What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners

Outdoor wood burning stoves are a cost-effective way to heat homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable and help in implementing a sustainable energy strategy.

For efficient combustion it is essential to use wood that has been well-seasoned. Wood that is not seasoned or green may have a higher moisture content that can cause creosote to build up and decrease performance.


Efficient

Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for years and offer a very eco-friendly and energy efficient way to heat your home. However, the typical design of OWBs, which encourages the slow and cooler burning, results in poor combustion and more smoke, creosote and particulates. These unburned fuels could lead to health problems and fire hazards. They also degrade the environment.

Moreover, the visible smoke plume that OWBs emit can cause neighbors to complain and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement actions. This kind of public relations issue could have a serious impact on the value of your property and may result in your OWB being shut down.

Crown Royal Stoves offers a range of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces called the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to boost the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smoke-free burn. This is achieved by using an air system that is negative pressure that pulls fresh hot, dry and filtered air from the bottom of the boiler and pushes it back out through the chimney at a more rapid rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished through a unique design which uses a multi-pass water filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.

When used properly, when properly used, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can reach a 99% combustion efficiency for a cleaner, smokeless fire that consumes less wood and generates significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To maximize the performance of your OWB, it is important to burn dry, clean, seasoned wood. It is recommended that you season your wood for six months or one year prior to burning it. This will result in the most efficient and clean burn.

You can boost the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by executing a weekly "dry burn". This method lowers the amount of creosote in your home which improves boiler efficiency and extends the lifespan of your boiler. By adding a creosote-removing stick to your stove each time you fill it up, you can dramatically reduce the amount of creosote that you need to use. This product is available at Wisconsin Wood Furnace.

Clean

A wood-burning stove could become very dirty from burnt soot particles. They are extremely difficult to move If you notice any spots of soot build-up on the glass of your stove, you must clean them as soon as you notice them. Any soot that is not eliminated will begin to harden and make it more difficult to remove. Using the right cleaning products for the job is crucial and you should also make sure you're not damaging the glass's surface with anything that might scratch it. This could result in 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 not lit and completely cool. Also, make sure that the surrounding area 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 choose to use. The wood that is properly seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but will also produce less creosote. This is the kind of material that gets accumulated on your chimney, decreasing its efficiency and creating an hazard for fire. If you're using unseasoned wood or are just beginning a fire in your outdoor fireplace, you should open the lower backdoor and scoop out all the ashes into a nonflammable container every week.

A sediment flush is recommended on your boiler every four years. This is a straightforward flush that takes five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will eliminate any sediment that has built up inside the system, and will keep your boiler in top working condition.

After you've completed the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the outside of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's important to cover the stove's perimeter with newspaper. It is also helpful to wear gloves and protective eyewear. Also, you should have a metal ash canister as well as a scraping tool and a shovel. To protect the refractory you should lay a cloth on it to protect it while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.

Simple to Operate

Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, together with mullet hairstyles) outdoor wood boilers, referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters, are frequently misunderstood. These units are different from the popular EPA wood stoves, which are made to burn at low temperatures continuously. They are able to produce more fire and generate more smoke. This is the reason why local governments regulate or even ban their use.

OWBs are great for heating homes with a high insulation level. Smoke that is dense and smoldering could be a nuisance to neighbors, resulting in many OWBs to be shut down or sued. To ensure that OWBs to function properly, they should be operated with dry wood that has a low moisture content. Using green or unseasoned wood reduces efficiency, leads to creosote to build up and may shorten the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time and an instrument to measure moisture 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 from the wood and results in less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used to fuel a wide range of fuels. Wood gasification boilers need dry, seasoned wood. The majority of wood will season over the course of one year. Oak and other tough trees could take as long as two years to mature. This is because they have lower water content and denser mass. This allows them to retain heat for longer, thereby increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to learn how to efficiently burn wood to reduce air pollution.

Low Maintenance

Modern outdoor wood stoves are designed to be environmentally friendly. Modern outdoor wood furnaces do not emit excessive heat or CO2. They also burn more efficiently 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 than indoor wood burner s and are more accommodating in regards to the moisture content of the wood. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or seasoned. Certain types of wood may take up to a year. Make use of a moisture meter prior to loading to determine the amount of water present in the wood.

In the course of operation, it is essential to check the system regularly for creosote build up. Creosote is a byproduct from combustion that can build up in the flue and chimney in the event that it is not cleaned on a regular basis. It can be eliminated by pouring a creosote-removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue will remove dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.

In order to attain 99% efficiency in combustion, Crown Royal Stoves designed a brand new air flow technique known as Negative Pressure Gasification. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces employ this technology to pull air from the bottom, pushing all gasses through an insulated, water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber with easy-clean turbulators for a smokeless & pollution free burn.