What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burning stoves are a cost-effective way to heat homes and businesses. They also help reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable and contribute to a resilient energy strategy.
Wood that is well-seasoned is crucial for efficient burning. Wood that is not seasoned or green may have a higher moisture content that can cause creosote to accumulate and reduce performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for many years. They are a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of heating your home. However, the design of OWBs that encourages the slow and cooler burning that causes less combustion and a higher amount of smoke, creosote and particulates. These unburned fuels could cause health issues as well as fire hazards and deteriorate the surrounding environment.
Additionally, the visible smoke that OWBs produce can cause neighbors to complain and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement actions. This type 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 has a range of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series makes use of technology to maximize combustion efficiency and produce smokeless, clean burning. This is achieved by using a negative-pressure air system that draws in fresh dry heated, filtered air from the bottom, and then pushes it up the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by an innovative design that utilizes a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When properly used when properly used, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can reach the highest efficiency of combustion, which is 99% for a cleaner, smokeless fire that consumes less wood and generates significantly fewer emissions than traditional OWBs. To enhance your OWB's performance, it is important to burn clean, seasoned, dry wood. It is recommended that you get your wood seasoned for a period of six months or a year prior to burning it. This will ensure the most efficient and clean burn.
In addition to maximizing the efficiency of your wood stove it is also possible to increase its efficiency by executing the "dry burn" every week. This method lowers the amount of creosote in your home, increases boiler efficiency and extends the lifespan of your boiler. By affixing a creosote-removing stick to your stove each time you fill it, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote you use. The product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles left on the stove after burning wood may make a stove appear very dirty. These are very hard to move, so if you see any spots of soot build-up on the glass of your stove, clean them right away. If the soot isn't removed, it will harden, making it even more difficult to remove. Using the correct cleaners 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 leave a weak spot that could break the glass when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Be sure to let your wood burner cool completely before cleaning it. Make sure that you protect the area around it with newspaper. This will prevent any spillage of ash that can stain and mark surfaces.
Based on the quality of the wood you use, it can take up to a year for your stove to become properly and seasoned. The wood that is seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but will also produce less creosote. This is the kind of material that is able to build up on your fireplace, reducing its efficiency and creating a potential fire hazard. If you're using unseasoned wood or are just making a fresh fire in your outdoor wood burner, the best thing to do is open the back door to the lower part and scoop ashes out into a non-combustible container every week.
A sediment flush should be performed on your boiler every four years. This is a simple flush lasting five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any accumulation of sediment inside the system, and will keep your boiler in great working condition.
Once you have done the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's important to cover the stove's perimeter with newspaper. It is also helpful to wear protective eyewear and gloves. Also, you should have an shovel, a metal container for ash and scraping tools. To safeguard the refractory, you must lay a cloth on it to protect it while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Simple to Operate
Outdoor wood boilers (also known as outdoor furnaces and outdoor wood hydronic heating systems, or outdoor wood heaters) are often misunderstood despite their popularity. They were one of the "it" trends of the 1990s, along with hairstyles for mullets. These units are not the same as the well-known EPA wood stoves, which are made to burn low temperatures continuously. They use more fire and produce more smoke. This is the reason why local governments regulate or ban their use.
OWBs work best in homes that have high levels of insulation. The smoldering, visible smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood with lower moisture content is required to function properly. Utilizing unseasoned or green wood reduces efficiency, leads to creosote build up and can shorten the life of the burner. A moisture meter will help you to determine how long it takes for wood to dry.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers however utilize a three-step process that utilizes more of the energy contained in the wood. This means less smoke. These types of furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs and can be used with a wider variety of fuel. Wood gasification boilers need dry and seasoned wood. The majority of wood can be seasoned in the course of a year. large wood burner and other hardy trees could take as long as two years to mature. This is because they have a lower water content and denser mass. This allows them to retain heat longer, increasing efficiency and reduce pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners understand how to burn wood efficiently, thereby reducing pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves are engineered to be eco-friendly. Contrary to indoor wood stoves that produce significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn efficiently and without the release of excessive heat or carbon monoxide. They also require less wood to generate the same amount heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more accepting of wood moisture content than wood burning stoves for indoor use. However, outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly seasoned or "cured" wood. This can take a year or more for some kinds of wood. It is important to make use of a moisture meter to determine the amount of water of your wood before loading.
In the course of operation, it is necessary to periodically inspect the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote, a by-product of combustion, can accumulate in the chimney and flue if they are not cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated by pouring a creosote-removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue will remove dangerous creosote accumulations and improve efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology called Negative Pressure Gasification to ensure 99% efficiency in combustion. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces employ this technology to pull air from the bottom, pushing all of the gasses through an insulated water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber, which is easy-clean Turbulators to ensure a smoke-free and pollution free combustion.