What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burning stoves can be an economical solution to heat homes and businesses. They also help reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are non-renewable and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.
For efficient burning, it is important to use seasoned wood. Wood that is not seasoned or green may have a higher moisture content, which can cause creosote to accumulate and reduce performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for a long time and offer a very eco-friendly and energy efficient way to heat your home. However, the standard design of OWBs, which encourages a slow, cooler fire, causes poor combustion and more smoke, creosote, and particulates. These unburnt fuels can cause health problems, fire hazards, and deteriorate the surrounding environment.
Furthermore the visible smoke plume OWBs produce can make neighbors complain. This could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) taking enforcement action. This kind of public relations issue could cause serious damage to the value of your property and may 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 maximize combustion efficiency for a clean, smokeless burn. This is done with a negative-pressure air system that draws fresh, dry, heated, filtered air from the bottom and then pushes it out through the chimney faster than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is achieved through an innovative design that makes use of a multi-pass, water filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
If properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can reach the highest efficiency of combustion, which is 99% to create a cleaner, smokeless fire that requires less wood and produces significantly fewer emissions than traditional OWBs. It is important to burn 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 and helps ensure a smoother energy efficient and efficient burn.
In addition to maximizing the efficiency of your wood burner, you can also improve its efficiency by executing an "dry burn" every week. This technique eliminates creosote build up, keeps your boiler efficient and extends its lifespan. Lastly, by adding a creosote remover stick each time you load your stove, you can dramatically reduce the amount of creosote that you use. This product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove can be extremely dirty due to burned soot particles. They are difficult to get rid of and therefore, you must clean any buildup on the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. Any soot that is not eliminated will harden and make it more difficult to remove. 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 an area of weakness that could break the glass when exposed to high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood burner, you must ensure that it is not lit and completely cool. Make sure to protect the area around it with newspaper. This will prevent any spillage of ash that could stain and mark surfaces.
It can take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be complete, depending on the quality of the wood you choose to use. The wood that has been properly seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the kind of material that builds up on your fireplace, decreasing its efficiency and creating an opportunity for fire hazards. If you are using unseasoned wood, or just making a fresh fire in your outdoor wood burner, the best thing to do is open the lower back door and scoop out the ashes into a non-combustible container each week.
You should also perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at least once 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 top operating condition.
After you have cleaned the exterior of your outdoor fireplace it is time to clean it. Before starting, it's important to cover the floor surrounding the stove with newspaper. It is also advisable to wear gloves and protective eyewear. You should also have a metal ash container, a scraping tool and shovel. To safeguard the refractory, you must lay a cloth on it to protect it from damage as you scrape away ash and coal deposits.
the advantage to operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, together with mullet hairstyles) outdoor wood boilers, also known 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 continuously. They have a higher rate of burning and generate more smoke. Some local governments restrict or ban their use.
OWBs work best in homes that have high levels of insulation. The smoldering, dense visible smoke can also be a source of complaints from neighbors and has resulted in many OWBs being shut-down or being sued in the past. To allow OWBs to function properly, they must be operated using dry wood with low moisture content. Using green or unseasoned wood reduces efficiency, leads to creosote to build up and may reduce the lifespan of the burner. A moisture meter can help you determine the time it takes for wood to dry.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers, on the other hand utilize a three-step process which makes use of the energy contained in the wood. This means less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs and can be used to fuel many different fuels. Wood gasification boilers need dry, seasoned wood. The majority of wood can be seasoned over the course of the course of a year. Oak and other hardy trees may take as long as two years to mature. This is because they have lower volume of water and a greater density. This allows them to retain heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and reduce 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. Contrary to indoor wood stoves that generate significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn cleanly and without the creation of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also require less wood to produce the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more tolerant of wood moisture content than indoor wood burning stoves. However outdoor wood burners should only be used with properly seasoned or "cured" wood. This can take a year or more for some kinds of wood. It is crucial to make use of a moisture meter to check the water content of your wood before loading.
During operation, it is essential to periodically inspect the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of combustion and can build up in the chimney and flue when it is not cleaned regularly. It can be removed with a creosote removal solution that is poured into the fire. Regular cleaning of the flue and chimney will remove dangerous creosote and increase efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technique called Negative Pressure Gasification to attain 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is employed in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to pull air up from the bottom and push all gases through an insulated secondary combustion chamber surrounded by water with easy-to-clean Turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollution-free combustion.