What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners

Outdoor wood burning stoves are a cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable and contribute towards a resilient energy strategy.

Well-seasoned wood is essential for efficient burning. Green or unseasoned wood may contain more moisture, which can create creosote and slow down performance.

Efficient

Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for a long time and are an extremely energy efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat your home. However, the typical design of OWBs that encourages a slow, cooler fire that results in poor combustion and more smoke, creosote and particulates. Unburned fuels can lead to health problems as well as fire hazards and deteriorate the surrounding environment.

Additionally, the visible smoke plume OWBs generate can cause neighbors to complain. This could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) taking enforcement action. This type of public relations issue could be a significant impact on the value of your property and could 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 makes use of technology to increase the efficiency of combustion and produce smokeless, clean burning. This is achieved by using a negative-pressure air system that draws in fresh, dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom, and then pushes it out through the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished through an innovative design that utilizes a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger constructed of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.

If properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Series OWB can achieve a 99% combustion rate for a cleaner and smoke-free fire. It requires less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To enhance the effectiveness of your OWB, it is important to only burn dry, clean, and seasoned wood. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or more prior to burning is recommended. This helps ensure a better and more efficient burn.

In addition to improving the efficiency of your wood burner, you can also improve the efficiency of your wood burner by performing a "dry burn" every week. This technique reduces creosote which increases the efficiency of boilers and extends the lifespan of your boiler. By affixing a creosote-removing stick to your stove every time you fill it up, you can dramatically reduce the amount of creosote that you use. This product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.

Clean

The soot particles left behind after burning wood can make a stove appear very dirty. They are difficult to clean and therefore, you must clean any buildup on the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. Otherwise the soot will become harder and more difficult to get rid of. Using the correct cleaners for the job is crucial and you should also make sure you're not damaging the surface of the glass with anything that might scratch it. This could result in a weak spot that can shatter glass when exposed high temperatures.

Before you begin cleaning your wood burner, you should make sure that it is not lit and completely cool. Also, be sure that the area around it is covered with newspaper. This will stop any ash spillage that could stain and mark surfaces.

It could take as long as one year for the seasoning of your stove to be complete, depending on the quality of wood you use. The wood that is properly seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the material that builds up on your chimney, decreasing its effectiveness and creating a fire hazard. If you're using wood that's not seasoned, or just starting an outdoor fire fireplace, it's recommended to open the lower backdoor and scoop the ashes into a noncombustible container every week.

It is also recommended to perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at least once every four years. This involves a simple five-second flush from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any debris that has accumulated inside the system, and will keep your boiler in great operating condition.

After you have cleaned the outside of your woodburning fireplace that is outside It is now time to clean it. Before you begin, it's crucial to cover the floor around the stove with newspaper. It is also helpful to wear gloves and protective eyewear. You should also have a shovel, a metal ash container and a scraping tool. To safeguard the refractory, you need to lay down a cloth to protect it while 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 small wood burning stove 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 a higher fire rate and produce more smoke when operating. Some local governments restrict or ban their use.

OWBs are best used to heat homes with insulation levels that are high. The visible, smoldering smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors and has resulted in many OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. To allow OWBs to function properly, they must be operated using dry wood that has a low moisture content. Using green or unseasoned wood can reduce efficiency, cause creosote to build up and may reduce the lifespan of the burner. A moisture meter can help you determine the time it takes for wood to dry.

In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) utilize a three step process which makes use of the available energy in the wood and results in a lesser amount of smoke. These kinds of furnaces are much more efficient than traditional OWBs and can be used with a greater variety of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry, seasoned firewood. The majority of wood will season within one year. Oak and other hardy trees may take as long as two years to mature. This is because they have a lower volume of water and a greater density. This lets them store heat longer, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise' website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to understand how to burn wood efficiently to reduce air pollution.

Low Maintenance

Modern outdoor wood furnaces are designed with the environment in mind. In contrast to indoor wood burners which generate significant smoke Modern outdoor furnaces burn cleanly and without the release of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also require less wood to generate the same amount heat as traditional stoves.

Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more tolerant of the moisture content of wood than indoor Wood Burning Stoves (emseyi.com). However, outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly seasoned or "cured" wood. Some types of wood can take up to a full year. It is important to utilize a moisture gauge to determine the amount of water of your wood prior to loading.

When operating, it is essential to check the system regularly to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote, a by-product of combustion, can build up in the flue and chimney when they are not cleaned regularly. It can be removed by pouring a creosote removal product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the flue and chimney will remove dangerous creosote and increase efficiency.

In order to get 99% efficiency from combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed a brand new air flow technique called Negative Pressure Gasification. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces employ this technology to pull air from the bottom, forcing all the gasses into an insulated water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber with easy-clean turbines for a smokeless and pollutant-free combustion.