How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove

A woodburning stove can be a powerful and effective method of heating the home. It is crucial to maintain your woodburning stove to ensure it is operating at its best.

Tips: Choose seasoned wood that has a low content of moisture. This will let you burn the wood for longer and generate more heat powered stove fan.

State environmental agencies are wrestling with the problem of particulate air pollution from old wood burning stoves.

How They Work

As the name suggests, wood-burning stoves burn wood to generate heat. They do this by enclosing the fire within a metal and glass body, which also helps keep the temperature inside your home at an even level. It also serves as a barrier to prevent smoke from entering your living space.

Stoves control combustion by controlling the amount of oxygen they allow into the fire. This is accomplished through one or more controllable air vents that can be closed and opened to control the amount of oxygen flowing in to the fire.

Modern stoves employ catalytical or non-catalytical technology to control this. Catalytic stoves come with a catalytic convertor that is designed to reburn the gas that is produced during primary combustion so they don't escape the room. Non-catalytical stoves don't have the catalyser, and instead rely on secondary combustion inside the firebox to reduce emissions.

It is recommended to only burn firewood that is seasoned in your fireplace that burns wood. It should have a moisture level less than 20%, which allows the fire to burn effectively. This will reduce the amount of smoke and harmful pollutants that escape from the flue. It will also stop the glass of your stove from being stained by creosote. Creosote is the by-product of burning wood, and it will build up over time.

In addition to reducing emissions, seasoned wood can save you money on your heating bills by producing more heat from a given amount of fuel. This is because drier wood has a larger surface area, and thus produces more heat from a certain amount of fuel.

However, wood smoke can be harmful for everyone, especially older adults and children who have vulnerable lungs. It can also affect those with lung disorders such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you reside in a designated smoke control zone, make sure that your stove is properly maintained. It should also be installed with a chimney which meets the requirements of the local area.

Burning Wood

Wood-burning stoves are a safe and renewable source of heat. They can be used to keep your home warm during an power outage. They also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which can be detrimental to the environment, from fossil fuels like oil and gas.

Modern wood-burning stoves are more efficient than older models, and they are designed to prevent the accumulation of creosote. However, it is important to keep an eye on the combustion. Creosote can be a dangerous byproduct of a poorly burned fire and can block the chimney if left to accumulate, leading to lower efficiency and posing a fire risk. The use of seasoned wood can aid in keeping creosote levels low and can reduce the cost of logs, as well as helping avoid the need for professional cleaning services.

You can also select stoves that burn coal and wood, giving you a choice between carbon-neutral sources of energy. It is crucial to remember that coal is not a sustainable fuel, and there are some concerns about how it is mined.

It is recommended to use the Defra approved stove, and ideally one that is also Ecodesign ready, as they are in line with the latest emission regulations. The UK building regulations have specific requirements for how the flue is fitted and the size of the hearth and how far the stove can be from combustible materials and therefore it is always advisable to speak with one of our stove wood burning experts before purchasing a new stove.

Paper and other combustibles like garbage and paper should not be put in woodburning appliances. They can cause more pollution and, in the worst case an explosion in the chimney. At most, they can reduce the efficiency of the appliance. Other combustibles have less density than firewood and therefore produce less heat and produce more particles.

It is also crucial to only use seasoned, split and dried firewood because this will be more efficient in burning. Wet or damp wood creates more smoke and pollutants. It is also recommended to use a good quality stove pipe to ensure that the flue temperatures are high enough and that it is installed correctly.

Emissions

Woodburning stoves emit a myriad of gases and particles. They produce a large amount of fine particulate (PM2.5) which could be absorbed into the lungs, enter the bloodstream and possibly harm the heart, liver, and brain. They also produce carcinogenic substances like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Some even release toxic metals like arsenic and mercury, based on the fuel they're burning.

In the US There are a variety of attempts to regulate the amount of pollution woodburning stoves can produce with different degrees of success. In 1988 the Environmental Protection Agency established emission guidelines that limited how much pollution new stoves were allowed to release. Since the time, there have been two revisions to the regulations. The most recent one, in 2015 mandates that all stoves catalytic or non-catalytic emit not more than 4 grams of pollution each hour.

Although these rules were strict, they did cause a significant shake-up in the industry leading hundreds of smaller manufacturers to close up shop, they also spurred on an effort to design and build efficient and well-designed stoves that could last and capable of producing lower levels of emissions than traditional models. Stove designers analyzed and studied combustion air flows, baffles combustion chamber shapes, insulating materials, and recirculation systems in order to make their products better. They eventually succeeded.

The moisture content of the wood is a major factor in determining the emission. The more moisture content, the greater pollutants a stove will produce. The best way to reduce the emission levels is to using seasoned firewood which has been properly dried over a period of 6-8 months.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that a single woodburning stove, in the event of frequent use it can create particles as large as 15 diesel cars based on tests that aren't scientifically based comparing emissions-related PM2.5 only. However these studies don't take into consideration that approximately half of the car's particle pollution is caused by the engine, brakes and tyres rather than its exhaust.

Ten blue states are pushing on the EPA to review their carbon emissions as well as guidelines on air quality for wood-burning stoves. The attorney generals of New York, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, California, Alaska, Oregon and Vermont have announced plans to take on the EPA for continuing to allow high-emitting stoves to be installed in homes across the country.

Maintenance

While woodburning stoves can be extremely efficient in heating homes, they can be difficult to maintain. To ensure that your stove is clean and working properly, you will need to clean it frequently. A dirty stove can impact the health of those who use it and the amount of heat it produces. Cleaning the stove isn't the only maintenance task that needs to be done to keep it running smoothly.

It is easy to clean the exterior and interior of the stove. It is recommended to clean a stove on a weekly or biweekly basis based on the frequency it is used. It is recommended to remove ash from the firebox each time the stove has been used. Spread old newspaper on the floor and put on gloves prior to scooping out the ashes. Use a container made of metal instead of a bucket in order to avoid corrosion.

Maintaining the chimney and flue clean is also important. It is a good idea to employ a professional chimney sweep every year or once to thoroughly clean the chimney and stove. This will prevent creosote buildup and lower the risk of chimney fires.

A chimney should also be examined for creosote and cracks as well as bird nests, and other debris. A professional chimney sweep can fix these issues and restore an efficient and safe chimney.

Finally, the clear glass that is used on a wood-burning stove may become smudged and cloudy as soot builds up over time. A mixture of ammonia and water can be sprayed over the glass and then wiped with a cloth until clean. It is recommended to avoid scratching the glass since this could weaken it and shatter it when it gets hot.

If the paint on a woodburning fireplace begins to crack it can be easily repainted with a quality heat resistant paint. These paints are available at the majority of wood stove retailers and are available in a broad range of colors.