What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are a cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also reduce the need for nonrenewable fossils fuels and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.
Well-seasoned wood is essential for efficient burning. Unseasoned or green wood has higher moisture content and can create creosote that can reduce performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for many years. They are an energy-efficient and eco-friendly method of heating your home. However, the typical design of OWBs that encourages an unsteady, cooler fire that causes poor combustion and more smoke, creosote and particulates. These unburnt fuels can cause health issues, fire hazards, and deteriorate the surrounding environment.
Moreover the visible smoke plume that OWBs create can make neighbors complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) taking enforcement action. This kind of public relations issue can be a significant impact on the value of your property and could even result in your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a line of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces called the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to increase the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smokeless combustion. This is done through a negative pressure air system that pulls in fresh dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom and then pushes it up the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by a unique design that utilizes an encapsulated, multi-pass heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
If properly used correctly, when properly used, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can attain an efficiency of 99% to create a cleaner, smokeless fire that requires less wood and generates significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To maximize the effectiveness of your OWB it is crucial to burn dry, clean, seasoned wood. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or a year prior to burning is recommended. It helps ensure a smoother, more energy efficient burn.
In addition to increasing the performance of your wood burner, you can also improve the efficiency of your wood burner by performing the "dry burn" every week. This technique eliminates creosote accumulation, makes your boiler efficient and extends its life span. By affixing a creosote-removing stick to your stove every time you fill it, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote that you need to use. freestanding wood burning stove is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove can be very dirty due to burnt soot particles. They are difficult to clean and therefore, you must clean any buildup that may be on the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. Any soot that is not eliminated will become hard, making it even more difficult to remove. It is essential to use the right cleaners however, you should be careful not to scratch the glass by using anything that can scratch it. This could leave a weak spot that could break the glass when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Be sure to allow your wood burner to cool completely before cleaning it. Also, make sure that the surrounding area is covered with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from spilling and staining surfaces.
It can take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be complete, depending on the quality of the wood you use. Wood that is properly seasoned will not only burn more efficiently and last longer, but it will also produce less creosote. This is the material which is able to build up on your fireplace, decreasing its efficiency and creating a potential fire hazard. If you are using unseasoned wood or are just beginning a new fire in your outdoor wood burner the best thing to do is to open the back door to the lower part and scoop ashes out into a non-combustible container every week.
It is also recommended to perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at a minimum every four years. This is a simple flush lasting five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will remove any debris that has accumulated inside the system, and will keep your boiler in great operating condition.
Once you've completed the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's essential to cover the floor around the stove with newspaper. It is also helpful to wear protective eyewear and gloves. Also, you should have a ash canister made of metal as well as a scraping tool and a shovel. To protect the refractory you need to lay a cloth on it to shield it as you scrape away ash and coal deposits.
Easy to Operate
Despite their popularity (they were among the 1990s' "it" trends, along with mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, also known as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are frequently misunderstood. Contrary to the EPA's popular wood stoves, which are designed to burn at low, constant temperatures, these boilers have an increased fire rate and generate more smoke when operating. This is why a few local governments regulate or ban their use.
OWBs are great for heating homes with high insulation levels. The visible, smoldering smoke can also be a source of complaints from neighbors and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or being sued in the past. To allow OWBs to function properly, they should be operated with dry wood with low moisture content. Wood that is not seasoned or green can reduce efficiency, cause creosote to build up and reduce the life of the burner. Drying please click the next website takes time, and an instrument to measure moisture is essential for every homeowner.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers however they employ a three-step procedure which makes use of the energy contained in the wood. This results in less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used to fuel many different fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry and well-seasoned firewood. Most wood can be seasoned within a year, but oak and other species with a hardy structure can require two years or more to fully mature. This is due to a lower volume of water and a greater density. This lets them store heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners understand how to burn wood efficiently, thereby reducing pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are designed with the environment in mind. In contrast to indoor wood burners which generate significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn efficiently and without the creation of excessive heat or carbon monoxide. They also require less wood to produce the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more forgiving of moisture content in wood than wood burning stoves for indoor use. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or seasoned. This can take a year or more for some types of wood. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to determine the amount of water contained in the wood.
When operating, it is essential to examine the system on a regular basis to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney when it is not cleaned frequently. It can be removed by pouring a creosote removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue can remove harmful creosote, and boost efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology called Negative Pressure Gasification to achieve 99% combustion efficiency. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces make use of this technology to draw air from the bottom, directing all gasses through an insulated water surrounded secondary combustion chamber that is easy to clean turbulators for a smokeless & pollutant-free combustion.