimed at emission of smoke and if there is none then the council would not consider taking action for what could be considered to be a technical breach.

[spinal]

There are several paths around the clean air act and smoke control zones (I live in one)

1- Get your indoor appliance certified (not cheap) as exempt from the clean air act
2- Use authorised fuels (some types of gas)
3- but a pre-tested oven (I think some of the Jamie Oliver's have been tested)
4- Build your oven outdoors (the clean air act only applies to appliances inside buildings)

[muddy4x4]

I really think you need to go in and talk to them. I am in Greenwich, London. I had them come down and see my outfit, and lit it from cold and showed them my operating method, and they could comment suggest. Technically my mobile oven is exempt, but I was just covering all bases. As even exempt ovens can be shut down if producing what they consider excess smoke.
We have a couple of local restaurants using wfo's, so I asked what would happen if I wanted to put my operation under a rood in the borough. Basically the operate a system of if your oven don't smoke, they will leave you alone.
Apparently their are some major changes in the pipeline regarding wood, a renewable green eco fuel currently banned from smokeless zones ! I think this is going to be changed, but wont be holding my breath.....

How bigger oven are you looking for ?

Have you had a look at www.dingley-dell.com/inc/sdetail/2542/2628

Looks like a sensible route to go.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Don't let one letter put you off !

[bookemdanno]

So what wood (ha...get it?) happen if you had a so called "certified" pre tested oven and through poor lighting and fire management techniques produced "smoke"?!?!?
Its not so much the oven, but the fire management.

Daft...

[rob546454]

Well I don't plan on spending 4 grand on an oven to be honest. I am having one made. But I don't want to build it and find the council telling me p*ss off basically I am looking a a 2.5m oven really.

So ether find a decent wood supplier and hope for the best or try and get it exempt.

I know technique play its part. But crappy wood; especially wet wood give off black smoke and thats obviously a no-no. Most of the time out oven at work produces white as it half decent wood most of the time.

[spinal]

Nov 10, 2013 18:25:32 GMT bookemdanno said:

So what wood (ha...get it?) happen if you had a so called "certified" pre tested oven and through poor lighting and fire management techniques produced "smoke"?!?!?
Its not so much the oven, but the fire management.

Daft...

I reckon that under the clean air act, they wouldn't be able to touch you if the oven is certified as being exempt. That said, they could get you under other things (public nuisance? Pollution Prevention and Control? ). (I am not a lawyer though!)

To the OP:
As for "clean" burning wood, I reckon any wood would work, as long as it is dry enough. Get yourself a digital moisture meter (a tenner on fleabay) and start checking.

You will probably want kiln dried until the oven is very hot. Potentially even pre-heating the oven with a butane/propane lance.

The process for getting an appliance exempt isn't cheap, IIRC it was in the range of £2k (but then all identically built appliances are fine). Hence why the £4k ovens aren't that expensive when you add it all together... smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/apply.php

Ironically, you can build your oven and run it on an authorised fuel ( smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e ) most of which will produce masses of black smoke if used incorrectly...
M.

[spinal]

Just found this in the buried application file:

3.3.3 Pizza Ovens, Air heaters, other appliances
Before you send your appliances for testing, contact Ricardo-AEA at
smokecontroLäncardo-aea.com and submit details of the appliance. We can advise on
the requirements, these can be submitted to your testing laboratory.
You can use Table I to determine the number of tests at each load, if the operating output of
the appliance is fixed then we require 5 tests at one load.
For pizza ovens Ricardo-AEA will generally require one ignition test and a minimum of two
warm up tests to determine the time taken to reach a stable operating temperature. Five
tests at the defined, stable operating temperature are also required. Please note there must
be as many warm up tests carried out as required to reach the defined stable temperature.
Where a pizza oven shows results that are not satisfactory during warm up testing, Ricardo
AEA require that the manual details the following text in the lighting instructions:
The pizza oven should be used with an authorised fuel or gas lance until the defined
operating temperature is reached. Note that the temperature must be defined in the manual.