What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners can be an economical solution to heat homes and businesses. They also reduce the need for fossil fuels that are non-renewable and help in implementing a sustainable energy strategy.
Well-seasoned wood is essential for efficient burning. Unseasoned or green wood has a higher moisture content and can cause creosote that can reduce 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 typical design of OWBs that encourages an unsteady, cooler fire which results in poor combustion and more smoke, creosote, as well as particulates. These unburned fuels could cause health issues, fire hazards and degrade the environment.
Moreover the visible smoke puffs that OWBs generate could cause neighbors to voice their concerns. This could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation), taking enforcement action. This type of public relations issue could cause serious damage to the value of your property, and could even lead to your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves has a range of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series makes use of technology to improve the efficiency of combustion and create a smokeless, clean burn. This is done through a negative pressure air system that draws fresh, dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom, and then pushes it up the chimney much faster than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by the unique design of a multi-pass, water-filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
Properly used when properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Series OWB can achieve an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner and smoke-free fire. It uses less wood and produces significantly fewer emission than traditional OWBs. It is essential to burn only clean, seasoned and dry wood to increase the performance of your OWB. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or more prior to burning is recommended. It helps ensure a smoother energy efficient and efficient burn.
You can improve the efficiency of your wood-burning stove through a weekly "dry burn". This method helps to eliminate creosote accumulation, makes your boiler running efficiently and increases its lifespan. By affixing a creosote-removing stick to your stove every time you fill it, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote that you need to use. The product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove can be very dirty due to burnt soot particles. They are difficult to remove so make sure you clean any buildup that may be on the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. In the event that the soot is not removed, it will get harder and become more difficult to get off. It is crucial to select the right cleaners, but you should also be careful not to scratch the glass with anything that may scratch it. This could lead to a weak spot that can shatter glass when exposed high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood stove, you should make sure that it's not lit and completely cool. Be sure to protect the area around it with newspaper. This will stop the ash from spilling and staining surfaces.
Based on the quality of the wood that you select, it can take up to one year for your stove to get properly well-seasoned. The wood that has been seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but will also produce less creosote. This is the kind of material that builds up on your chimney, reducing efficiency and posing the risk of fire. If very small wood burner using unseasoned wood or are just beginning an outdoor fire fireplace, you should open the lower backdoor, and scoop out all the ashes into a nonflammable container each week.
You should also perform a sediment flush on your boiler at least once every four years. This involves a simple five-second flush from the drain valve on your boiler. This will remove any sediment that has built up within the system and help ensure that your boiler is in good 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 important to cover the area around the stove with newspaper. It is also beneficial to wear protective eyewear and gloves. Also, you should have a shovel, a metal ash container and a scraping tool. You can use a cloth as shield to protect the refractory while you remove ash and coal deposits.
Simple to operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, along with mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are still often misunderstood. Contrary to the EPA's popular wood stoves, which are designed to burn at low, constant temperatures, these boilers have an increased fire rate and produce more smoke when they operate. Certain local governments restrict or prohibit their use.
OWBs are best suited to homes that have high levels of insulation. The visible, smoldering smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors, and has led to many OWBs being shut-down or sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood with lower moisture content is required to function effectively. Utilizing unseasoned or green 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 are, on the other hand they employ a three-step procedure that utilizes more of the energy available in the wood. This means less smoke. These types of furnaces are much more efficient than traditional OWBs and can be used with a wider variety of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry well-seasoned and seasoned firewood. The majority of wood can be seasoned in one year. Oak and other hardy trees may take as long as two years to mature. They are less water-based and have a greater density. This allows them to retain heat longer, thus 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 pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are designed with the environment in mind. Modern outdoor wood furnaces don't generate excessive CO2 or heat. They also burn cleaner than indoor wood stoves. 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 moisture content in wood than indoor wood burning stoves. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or dried or. Certain types of wood may last for up to a year. It is important to use a moisture meter to check the water content of your wood prior to loading.
During operation it is important to check the system regularly to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote is an byproduct of combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney in the event that it is not cleaned regularly. It can be removed with the use of a special creosote remover that is poured into the fire. Regularly cleaning the chimney and flue will help eliminate dangerous creosote buildup and improve efficiency.
In order to attain 99% efficiency in combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed a new 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, directing all of the gasses through an insulated, water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber that is easy to clean Turbulators to ensure a smoke-free and pollution free burn.