What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are a cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also reduce the need for fossil fuels that are not renewable and contribute towards a resilient energy strategy.
For efficient burning for efficient burning, it is crucial to use seasoned wood. Green or unseasoned wood may have a higher moisture content, which can cause creosote to accumulate and slow down performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for a long time. They are an energy-efficient and green method to heat your home. The design of OWBs promotes a slower, cooler fire which results in less efficient combustion and more smoke and creosote. These unburnt fuels can cause health issues as well as fire hazards and cause harm to the environment around it.
Moreover the visible smoke plume OWBs produce can make neighbors complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) and taking enforcement actions. This kind of public relations issue could be a significant impact on the value of your property and may even result in your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves has a line of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series utilizes technology to maximize combustion efficiency and create smokeless, clean burning. This is done with a negative-pressure air system that draws fresh, dry, heated, filtered air from the bottom, and then pushes it out through the chimney faster than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is achieved by an innovative design that utilizes an incredibly efficient multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger made from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
Properly utilized properly, when properly used, the Pristine Series OWB has an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner and smoke-free fire. It consumes less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To enhance your OWB's performance it is crucial to burn only clean, seasoned, dry wood. Seasoning your wood for 6 months or more prior to burning is recommended. It helps ensure a better, more energy efficient burn.
You can increase the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by executing every week a "dry burn". This method reduces creosote which improves boiler efficiency and prolongs the life of your boiler. Lastly, by adding a creosote removal stick each time you load your stove, you will be able to significantly reduce the amount creosote you use. This product is available at Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove could be extremely dirty due to burned soot particles. These are very hard to move, so if you see any spots of buildup on the glass of your stove, clean them right away. If not, the soot will begin to get harder and become more difficult to remove. Using the right cleaning products for the job is vital and you should also make sure you're not damaging the glass's surface with anything that might scratch it. This could cause an area of weakness that could shatter glass when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Make sure in the know let your wood burner cool completely before cleaning it. Also, be sure that the surrounding area is covered with newspaper. This will prevent any spillage of ash which can stain and mark surfaces.
It could take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be completed, based on the quality of the wood you select. Seasoned wood will not only burn better and last longer, but it will also produce less creosote. This is the material that builds up on your chimney, reducing effectiveness and creating the risk of fire. If you're using wood that's not seasoned, or just starting an outdoor fire fireplace, you should open the lower backdoor and scoop out all the ashes into a nonflammable container each week.
A sediment flush should be carried out on your boiler every four years. This is a straightforward flush of five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will get rid of any debris that has accumulated inside the system and ensure that your boiler is in good operating 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 floor surrounding the stove with newspaper. It is also beneficial to wear gloves and protective eyewear. You should also have an ash container, a shovel container for ash, and a scraping tool. To protect the refractory you need to lay down a piece of cloth to protect it from damage as you scrape away ash and coal 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 frequently misunderstood. They are not like the popular EPA wood stoves, which are made to burn low temperatures and run continuously. They are able to produce an increased rate of burning and generate more smoke. Some local governments limit or prohibit their use.
OWBs are best suited to homes with a high level of insulation. The visible, smoldering smoke can also be a source of complaints from neighbors and has resulted in many OWBs being shut down or being sued in the past. In order for OWBs to function properly, they must be used with dry wood that has a low moisture content. Utilizing unseasoned or green wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote accumulation and can cut down the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time, and the use of a moisture gauge is a must for any homeowner.
In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) make use of a three step process that uses more of the available energy in the wood, resulting in much less smoke. These kinds of furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used with a larger variety of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry and seasoned firewood. The majority of wood will season over the course of a year. Oak and other tough trees may take as long as two years. This is due to less volume of water and a greater density. This lets them store heat longer, thus increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to learn how to burn wood efficiently to minimize air pollution.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are constructed with the environment in mind. Contrary to indoor wood stoves that produce significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn cleanly without the creation of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also require less wood to generate the same amount heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners also require less maintenance than indoor wood burners and are more accommodating in regards 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 certain kinds of wood. Make use of a moisture meter prior to loading to measure the amount of water present in your wood.
In the course of operation, it is crucial to check the system regularly to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of combustion that can build up in the flue and chimney if it is not cleaned regularly. It can be removed by pouring a creosote removing product into the fire. Regularly cleaning the flue and chimney will help eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations and improve efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to achieve 99% combustion efficiency. This technology is used in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to pull air up from the bottom and push all the gases through an sealed secondary combustion chamber, that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean turbines. The result is a smokeless and pollution-free combustion.