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 the need for fossil fuels that are non-renewable and contribute towards a resilient energy strategy.
For efficient burning it is essential to use wood that has been well-seasoned. Unseasoned or green wood can have a higher moisture content which can create creosote and decrease performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been around for many years. They are an energy efficient and eco-friendly method to heat your home. The typical design of OWBs favors an older, cooler fire which results in poorer combustion and a higher amount of smoke and creosote. Unburned fuels can lead to health problems as well as fire hazards, and can also harm the environment.
Furthermore, the visible smoke plume that OWBs emit can make neighbors angry and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement action. This type of public relations issue can cause serious damage to the value of your property and could even result in 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 maximize combustion efficiency for a clean, smokeless combustion. This is achieved by using a negative-pressure air system that pulls fresh, dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom and then pushes it up the chimney much faster 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.
When properly used when properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Series OWB can achieve an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner and smokeless fire. It uses less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To maximize the effectiveness of your OWB it is crucial to only burn dry, clean, and seasoned wood. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or a year prior to burning is recommended. It will ensure a more efficient energy efficient and 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 extends the life of your boiler. Lastly by putting in a creosote removal stick each time you fill your stove, you will be able to dramatically reduce the amount of creosote you use. This product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood-burning stove can be very dirty due to burnt soot particles. They are difficult to get rid of so make sure you clean any buildup on the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. Soot that is not removed will become hard and make it more difficult to remove. It's important to use the right cleaners however, you should avoid damaging the glass surface with anything that may scratch it. This could result in an area of weakness that could shatter glass when exposed extreme temperatures.
Be sure to allow your wood burner to cool completely before cleaning it. Be sure that you cover the area surrounding it with newspaper. This will stop any spillage of ash which can stain and mark surfaces.
Depending on the quality of the wood that you choose to use, it could take up to an entire year for your stove to get properly seasoned. Seasoned wood will not only burn better and will produce less creosote. second hand wood burner is the material which accumulates on your fireplace, reducing its efficiency and posing the potential for a fire hazard. If you're using wood that's not seasoned or you're just starting an outdoor fire fireplace, you should open the lower backdoor, and scoop out the ashes into a non-combustible container each week.
You should also perform a sediment flush on your boiler at a minimum every four years. This is a simple flush that takes five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will get rid of any accumulation of sediment inside the system, and will keep your boiler in top functioning condition.
Once you have done the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the outside of your outdoor wood burner. 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 ash canister made of metal, a scraping tool and shovel. To safeguard the refractory, you need to lay a cloth on it to shield it as you scrape away ash and coal deposits.
Easy to Operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, together with mullet hairstyles) outdoor wood boilers, also referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are still often misunderstood. In contrast to their EPA-approved counterparts, popular wood stoves which are designed to burn at constant, low temperatures, these units use a higher fire rate and emit 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, dense visible smoke is also a source of complaint with neighbors and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood that has lower moisture content is required to work properly. Unseasoned or green wood can decrease efficiency, cause creosote to build up and decrease the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time, and the use of a moisture gauge is a must for any homeowner.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers are, on the other hand utilize a three-step process which makes use of the energy contained in the wood. This means less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs and can be used to fuel various fuels. Wood gasification boilers need dry and seasoned wood. The majority of wood will be seasoned within a year, but oak and other hardy species can require two years or more to fully mature. This is due to a lower water content and denser mass. This allows them retain heat for longer, 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 in order minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces are constructed with the environment in mind. Modern outdoor wood furnaces do not produce excessive CO2 or heat. They also burn cleaner than indoor wood stoves. They also require less wood to generate the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more accepting of wood moisture content than wood burning stoves for indoor use. However outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly treated or "cured" wood. This can take a year or more for some types of wood. It is crucial to make use of a moisture meter to check the water content of your wood before loading.
In the course of operation, it is essential to periodically inspect the system for the build-up of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of combustion that can build up in the flue and chimney if it is not cleaned on a regular basis. It can be removed with a special creosote removal product that is poured into the fire. Regularly cleaning the chimney and flue will eliminate dangerous creosote buildup and improve efficiency.
In order to attain 99% efficiency in combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed an innovative air flow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification. This technology is utilized in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air upwards from the bottom and push all the gases through an insulated secondary combustion chamber that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollution-free burning.