What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are a cost-effective solution for heating homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are non-renewable and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.
A well-seasoned wood is vital for efficient burning. Green or unseasoned wood has higher moisture content and can cause creosote that can reduce performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for years and are an extremely eco-friendly and energy efficient method of heating your home. The typical design of OWBs favors an older, cooler fire which leads to less efficient combustion and a higher amount of smoke and creosote. These unburned fuels could cause health problems, fire hazards, and affect the environment around them.
Furthermore the visible smoke plume OWBs produce can make neighbors complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation), taking enforcement action. This type of issue can negatively impact the value of your property, and may lead to your OWB being closed down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a range of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces known as the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to boost the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smoke-free burn. This is accomplished through a negative pressure air system that draws in fresh dry heated, filtered air from the bottom, and then pushes it through the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is achieved by a unique design which uses a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger made from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When used properly when properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can achieve an efficiency of 99% to create a cleaner, smokeless fire that requires less wood and produces fewer emissions than traditional OWBs. To maximize the performance of your OWB it is essential to burn only clean, seasoned, dry wood. It is recommended that you prepare your wood for six months or one year before burning it. This will ensure an efficient and clean burn.
In addition to improving the efficiency of your wood burner it is also possible to increase its efficiency by executing a "dry burn" every week. This technique eliminates creosote buildup, keeps your boiler running efficiently and increases its life span. Additionally, by adding a creosote-removing stick every time you fill your stove, you will be able to drastically cut the amount of creosote that you use. The product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles that are left in the aftermath of burning wood can make a stove appear very dirty. They are difficult to remove so make sure you clean any buildup that may be on the glass of your stove immediately. Soot that is not removed will harden, making it even more difficult to remove. second hand wood burning stoves is crucial to choose the right cleaner however, you should be careful not to scratch the glass with anything that may scratch it. This could cause an area of weakness that could shatter glass when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood stove, you must ensure that it is unlit and completely cool. Make sure you protect the area around it with newspaper. This will stop any spillage of ash which can cause stains and marks on surfaces.
It could take as long as one year for the seasoning process of your stove to be complete, depending on the quality of the wood you use. The wood that has been treated with a seasoned finish will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the substance that accumulates on your chimney, reducing efficiency and posing the risk of fire. If you're using unseasoned wood or you're just starting a fire in your outdoor fireplace, it's best to open the lower backdoor, and scoop out the ashes into a non-combustible container every week.
You should also perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at least every four years. This is a quick five-second flush from the drain valve of your boiler. This will eliminate any accumulation of sediment inside the system and keep your boiler in great functioning condition.
After you have cleaned the outside of your fireplace outside, it is time to clean it. Before you begin, it's crucial to cover the stove's perimeter with newspaper. It is also helpful to wear protective eyewear and gloves. You should also have a metal ash container as well as a scraping tool and shovel. To protect the refractory you must lay a cloth on it to protect it while you scrape away ash and coal deposits.
Simple to Operate
Despite their popularity (they were among the 1990s' "it" trends, as were mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, referred to 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 more fire and produce more smoke when they operate. Some local governments restrict or prohibit their use.
OWBs are great to heat homes with insulation levels that are high. The smoldering, visible smoke can also be a source of complaints from neighbors and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood with lower moisture content is needed to work effectively. The use of unseasoned or green wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote build up and can reduce the lifespan of the burner. A moisture meter can help you determine how long it takes for wood to dry.
In contrast dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) employ three steps of process that makes use of more available energy from the wood and results in much less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs, and can be used to fuel a wide range of fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry, seasoned wood. The majority of wood will be seasoned within a year, but oak and other hardy species can take two or more years to fully mature. This is because they have less amount of water and a higher density. This lets them store heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise' website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great resources for homeowners to learn how to burn wood efficiently to reduce pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves are engineered to be environmentally friendly. Unlike indoor wood burners that produce significant smoke modern outdoor furnaces burn cleanly and without the production of excessive heat or carbon monoxide. They also require less wood to produce the same amount heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more tolerant of the moisture content of wood than wood burning stoves for indoor use. However outdoor wood burners should only be used with properly prepared or "cured" wood. Certain types of wood may take up to a full year. It is essential to utilize a moisture gauge to determine the amount of water of your wood before loading.
In second hand wood burner of operation, it is important to check the system regularly for the build-up of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney in the event that it is not cleaned regularly. It can be removed by pouring a creosote-removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the flue and chimney will help eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to attain 99% efficiency in combustion. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces employ this technology to pull air from the bottom, forcing all gasses through an insulated water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber that is easy to clean turbulators for a smokeless & pollution-free combustion.