What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners can be a cost-effective solution for heating homes and businesses. They also help reduce dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.
Well-seasoned wood is essential for efficient burning. Green or unseasoned wood may contain more moisture that can cause creosote to accumulate and reduce performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for years and offer a very energy efficient and environmentally friendly method to heat your home. However, the typical design of OWBs, which encourages the slow and cooler burning, causes less combustion and a higher amount of smoke, creosote, and particulates. These unburned fuels can cause health problems, fire hazards and degrade the environment.
Moreover the visible smoke plume OWBs generate can cause neighbors to complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) and taking enforcement actions. This type of public relations issue could have a serious impact on the value of your property and may even lead to your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a line of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces known as the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to boost the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smokeless burn. This is achieved by using the negative pressure air system that pulls fresh, dry, hot, filtered air in from the bottom of the boiler and pushes it back out through the chimney at a much higher rate than conventional outdoor wood boilers. wood burning stoves uk is accomplished by a unique design that utilizes an encapsulated, multi-pass heat exchanger constructed from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When used properly, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can attain the highest efficiency of combustion, which is 99% to create a cleaner, smokeless fire that requires less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. It is crucial to burn only dry, clean, and seasoned wood in order to maximize the performance of your OWB. 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 performance of your wood burner and enhancing the efficiency of your wood burner by performing the "dry burn" every week. This technique eliminates creosote buildup, keeps your boiler in good condition and extends its lifespan. By adding a creosote-removing stick to your stove every time you fill it, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote you use. This product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles that are left in the aftermath of burning wood can make a stove appear very dirty. They are extremely difficult to remove If you notice any spots of buildup on the glass of your stove, clean them right away. Otherwise the soot will get harder and become more difficult to get off. Using the right cleaning products for the job is vital however, you must also ensure that you're not damaging the surface of the glass by using anything that could scratch it. This could result in a weak point that will shatter glass when exposed to high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood burner you should make sure that it is not lit and completely cool. Be sure to protect the area around it with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from leaking and staining surfaces.
It could take up to one year for the seasoning of your stove to be complete, depending on the quality of the wood you choose to use. The wood that is seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the substance that builds up on your chimney, decreasing its efficiency and posing the risk of fire. If you're using wood that's not seasoned, or just starting an outdoor fire fireplace, it's recommended to open the lower backdoor and scoop the the ashes into a non-combustible container each week.
You should also do a sediment flush on your boiler at least every four years. This is a straightforward flush lasting five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any debris that has accumulated within the system and help keep your boiler in great working condition.
Once you have done the sediment flush, it's 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 helpful to wear protective eyewear and gloves. Also, you should have an shovel, a metal ash container and an instrument for scraping. You can use a cloth as a shield to protect the refractory as you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Simple 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 often misunderstood. They are not the same as the well-known EPA wood stoves, which are designed to burn at low temperatures continuously. They have a higher rate of combustion and generate more smoke. This is why some local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.
OWBs work best in homes with a high level of insulation. The smoldering, visible smoke can also be a source of complaint with neighbors and has resulted in numerous OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood with less moisture content is required to work properly. The use of unseasoned or green wood can reduce efficiency, cause creosote build up and can cut down the life of the burner. Drying wood can take time and an instrument to measure moisture is a must for the homeowner.
In contrast dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) employ three steps of process that makes use of more available energy from the wood and results in less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs, and can be used for various fuels. Wood gasification boilers need dry and seasoned wood. The majority of wood will be seasoned within a year, but oak and other hardy species can take two years or more to fully mature. This is because they have less amount of water and a higher 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 learn more about how to burn wood efficiently in order to reduce air pollution.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are constructed with the environment in mind. Unlike indoor wood burners that 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 than indoor wood burners and are more accommodating in regards to the moisture content of the wood. However outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly treated or "cured" wood. This could take a whole year or more for certain kinds of wood. Make use of a moisture meter prior to loading to measure the amount of water in your wood.
During operation, it is essential to periodically inspect the system for the build-up of creosote. Creosote is a by-product of combustion, may build up in the flue and chimney when they are not cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated by pouring a creosote removal product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the flue and chimney will remove dangerous creosote and increase efficiency.
In order to get 99% efficiency from combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed an innovative air flow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces utilize this technology to pull air from the bottom, forcing all of the gasses through an insulated water surrounded secondary combustion chamber, which is easy-clean turbines for a smokeless and pollution-free burn.