What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are a cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also help to reduce dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.
A well-seasoned wood is vital for efficient burning. Wood that is not seasoned or green may contain more moisture that can cause creosote to accumulate and decrease performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for many years. They are a cost-effective and eco-friendly method to heat your home. The typical design of OWBs encourages a slower, cooler fire which results in less efficient combustion and a higher amount of smoke and creosote. Unburned fuels can lead to health problems as well as fire hazards and cause harm to the environment around it.
Additionally, the visible smoke puffs that OWBs produce can cause neighbors to complain. This may result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) taking enforcement action. This kind of problem can affect the value of your property, and may lead to your OWB being closed down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a line of EPA Certified outdoor
wood heater stove furnaces that are referred to as the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to boost the efficiency of combustion to ensure a smokeless, clean burn. This is done through a negative pressure air system which pulls in fresh dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom, and then pushes it out through the chimney faster than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by the unique design of a multi-pass, water filled heat exchanger made from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When properly used correctly, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can achieve an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner, smokeless fire that consumes less wood and produces significantly less carbon dioxide than traditional OWBs. To enhance your OWB's performance it is crucial to burn dry, clean, seasoned wood. Seasoning your wood for six months or more prior to burning is recommended. This will ensure a more efficient, more energy efficient burn.
In addition to improving the performance of your wood burner it is also possible to increase its efficiency by performing an "dry burn" every week. This method helps to eliminate creosote build up, keeps your boiler running efficiently and increases its life span. By affixing a creosote-removing stick to your stove each time you fill it up, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote that you need to use. This product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
A wood burning stove can be extremely dirty due to burned soot particles. They are difficult to get rid of so make sure you clean any buildup that may be on the glass of your stove immediately. In the event that the soot is not removed, it will become harder and more difficult to get rid of. Using the right cleaning products for the job is essential, but also be 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 to high temperatures.
Make sure you allow your wood burner to cool completely before cleaning it. Also, make sure that the surrounding area is covered with newspaper. This will stop the ash from leaking and staining surfaces.
It could take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be completed, based on the quality of wood you select. Wood that is properly seasoned will not only burn better, but will create less creosote. This is the material which builds up on your fireplace, decreasing its effectiveness and creating the potential for a fire hazard. If you're using unseasoned wood, or just starting a fire in your outdoor fireplace, it's best to 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 least once every four years. This is a quick five-second flush from the drain valve of your boiler. This will eliminate any sediment that has built up within the system and help ensure that your boiler is in good functioning condition.
After you have cleaned the
outside wood burners of your fireplace that is
Outside Wood Burners, it is time to clean it. Before beginning, it is essential to cover the floor around the stove with newspaper. Wearing protective eyewear and gloves is an excellent idea. Also, you should have a shovel, a metal container for ash and a scraping tool. You can use a cloth for an insulator to protect the refractory while you take off coal and ash deposits.
Easy to Operate
Outdoor wood boilers (also known as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heating systems or outdoor wood heaters) are often misunderstood, despite their acclaim. They were among the "it" trends of the 1990s, as were hairstyles for mullets. They're different from the popular EPA wood
woodburning stoves, which are built to burn at low temperatures and continuously. They are able to produce a higher rate of fire and produce more smoke. This is why a few local governments regulate or ban their use.
OWBs are best suited to homes with high levels of insulation. Smoke that is thick and smoldering could be a nuisance to neighbors, which has led many OWBs to be shut down or even sued. For OWBs dry wood with lower moisture content is needed to perform effectively. Utilizing unseasoned or green wood decreases efficiency, causes creosote build up and can shorten the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time and the use of a moisture gauge is essential for every homeowner.
In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) employ three steps that makes use of more available energy in the wood and results in a lesser amount of smoke. These kinds of furnaces are much more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used with a greater range of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry, seasoned wood. Most wood will season within a year, however oak and other hardy species can require two years or more to fully season. This is because they have less amount of water and a higher density. This allows them to retain heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise' website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to learn how to efficiently burn wood in order minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor
large wood burner furnaces are designed with the environment in mind. Unlike indoor wood burners that generate significant smoke modern outdoor furnaces burn efficiently and without the creation 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 accepting of the moisture content of wood than wood burning stoves that are indoor. However outdoor wood burners should only be used with properly prepared or "cured" wood. It can take a year or more for certain kinds of wood. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to check the amount of water present in the wood.
During operation it is important to inspect the system periodically to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct from combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney in the event that it is not cleaned regularly. 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 technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to achieve 99% combustion efficiency.