What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are an efficient and cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.
To ensure efficient burning it is essential to use seasoned wood. Unseasoned or green wood can have a higher moisture content which can cause creosote to accumulate and slow down performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for many years. They are an energy efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat your home. The typical design of OWBs encourages the slowing of the fire, making it cooler which results in poorer combustion and a higher amount of smoke and creosote. These unburned fuels can lead to health problems and fire hazards. They also degrade the environment.
Additionally the visible smoke produced by OWBs can make neighbors angry and lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement actions. This kind of public relations issue can have a serious impact on the value of your property and may result in your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a range of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces that are referred to as the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to boost the efficiency of combustion to ensure a smokeless, clean burning. This is accomplished by using an air system that is negative pressure that pulls fresh, dry, hot, filtered air in from the bottom of the boiler and pushes it out through the chimney at a much greater rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by an exclusive design that uses an incredibly efficient multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger made from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
If properly used, when used correctly, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can reach the highest efficiency of combustion, which is 99% to create a cleaner, smokeless fire that consumes less wood and produces less carbon dioxide than traditional OWBs. It is crucial to use clean, seasoned and dry wood in order to maximize the performance of your OWB. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or a year prior to burning is recommended. This will ensure a more efficient, more energy efficient burn.
You can increase the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by executing each week a "dry burn". This technique reduces creosote which increases the efficiency of boilers and extends the life of your boiler. Lastly, by adding a creosote removal stick each time you fill your stove, you can significantly reduce the amount creosote that you use. The product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood burning stove can become very dirty from burnt soot particles. They are difficult to remove and therefore, you must clean any buildup on your stove's glass immediately. Otherwise the soot will get harder and become more difficult to remove. Using the correct cleaners for the job is essential however, you must also ensure that you're not damaging the surface of the glass with anything that could scratch it. This could leave an area of weakness that could shatter the glass when it's exposed to extreme temperatures.
Be sure to let your wood burner cool completely before cleaning it. Make sure you protect the area around it with newspaper. This will prevent any spillage of ash that can stain and mark surfaces.
Depending on the quality of the wood you choose to use, it could take up to one year for your stove to become properly seasoned. Seasoned wood will not only burn better and last longer, but it will also produce less creosote. This is the substance that is able to build up on your fireplace, reducing its efficiency and posing the potential for a fire hazard. If you are using unseasoned wood or are just beginning a new 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 the ashes into a non-combustible bin every week.
A sediment flush is recommended on your boiler every four years. It is a simple flush lasting five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will get rid of any sediments that have built in the system and ensure that your boiler is operating well.
After you've completed the sediment flush, it's time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, make sure to cover the area around the stove with newspaper. Wearing protective gloves and eyewear is an excellent idea. You should also have a metal ash canister along with a scraping tool as well as a shovel. You can use a cloth as an insulator to shield the refractory from damage while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Simple to Operate
Despite their popularity (they were among the 1990s' "it" trends, as were mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, also known as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are often misunderstood. Contrary to the EPA's popular wood stoves which are designed to burn at constant, low temperatures, these heaters use an increased fire rate and produce more smoke when they operate. This is the reason why local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.
OWBs work best in homes that have high levels of insulation. The smoldering, visible smoke is also a cause 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 needed to function properly. Using green or unseasoned wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote to build up and may shorten the life of the burner. Drying wood can take time and an instrument to measure moisture is a must for the homeowner.
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 results in less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs, and can be used to fuel a wide range of fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry, well-seasoned firewood. 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. This is due to a lower 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 burning wood efficiently in order to reduce pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves are engineered to be eco-friendly. Modern outdoor wood furnaces don't generate excessive CO2 or heat. They also burn more efficiently 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 than indoor wood burners, and are more tolerant when it comes 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 some types of wood. It is crucial to make use of a moisture meter to measure the amount of water of your wood before loading.
When operating, it is essential to check the system regularly for creosote accumulation. Creosote is an byproduct of combustion and can build up in the chimney and flue when it is not cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated by pouring a creosote-removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue can remove harmful creosote, and boost efficiency.
In small wood burning stove to attain 99% efficiency in combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed a new air flow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification. This technology is utilized in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air upwards from the bottom and push all the gases through an insulated secondary combustion chamber which is surrounded by water, with easy-to-clean Turbulators. The result is a smokeless, pollutant free combustion.