What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners can be a cost-effective solution for heating homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable and help in implementing a sustainable energy strategy.
Well-seasoned wood is essential for efficient burning. Unseasoned or wood burning fireplace can contain more moisture, which can cause creosote to accumulate and decrease performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been around for a long time. They are an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat your home. However, the standard design of OWBs that encourages a slow, cooler fire, causes poor combustion and more smoke, creosote, as well as particulates. These unburnt fuels can cause health issues as well as fire hazards and deteriorate the surrounding environment.
Additionally the visible smoke puffs that OWBs create can cause neighbors to complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation), taking enforcement action. This kind of problem can negatively impact the value of your property, and may lead to your OWB being closed.
Crown Royal Stoves has a line of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series uses technology to improve the efficiency of combustion and produce an unburned, clean and smoke-free. This is achieved through the negative pressure air system that pulls fresh, dry, hot clean air in from the bottom of the boiler, and pushes it back out through the chimney at a much greater rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished through a unique design that utilizes a multi-pass, water filled heat exchanger made from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When properly used, when used correctly, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can attain an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner, smokeless fire that requires less wood and generates significantly less carbon dioxide than traditional OWBs. It is important to burn dry, clean and seasoned wood in order to enhance the performance of your OWB. It is recommended to season your wood for a minimum of six months or one year before burning it. This will result in a more efficient and cleaner burn.
You can boost the efficiency of your wood-burning stove through a weekly "dry burn". This method eliminates creosote build up, keeps your boiler efficient and extends its lifespan. Additionally by adding a creosote-removing stick each when you load your stove, you will be able to significantly reduce the amount creosote used. This product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles that are left on the stove after burning wood may make a stove appear very dirty. These are very hard to move If you notice any areas of build up on the glass of your stove, you must clean them right away. Otherwise the soot will become harder and more difficult to remove. Using the correct cleaners for the job is crucial and you should also make sure you're not damaging the glass's surface with anything that could scratch it. This could leave a weak spot that could shatter the glass when it's exposed to high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood burner, it is important to ensure that it's not lit and completely cool. Make sure that you cover the area surrounding it with newspaper. This will stop the ash from spilling and staining surfaces.
It could take as long as one year for the seasoning process of your stove to be complete, based on the quality of the wood you choose to use. The wood that has been seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the material that gets accumulated on your chimney, which reduces efficiency and posing a fire hazard. If you're using unseasoned wood, or just starting 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 out the ashes into a non-combustible bin every week.
A sediment flush should be performed on your boiler every four years. This is a straightforward flush lasting five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will remove any accumulation of sediment inside the system, and will keep your boiler in top functioning condition.
After you have cleaned the exterior of your outdoor fireplace, it is time to clean it. Before you begin, it's essential to cover the floor around the stove with newspaper. Wearing protective eyewear and gloves is an excellent idea. Also, you should have a shovel, a metal ash container and scraping tools. You can make use of a cloth as a shield to shield the refractory from damage while you take off coal and ash deposits.
Easy to operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, along with mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, also known 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 heaters use more fire and generate more smoke when they operate. Certain local governments restrict or ban their use.
OWBs are best used to heat homes with high insulation levels. The smoldering, visible smoke can also be a source of complaint with neighbors, and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or being sued in the past. To allow OWBs to function properly, they must be used with dry wood that has low moisture content. Utilizing unseasoned or green wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote build up 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) employ three steps of process that makes use of more available energy in the wood, resulting in less smoke. These kinds of furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used with a greater variety of fuel. Wood gasification boilers need dry and seasoned wood. The majority of wood will mature over the course of one year. Oak and other hardy trees can take up to two years. This is due to a lower volume of water and a greater density. This allows them to retain heat longer, thus increasing efficiency and reduce pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise' website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to understand how to efficiently burn wood in order minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces have been designed with the environment in mind. Modern outdoor wood furnaces don't emit excessive heat or CO2. They also burn more efficiently than indoor wood stoves. They also use less wood to produce the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners also require less maintenance than indoor wood burners and are more forgiving when it comes to the moisture content of the wood. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or dried or. This could take a whole year or more for certain kinds of wood. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to determine the amount of water in the wood.
During operation, it is necessary to regularly check the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote, which is a byproduct of combustion, can accumulate in the chimney and flue if they aren't cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated using a special creosote removal product that is poured into the flame. Regularly cleaning the chimney and flue will help eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.
In order to attain 99% efficiency in combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed an innovative air flow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification. 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 that is easy to clean Turbulators to ensure a smoke-free and pollutant-free burn.