What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are an affordable way to heat homes and businesses. They also help reduce dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and aid in a sustainable energy strategy.
For efficient burning for efficient burning, it is crucial to use wood that has been well-seasoned. second hand wood burning stoves that is not seasoned or green may contain more moisture, which can cause creosote to accumulate and decrease performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for many years and provide an eco-friendly and energy efficient method to heat your home. However, the standard design of OWBs, which encourages a slow, cooler fire, causes less combustion and a higher amount of smoke, creosote, as well as particulates. These unburned fuels can cause health problems, fire hazards and degrade the environment.
Additionally the visible smoke produced by OWBs could cause neighbors to voice their concerns and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement action. This kind of public relations issue can be a significant impact on the value of your property and could result in 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 maximize combustion efficiency for a clean, smoke-free combustion. This is done through a negative pressure air system which pulls fresh, dry, heated, filtered air from the bottom, and then pushes it out through the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished through an innovative design that makes use of a multi-pass, water filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
Properly utilized when properly used, When properly used, the Pristine Series OWB has an 99% efficiency in combustion for a cleaner and smokeless fire. It uses less wood, and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To enhance your OWB's performance it is crucial to only burn clean, seasoned, dry wood. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or a year prior to burning is recommended. It will ensure a more efficient energy efficient and efficient burn.
In addition to increasing the efficiency of your wood stove and enhancing the efficiency of your wood burner by performing a "dry burn" every week. This method lowers the amount of creosote in your home which increases the efficiency of boilers and extends the lifespan of your boiler. Additionally, by adding a creosote remover stick each when you load your stove, you will be able to significantly reduce the amount creosote you use. This product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles left in the aftermath of burning wood can make a stove look very dirty. They are extremely difficult to remove so if you notice any spots of buildup on the glass of your stove, 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 correct cleaners for the job is vital, but also be sure you're not damaging the glass's surface by using anything that could scratch it. This could result in 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. Also, be sure that the surrounding area is covered with newspaper. This will stop the ash from spreading and staining surfaces.
Based on the quality of the wood that you choose to use, it could take up to one year for your stove to get properly and seasoned. The wood that has been seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the material which builds up on your fireplace, decreasing its effectiveness and creating an opportunity for fire hazards. If you're using unseasoned wood or just making a fresh fire in your outdoor wood burner the best thing you can do is to open up the back door to the lower part and scoop out the ashes into a non-combustible container every week.
A sediment flush should be carried out on your boiler every four years. It is a simple flush lasting five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any debris that has accumulated within the system and help ensure that your boiler is in good operating condition.
Once you have done the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the outside of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's important to cover the stove's perimeter with newspaper. Wearing protective eyewear and gloves is an excellent idea. Also, you should have a metal ash container, a scraping tool and a shovel. To safeguard the refractory, you must lay a cloth on it to protect it from damage as you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Simple to operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, as were mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters, are frequently misunderstood. In contrast to their EPA-approved counterparts, popular wood stoves that are designed to burn at low, constant temperatures, these units use more fire and generate more smoke when they operate. Some local governments limit or prohibit their use.
OWBs work best for homes with high levels of insulation. Smoke that is dense and smoldering can also be a nuisance for neighbors, resulting in many OWBs to be shut down or sued. For OWBs dry wood with less moisture content is needed to function effectively. Utilizing unseasoned or green wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote accumulation and can shorten the life of the burner. A moisture gauge will allow you to determine how long it takes for wood to dry.
In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) make use of three steps of process which makes use of the available energy in the wood and results in a lesser amount of smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and are suitable for many different fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry well-seasoned and seasoned firewood. Most wood can be seasoned within a year, but oak and other hardy species can take two years or more to fully mature. This is due to a lower water content and denser mass. This allows them to hold heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to learn how to efficiently burn wood to reduce pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are constructed with the environment in mind. In contrast to indoor wood burners which generate significant smoke modern outdoor furnaces burn efficiently and without the release of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also require less wood to provide the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more accepting of the moisture content of wood than wood burning stoves for indoor use. However outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly treated or "cured" wood. Certain kinds of wood can take up to a full year. It is crucial to utilize a moisture gauge to check the water content of your wood before loading.
In the course of operation, it is crucial to examine the system on a regular basis to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a by-product of combustion, can build up in the flue and chimney if they aren't cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated 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 technique called Negative Pressure Gasification to achieve 99% combustion efficiency. This technology is employed in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air from the bottom and force all gases through an sealed secondary combustion chamber, that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean Turbulators. The result is a smokeless and pollution-free combustion.