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TWO STANDARDS FOR WOOD for wood-burning heaters, ASTM E 1509,
Standard Specification for Room Heaters, Pellet Fuel-Burning Type,
and ASTM E 1602, Standard Guide for Construction of Solid Fuel
Burning Masonry Heaters, will be reviewed at a meeting of ASTM
Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings, April 11-12 in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
“These standards are approaching the end of the five-year cycle
and thus are due to be revised, reapproved or withdrawn,” says
Rick Curkeet, chief engineer, Intertek Testing Services, Middleton,
Wis., and chairman of Subcommittee E06.54 on Performance of Solid
Fuel Burning Appliances. “Solid fuel heater manufacturers, builders
of masonry fireplaces and heaters, and building officials who
inspect these products, such as members of ICBO and BOCA, are
needed to re-energize these standards.”
Members and non-members are highly encouraged to participate in
the review and revision of these standards. Simultaneous task
group meetings on both standards will be held April 11, and the
subcommittee will hold a half-day meeting on April 12.
“A suggested revision to the pellet stove safety standard resulted
from an incident where a pellet appliance user is reported to
have lost a finger by getting it caught in a pellet feed auger,”
says Curkeet regarding E 1509. “The revision suggested is to require
either an electrical interlock between the auger motor and hopper
lid, or a guard or screen over the auger which would prevent access
to the moving parts.”
Projected revisions to E 1602 include updates in figures and terminology.
“Further revisions and a re-balloting will be needed to get this
document back on track. I suspect that after five years of experience
with these products in the field there may be several other suggestions
for improving these standards.”
For technical information, contact Rick Curkeet, Intertek Testing
Services, Warnock Hersey, 8431 Murphy Dr., Middleton, WI 53562
(608/836-4400; e-mail: rcurkeet@itsqs.com).
For additional meeting details, contact Committee E06 Staff Manager
Steve Mawn, ASTM (610/832-9726). General ASTM information is available on
the Web site. //
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