What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burning stoves can be a cost-effective solution for heating homes and businesses. They also reduce the dependence on fossil fuels that are non-renewable and aid in a sustainable energy strategy.
To ensure efficient burning it is essential to use well-seasoned wood. Wood that is not seasoned or green may contain more moisture, which can cause creosote to build up and slow down performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for years and are an extremely eco-friendly and energy efficient method of heating your home. However, the standard design of OWBs, which promotes a slow, cooler fire that results in poor combustion and more smoke, creosote and particulates. These unburned fuels could lead to health problems as well as fire hazards, and can also harm the environment.
Additionally, the visible smoke puffs that OWBs generate can cause neighbors to complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation), taking enforcement action. This type of public relations issue could have a serious impact on the value of your property, and could even lead to your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a range of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces called the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to maximize combustion efficiency to ensure a smokeless, clean burning. This is done by using a negative-pressure air system that pulls in fresh dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom and pushes it up the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is achieved by an innovative design that utilizes a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger constructed of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
If properly used when properly used, When properly used, the Pristine Series OWB has a 99% combustion rate for a smoke-free and cleaner fire. It requires less wood and produces significantly fewer emission than traditional OWBs. It is crucial to burn only clean, seasoned and dry wood in order to enhance the performance of your OWB. Seasoning your wood for six months or more prior to burning is recommended and helps ensure a smoother, more energy efficient burn.
You can increase the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by performing every week a "dry burn". This technique eliminates creosote build up, keeps your boiler efficient and extends its lifespan. By adding a stick for removing creosote to your stove each time you fill it up, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote that you use. This product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood burning stove can become very dirty from burnt soot particles. They are extremely difficult to move If you notice any spots of buildup on the glass of your stove, you must clean them as soon as you notice them. Soot that is not removed will become hard, making it even more difficult to remove. It is crucial to use the right cleaners however, you should avoid damaging the glass surface with anything that could scratch it. This could leave a weak spot that will break the glass if it's exposed to extreme temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood burner you should make sure that it's not lit and completely cool. Make sure you surround it with newspaper. This will prevent any spillage of ash that can cause stains and marks on surfaces.
Based on the quality of the wood you use, it can take up to a year for your stove to get properly well-seasoned. Seasoned wood will not only burn more efficiently and will produce less creosote. This is the substance that builds up on your chimney, decreasing its effectiveness and creating the risk of fire. If you are using unseasoned wood or just starting a new fire in your outdoor wood burner the best thing to do is to open up the back door to the lower part and scoop ashes out into a non-combustible container each week.
It is also recommended to perform a sediment flush on your boiler at least every four years. This is a simple flush of five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will get rid of any sediment that has built up in the system, and keep your boiler working well.
After you've completed the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, make sure to cover the area around the stove with newspaper. Wearing gloves and eye protection is also a good idea. You should also have a shovel, a metal container for ash, and a scraping tool. To protect the refractory you must lay down a cloth to shield it as you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Easy to operate
Outdoor wood boilers (also known as outdoor furnaces, outdoor wood hydronic heating systems, or outdoor wood heaters) are often misunderstood in spite of their popularity. They were one of the "it" trends of the 1990s, as were hairstyles with mullets. In contrast to their EPA-approved counterparts, popular wood stoves that are designed to burn at constant, low temperatures, these heaters use more fire and emit more smoke when they operate. Certain local governments restrict or prohibit their use.
OWBs are best suited to homes that have high levels of insulation. The smoldering, dense visible smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors, and has led to many OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. To ensure that OWBs to operate properly they must be operated using dry wood with low moisture content. Unseasoned or green wood can reduce efficiency, cause creosote to build up, and shorten the lifespan of the burner. A moisture meter will help you determine the time it takes for wood to dry.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers, on the other hand, use a three-step process which makes use of the energy available in the wood. This means less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used to fuel many different fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry, seasoned firewood. The majority of wood can be seasoned within the course of a year. Oak and other tough trees can take as long as two years to mature. They are less water-based and have a denser mass. This allows them to hold heat for longer, thus increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great resources for homeowners to learn how to burn wood efficiently in order minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves are designed to be environmentally friendly. corner wood burning stove don't produce excessive heat or CO2. They also burn more efficiently than indoor wood stoves. They also use less wood to produce the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more forgiving of the moisture content of wood than wood burning stoves that are indoor. However, outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly seasoned or "cured" wood. Certain types of wood may last for up to a year. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to measure the amount of water contained in the wood.
During operation it is important to inspect the system periodically for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a by-product of combustion, may build up in the chimney and flue when they are not cleaned regularly. It can be removed with a special creosote removal product that is poured into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue will eliminate dangerous creosote and increase efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to attain 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is utilized in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air from the bottom and push all the gases through an enclosed secondary combustion chamber that is that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollutant free burn.