What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burning stoves can be an efficient and cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also reduce the dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and aid in a sustainable energy strategy.
For efficient burning, it is important to use seasoned wood. Wood that is not seasoned or green may contain more moisture, which can create creosote and reduce performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for many years. They are a cost-effective and green method to heat your home. However, the typical design of OWBs, which promotes an unsteady, cooler fire that causes less combustion and a higher amount of smoke, creosote, and particulates. These unburned fuels can cause health problems and fire hazards. They also degrade the environment.
Furthermore the visible smoke plume produced by OWBs could cause neighbors to voice their concerns and result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement action. This type of public relations issue could be a significant impact on the value of your property and may even lead to your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves has a range of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series uses technology to maximize combustion efficiency and provide smokeless, clean burning. wood burner Fireplaces & Stoves is accomplished by using a negative pressure air system that pulls fresh, dry, hot and filtered air from the bottom of the boiler and pushes it out through the chimney at a much greater rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is achieved through an innovative design that makes use of an encapsulated, multi-pass heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When properly used, the Pristine Series OWB achieves an 99% efficiency in combustion for a cleaner and smokeless fire. It uses less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. It is important to use clean, seasoned and dry wood to increase the performance of your OWB. The process of preparing your wood for 6 months or more prior to burning is recommended and will ensure a more efficient, more energy efficient burn.
In addition to improving the efficiency of your wood stove, you can also improve its efficiency by executing the "dry burn" every week. This method reduces creosote, increases boiler efficiency and extends the lifespan of your boiler. By affixing a creosote-removing stick to your stove each time you fill it, you can dramatically reduce the amount of creosote you need to 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 clean and therefore, you must remove any buildup from your stove's glass immediately. In the event that the soot is not removed, it will harden and be even more difficult to remove. It is crucial to select the right cleaners however, you must be careful not to scratch the glass by using anything that can scratch it. This could cause 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 unlit and completely cool. Make sure you cover the area surrounding it with newspaper. This will stop the ash from leaking and staining surfaces.
It could take as long as one year for the seasoning of your stove to be complete, based on the quality of the wood you choose to use. The wood that is seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the material that builds up on your chimney, reducing efficiency and posing a fire hazard. If you're using unseasoned wood, or just starting an outdoor fire fireplace, it's best to open the lower backdoor, and scoop out the ashes into a non-combustible container each week.
You should also do a sediment flush on your boiler at least once every four years. This is a quick five-second flush from the bottom drain valve of your boiler. This will eliminate any sediments that have built in the system and keep your boiler working efficiently.
Once you have done the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's important to cover the area around the stove with newspaper. Wearing protective gloves and eyewear is an excellent idea. Also, you should have an ash container, a shovel container for ash, and an instrument for scraping. You can make use of a cloth as an insulator to shield the refractory from damage while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Easy to Operate
Outdoor wood boilers (also called outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heating systems or outdoor wood heaters) are often misunderstood in spite of their popularity. They were among the "it" trends of the 1990s, along with hairstyles for mullets. They're not like the popular EPA wood stoves, which are made to burn at low temperatures and run continuously. They are able to produce more burning and generate more smoke. Some local governments limit or prohibit their use.
OWBs work best for homes with high levels of insulation. The visible, smoldering smoke can also be a source of complaint with neighbors, and has led to many OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. To allow OWBs to operate properly they must be used with dry wood with low moisture content. Using green or unseasoned wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote accumulation and can cut down the life of the burner. A moisture meter will help you to determine how long it takes for wood to dry.
In contrast dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) make use of three steps of process which makes use of the available energy in the wood and results in a lesser amount of smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs, and can be used for a wide range of fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry and well-seasoned firewood. The majority of wood will season within one year. Oak and other hardy trees may take up to two years to mature. This is due to lower water content and denser mass. This allows them to hold heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners understand how to burn wood efficiently to minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves are engineered to be environmentally friendly. In contrast to indoor wood burners which produce significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn efficiently and without the release of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also use less wood to produce the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.
Outdoor wood burners require less maintenance and are more tolerant of moisture content in wood than wood burning stoves for indoor use. However outdoor wood burners should only be used with properly treated or "cured" wood. Some types of wood can last for up to a year. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to measure the amount of water present in the wood.
When the system is in operation, it is important to regularly check the system for the build-up of creosote. Creosote, a by-product of combustion, can accumulate in the flue and chimney when they are not cleaned regularly. It can be removed with a creosote removal solution that is poured into the flame. Regularly cleaning the chimney and flue will eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations and improve efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technique called Negative Pressure Gasification to ensure 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is used in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air upwards from the bottom and push all gases through an sealed secondary combustion chamber, that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean Turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollution-free burn.