Pellet stove emissions
comparison testing with
EPA Method 5G
photos by Norbert Senf
As
part of the Pellet Stove Design Challenge, we are asking "how repeatable are emissions and efficiency testing numbers ?"MHA's Condar portable particulate emissions sampler provided an additional, independent, database to
better understand repeatability with pellet stoves in the same lab, and
in different labs. Extended
correlation testing between the Condar and M5G should enable us to draw
conclusions about particular aspects of each protocol, different
laboratories and operators, and particular stoves, with greater
confidence.
 The
Condar arrives at an EPA accredited lab for correlation testing against
Method 5G.
Setup took about 1 hour. We had to drill 3 holes in the double wall
stack, and the lab had already installed a
nice L-bracket for the Condar that worked beautifully for easy filter
changes, and will definitely be copied!
Dual Method 5G sample trains installed on an ASTM E2515 dilution tunnel.
M5G control and data capture.
Update: August 18/15
A
second round of testing was just concluded at Brookhaven National
Laboratory. We ran 6 stoves, 2 tests (including 1 repeat) each, at 3
different burn rates. The stove above was retested at Brookhaven.
Results
will be published once the data has been validated. Repeatability looks
very good, as does correlation between M5G and the Condar method
-- approximately in the +/- 10% range on PM, much closer on CO
and efficiency.
Rebecca Trojanowski, Brookhaven staff engineer
Norbert Senf, chair, MHA technical committee
Scott Williamson, pellet stove expert
(left): Dr. Tom Butcher, head of Energy Resources Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
John Ackerly, president, Alliance for Green Heat
Dr. Barbara Panessa, a leading researcher in wood smoke nanoparticle health effects.
(left)
Gabriella McConnel has a degree in Environmental, Water and Soil
Science and works for Alliance for Green Heat. She is the organizer for
the Pellet Stove Challenge.
Alliance for Green Heat
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