What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are an affordable way to heat homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on nonrenewable fossils fuels and contribute towards a resilient energy strategy.
Well-seasoned wood is essential for efficient burning. Wood that is not seasoned or green may contain more moisture which can cause creosote to accumulate and decrease performance.
Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been in use for a long time. They are an energy-efficient and eco-friendly method of heating your home. The design of OWBs encourages the slowing of the fire, making it cooler which leads to less efficient combustion and more smoke and creosote. These unburned fuels could cause health issues, fire hazards, and cause harm to the environment around it.
Moreover the visible plume of smoke that OWBs emit could cause neighbors to voice their concerns and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement actions. This type of issue can negatively impact the value of your property, and may result in your OWB being closed.
Crown Royal Stoves has a range of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series utilizes technology to improve the efficiency of combustion and provide smokeless, clean burning. This is achieved by using a negative pressure air system that pulls fresh, dry, hot clean air in from the bottom of the boiler and pushes it out through the chimney at a greater rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by the unique design of an encapsulated, multi-pass heat exchanger constructed from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
When properly used correctly, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can achieve a 99% combustion efficiency for a cleaner, smokeless fire that uses less wood and generates significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. It is important to burn clean, seasoned and dry wood to increase the performance of your OWB. It is recommended that you season your wood for a minimum of six months or one year prior to burning it. This will result in a more efficient and cleaner burn.
You can improve the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by performing every week a "dry burn". This method lowers the amount of creosote in your home 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, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote you use. This product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.
Clean
The soot particles that are left on the stove after burning wood may make a stove appear very dirty. They are extremely difficult to shift so if you notice any spots of buildup on the glass of your stove, wash them immediately. In the event that the soot is not removed, it will harden and be even more difficult to get rid of. Using the correct cleaners for the job is essential and you should also make sure you're not damaging the glass's surface by using anything that could scratch it. This could leave a weak spot that could break the glass if it's exposed to extreme temperatures.
Make sure you let your wood burner cool completely before cleaning it. Also, be sure that the area around it is covered with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from spreading and staining surfaces.
Based on the quality of the wood that you select, it can take up to a year for your stove to become properly well-seasoned. Seasoned wood will not only burn more efficiently and will produce less creosote. This is the substance that builds up on your chimney, which reduces effectiveness and creating the risk of fire. If you're using unseasoned wood, or just starting a fire in your outdoor fireplace, you should open the lower backdoor and scoop the all the ashes into a nonflammable container each week.
A sediment flush should be performed on your boiler every four years. It is a simple flush that takes five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will remove any accumulation of sediment inside the system and keep your boiler in top working condition.
Once you've completed the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before starting, it's crucial to cover the floor around the stove with newspaper. It is also beneficial to wear protective eyewear and gloves. Also, woodburning fireplace should have a metal ash canister, a scraping tool and a shovel. You can use a cloth for an insulator to protect the refractory as you remove ash and coal deposits.
Simple to Operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, along with mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, also known as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are frequently misunderstood. Contrary to the EPA's popular wood stoves which are designed to burn at low, constant temperatures, these units use a higher fire rate and generate more smoke when operating. This is why some local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.
OWBs work best in homes with a high level of insulation. Smoke that is thick and smoldering could be a nuisance to neighbors, which has led many OWBs to be shut down or sued. In order for OWBs to operate properly they must be used with dry wood that has low moisture content. Wood that is not seasoned or green can reduce efficiency, cause creosote build-up and decrease the life of the burner. Drying wood can take time and a moisture meter is essential for every homeowner.
In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) employ a three step process that uses more of the available energy in the wood, resulting in much less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs and are suitable for various fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry well-seasoned wood. The majority of wood will be seasoned within a year, however oak and other species with a hardy structure may take two or more years to fully season. They are less watery and have a denser mass. This allows them to retain heat longer, increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners learn more about burning wood efficiently to minimize air pollution.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood stoves have been designed to be environmentally friendly. Modern outdoor wood furnaces do not emit excessive CO2 or heat. They also burn cleaner than indoor wood stoves. They also require less wood to produce 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. Outdoor wood burners are suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or seasoned. Certain types of wood may last for up to a year. Use a moisture meter before loading to measure the amount of water in your wood.
In the course of operation, it is necessary to periodically inspect the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote is an byproduct of combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney when it is not cleaned on a regular basis. It can be removed using the use of a special creosote remover that is poured into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue can remove harmful creosote and improve efficiency.
To achieve 99% combustion efficiency, 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 pull air up from the bottom and force all gases through an sealed secondary combustion chamber, surrounded by water with easy-to-clean Turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollution-free burn.