10 Key Factors About Outside Wood Burners You Didn't Learn In School
What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are an affordable way to heat homes and businesses. They also reduce the need for fossil fuels that are not renewable and help in implementing a sustainable energy strategy.
For efficient combustion, it is important to use wood that has been well-seasoned. Wood that is not seasoned or green has a higher moisture content and may cause creosote accumulation, which can affect performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for years and are an extremely eco-friendly and energy efficient method to heat your home. The design of OWBs favors an older, cooler fire which results in less efficient combustion and more smoke and creosote. These unburnt fuels can cause health issues and fire hazards, as well as cause harm to the environment around it.
Additionally, the visible smoke plume that OWBs produce could cause neighbors to voice their concerns. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) taking enforcement action. This kind of problem can negatively impact the value of your property, and may lead to your OWB being closed down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a range of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces called the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to increase the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smoke-free burning. This is achieved through the negative pressure air system that draws fresh, dry, hot and filtered air from the bottom of the boiler and pushes it back out through the chimney at a greater rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished through an innovative design that utilizes a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger constructed of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When properly utilized when properly used, the Pristine Series OWB achieves an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner and smoke-free fire. It consumes less wood, and produces a lot less emission than traditional OWBs. To enhance your OWB's performance it is essential to burn only dry, clean, seasoned wood. Seasoning your wood for 6 months or a year prior to burning is recommended. This will ensure a more efficient energy efficient and efficient burn.
In addition to maximizing the efficiency of your wood burner, you can also improve the efficiency of your wood burner by performing the "dry burn" every week. This method helps to eliminate creosote build up, keeps your boiler in good condition and extends its lifespan. Additionally by adding a creosote-removing stick every time you load your stove, you can drastically cut the amount of creosote used. This product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove can be very dirty due to burnt soot particles. These are very hard to shift, so if you see any spots of soot build-up on the glass of your stove, you must clean them as soon as you notice them. Any soot that is not eliminated will begin to harden, making it even more difficult to remove. Using the right cleaning products for the job is essential and you should also make sure you're not damaging the surface of the glass by using anything that could scratch it. This could lead to an area of weakness that could shatter glass when exposed to high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood burner, you should make sure that it is unlit and completely cool. Be sure that you cover the area surrounding it with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from spreading and staining surfaces.
It could take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be complete, depending on the quality of the wood you select. Seasoned wood will not only burn better and will produce less creosote. This is the kind of material that builds up on your chimney, reducing efficiency and creating a fire hazard. If you're 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 out the ashes into a non-combustible container each week.
A sediment flush should be carried out on your boiler every four years. This is a quick five-second flush from the drain valve of your boiler. This will get rid of any sediments that have built up in the system, and keep your boiler working well.
Once you have done the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's crucial to cover the area around the stove with newspaper. It is also beneficial to wear protective eyewear and gloves. Also, you should have a metal ash canister along with a scraping tool as well as a shovel. You can use a cloth as an insulator to shield the refractory from damage while you take off coal and ash deposits.
Easy to Operate
Despite their popularity (they were among the 1990s' "it" trends, as were mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are frequently misunderstood. They're not the same as the well-known EPA wood stoves, which are designed to burn at low temperatures and run continuously. They are able to produce an increased rate of combustion and generate more smoke. This is the reason why local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.
OWBs are great for heating homes with high insulation levels. The smoldering, dense visible smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors, and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. In order for OWBs to operate properly they must be used with dry wood with a low moisture content. Green or unseasoned wood can decrease efficiency, cause creosote build-up and decrease the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time, and the use of a moisture gauge is essential for every homeowner.
In contrast dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) utilize three steps which makes use of the available energy in the wood, resulting in a lesser amount of smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used to fuel a wide range of fuels. Wood gasification boilers need dry well-seasoned wood. Most wood will season within a year, but oak and other species with a hardy structure may require two years or more to fully season. This is because they have a lower water content and denser mass. very small wood burning stove lets them store heat longer, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners understand how to burn wood efficiently in order to reduce pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves are designed to be eco-friendly. Contrary to indoor wood stoves that emit significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn cleanly and without the creation of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also require less wood to generate the same amount heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance than indoor wood burners, and are more tolerant when it comes to the moisture content of the wood. However, outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly seasoned or "cured" wood. This can take a year or more for certain kinds of wood. Use a moisture meter before loading to determine the amount of water contained in your wood.
When the system is in operation, it is necessary to regularly check the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a by-product of combustion, can accumulate in the chimney and flue if they aren't cleaned regularly. It can be removed using a special creosote removal product that is poured into the fire. Regularly cleaning the chimney and flue will help eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to ensure 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is employed in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air upwards from the bottom and force all the gases through an sealed secondary combustion chamber, that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollutant free burning.