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 not renewable and help in implementing a sustainable energy strategy.
A well-seasoned wood is vital for efficient burning. Wood that is not seasoned or green may have a higher moisture content which can cause creosote to accumulate and slow down performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for many years and provide an energy efficient and environmentally friendly method to heat your home. The typical design of OWBs encourages the slowing of the fire, making it cooler which results in less efficient combustion, and more smoke and creosote. Unburned fuels can lead to health problems, fire hazards, and cause harm to the environment around it.
Additionally, the visible plume of smoke produced by OWBs can make neighbors angry and lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement actions. This kind of issue could negatively impact the value of your property and could lead to your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a line of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces called the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to increase the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smokeless burning. This is accomplished by using an air system that is negative pressure that pulls fresh hot, dry and filtered air from the bottom of the boiler and then pushes it out of the chimney at a much higher rate than conventional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by a unique design that utilizes an encapsulated, multi-pass heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
Properly utilized properly, When properly used, the Pristine Series OWB has a 99% combustion rate for a smoke-free and cleaner fire. It consumes less wood and produces significantly fewer emission than traditional OWBs. To maximize the performance of your OWB it is essential to only burn dry, clean, seasoned wood. It is recommended that you get your wood seasoned for six months or one year before burning it. This will result in an efficient and clean burn.
You can boost the efficiency of your wood-burning stove through each week a "dry burn". This technique eliminates creosote buildup, keeps your boiler efficient and extends its lifespan. Additionally by adding a creosote removal stick every time you fill your stove, you can drastically cut the amount of creosote used. The product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles that are left behind after burning wood can make a stove look very dirty. They are difficult to clean so make sure you clean any buildup on your stove's glass immediately. Any soot that is not eliminated will harden and make it more difficult to remove. Using the right cleaning products for the job is essential and you should also make sure you're not damaging the glass's surface with anything that could scratch it. This could lead to an area of weakness that could shatter glass when exposed high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood stove, it is important to ensure that it is unlit and completely cool. Also, be sure that the area around it is covered with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from spreading and staining surfaces.
It could take up to one year for the seasoning process of your stove to be complete, based on the quality of wood you use. The wood that has been seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but will also produce less creosote. This is the kind of material that accumulates on your fireplace, decreasing its efficiency and creating an opportunity for fire hazards. 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 the lower back door and scoop ashes out into a non-combustible bin every week.
It is also recommended to perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at a minimum every four years. It is a simple flush of five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any sediment that has built up inside the system, and will ensure that your boiler is in good operating condition.
After you have cleaned the outside of your outdoor fireplace, it is time to clean it. Before you begin, it's important to cover the stove's perimeter with newspaper. Wearing protective eyewear and gloves is also a good idea. You should also have a metal ash container as well as a scraping tool and shovel. You can use a cloth as an insulator to shield the refractory from damage while you take off coal and ash deposits.
Easy 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 among the "it" trends of the 1990s, along with hairstyles with mullets. Unlike their cousin the EPA's popular wood stoves that are designed to burn at low, constant temperatures, these units use a higher fire rate and emit more smoke when operating. This is the reason why local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.
OWBs are ideal for heating homes with insulation levels that are high. Smoke that is thick and smoldering can also be a nuisance for neighbors, resulting in many OWBs to be shut down or sued. For OWBs dry wood that has less moisture content is required to work properly. Using green or unseasoned wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote accumulation and can reduce the lifespan 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) make use of a three step process that uses more of the available energy in the wood, resulting in a lesser amount of smoke. These types of furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used with a wider range of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry, seasoned wood. The majority of wood will be seasoned within a year, however oak and other hardy species may take two or more years to fully season. They are less watery and have a denser mass. This allows them to hold heat for longer, increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise' website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to learn how to burn corner wood burning stove efficiently to minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor second hand wood burner stoves are engineered to be eco-friendly. Contrary to indoor wood Burning stove wood stoves that generate significant smoke, modern wood burning stove outdoor furnaces burn cleanly and without the creation of excessive heat or carbon monoxide. They also require less wood to generate the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more tolerant of wood moisture content than indoor wood burning stoves. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or seasoned. Certain types of wood may last for up to a year. It is essential to make use of a moisture meter to measure the amount of water of your wood before loading.
In the course of operation, it is important to periodically inspect the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote is an byproduct of combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney in the event that it is not cleaned frequently. It can be removed by pouring a creosote-removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue can remove harmful creosote and increase efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technique called Negative Pressure Gasification to attain 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is utilized in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to pull air up from the bottom and force all the gases through an enclosed secondary combustion chamber that is that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean turbines. The result is a smokeless, pollutant free burn.