What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are an affordable method of heating homes and businesses. They also help reduce dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and contribute to a resilient energy strategy.
To ensure efficient burning, it is important to use wood that has been well-seasoned. Wood that is not seasoned or green may have a higher moisture content that can cause creosote to build up and decrease performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been around for many years. They are an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat your home. The typical design of OWBs promotes an older, cooler fire which results in poorer combustion and more smoke and creosote. Unburned fuels can cause health issues, fire hazards and degrade the environment.
Furthermore, the visible smoke puffs that OWBs generate can cause neighbors to complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) and taking enforcement actions. This kind of public relations issue can be a significant impact on the value of your property and may 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 for a clean, smoke-free combustion. This is achieved by using a negative-pressure air system that draws in fresh dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom and then pushes it up the chimney faster than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by a unique design that utilizes a multi-pass, water filled heat exchanger made from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
If properly used, wood burning stove in conservatory can achieve the highest efficiency of combustion, which is 99% to create a cleaner, smokeless fire that uses less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. It is important to use dry, clean and seasoned wood in order to enhance the performance of your OWB. Seasoning your wood for six months or a year prior to burning is recommended. It will ensure a more efficient, more energy efficient burn.
You can boost the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by performing each week a "dry burn". This method helps to eliminate creosote accumulation, makes your boiler running efficiently and increases its lifespan. By adding a creosote-removing stick to your stove every time you fill it up, you can dramatically reduce the amount of creosote you use. The product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove can be extremely dirty due to burned soot particles. These are very hard to shift If you notice any spots of buildup on the glass of your stove, wash them immediately. If not, the soot will begin to harden and be even more difficult to remove. Using the correct cleaners for the job is crucial, but also be sure you're not damaging the glass's surface by using anything that could scratch it. This could cause a weak point that will break glass when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Be sure to let your wood stove cool completely before cleaning it. Be sure to protect the area around it with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from spilling and staining surfaces.
Based on the quality of the wood that you select, it can take up to an entire year for your stove to become properly and seasoned. Seasoned wood will not only burn more efficiently, but will create less creosote. This is the kind of material that builds up on your fireplace, decreasing its effectiveness and creating a potential fire hazard. If you're using wood that's not seasoned or are just beginning a fire in your outdoor fireplace, it's best to open the lower backdoor, and scoop out all the ashes into a nonflammable container each week.
You should also perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at a minimum every four years. This is a simple flush of five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any sediment that has built up inside the system, and will ensure that your boiler is in good operating condition.
After you have cleaned the exterior of your fireplace that is outside It is now time to clean it. Before you begin, it's important to cover the area around the stove with newspaper. It is also advisable to wear gloves and protective eyewear. Also, you should have a metal ash container as well as a scraping tool and shovel. To safeguard the refractory, you should lay down a cloth to protect it while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Easy to operate
Despite their popularity (they were among the 1990s' "it" trends, together with mullet hairstyles) outdoor wood boilers, also referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters, are frequently misunderstood. They are not like the popular EPA wood stoves, which are designed to burn at low temperatures and run continuously. They are able to produce more burning and produce more smoke. This is why a few local governments regulate or even ban their use.
OWBs are best suited to homes with high levels of insulation. The smoldering, visible smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or being sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood with less moisture content is required to work properly. Green or unseasoned wood can decrease efficiency, cause creosote to accumulate and decrease the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time and the use of a moisture gauge is a must for any homeowner.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers, on the other hand they employ a three-step procedure which makes use of the energy contained in the wood. This results in less smoke. These kinds of furnaces are much more efficient than traditional OWBs and can be used with a larger range of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry and seasoned firewood. The majority of wood will mature within a year. Oak and other tough trees can take up to two years to mature. They are less watery and have a larger mass. This allows them retain heat for longer, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners learn more about how to burn wood efficiently to minimize air pollution.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are designed with the environment in mind. Modern outdoor wood furnaces do not generate excessive heat or CO2. They also burn cleaner than indoor wood stoves. They also require less wood to generate the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more accepting of wood moisture content 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 kinds of wood. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to check the amount of water present in your wood.
When operating, it is essential to check the system regularly for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote, which is a byproduct of combustion, may build up in the flue and chimney if they are not cleaned regularly. It can be removed by pouring a creosote-removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue will help eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology called Negative Pressure Gasification to attain 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is utilized in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to pull air up from the bottom and force all the gases through an enclosed secondary combustion chamber that is that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean turbines. The result is a smokeless & pollution-free burn.