I’ve also heard that the new EPA standard furnace has to have nearly bone dry wood. I’ve not seen one of the new ones, but driving by the dealership a few times, the new ones look an awful lot like the old ones. I suspect that they just made an add-on that recycles some of the smoke. If that’s the case, an after-market removal could be very simple. In my case, my nearest neighbor is at least a football field away, so with my higher smokestack I don’t really worry about bothering them with smoke. In any case, they’re country people, too, and the idea of complaining about smoke from a neighbor’s furnace probably isn’t a thought they’d ever come up with. If anything, they’d be more likely to comment on how they like the smell of a wood fire.
But, if I were really forced to, I could easily cut the wood two years out and let it sit. The savings in energy costs would make it worthwhile.
They produce very little ash and emissions and also burn less wood. They also cost a great amount more - the model we'd need to heat our place is now over 15k, nearly three times the cost we paid for our old smoke belcher.
Wood selection is critical. With ours, we can burn any wood that can burn - green, dry, rotten, pine, etc. That can't be done (with ease) on the new models.
I think if I lived in an area with nearby neighbors and limited access to wood, I'd give one of the new models consideration, but with a jar of Vaseline in hand to help ease the pain in the arse price!