How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove

A wood-burning stove is a reliable and efficient method of heating the home. It is important to maintain your woodburning appliance to ensure that it performs at its peak.

Tips: Choose wood that is seasoned with a low amount of moisture. This will allow for longer burn time and a higher heat output.

State environmental agencies are wrestling with how to address the issue of particulate air pollution from old wood burning stoves.

How They Work

As the name implies, woodburning stoves burn wood to generate heat. They accomplish this by enclosing the fire inside a steel and glass body. This also helps to keep the temperature inside your home at an even level. It also serves as a barrier to smoke from entering your living space.

Stoves regulate combustion by regulating the amount of oxygen that they let into the fire. This is done via one or more controllable air vents that can be closed and opened to control the amount oxygen flowing in to the fire.

Modern stoves utilize catalytical or non-catalytical technology to regulate this. Catalytic stoves are equipped with an catalytic convertor designed to reburn the gas that is produced during primary combustion, so they do not escape from the room. Non-catalytic stoves, on other hand, do not have a catalyst and rely solely on secondary combustion to occur inside the firebox to reduce emissions.

It is recommended that you only use seasoned wood in your woodburning stove. This means it must have a moisture content of below 20 per cent, as this allows the fire to burn more efficiently. This will help eliminate smoke and harmful pollution from the flue system and will make the glass inside your multi burner stove less prone to get blackened due to creosote which is a byproduct of burning wood which can accumulate over time.

The use of seasoned wood can reduce emissions and save you the cost of heating. It produces more heat per unit of fuel. This is due to the surface area of the wood that is drier is greater and produces more heat per volume.

However, it can be harmful to everyone, especially older adults and children with weakened lungs. It can also irritate those with lung conditions like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you reside in a designated smoke-control zone, make sure your stove is properly maintained. It should also be equipped with a chimney that meets the requirements of the local area.

Burning Wood

Woodburning stoves offer clean, renewable heat that is an excellent option to keep the home warm during power cuts. They also aid in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, which are detrimental to the environment, from fossil fuels such as gas and oil.

Modern woodburning stoves are more efficient than earlier models, and they are designed to avoid the accumulation of creosote. However, it is important to keep an eye on the combustion. Creosote, which is a risky byproduct of incomplete combustion can block the chimney and cause it to lose its efficiency. It also creates an hazard to fire stove (go to these guys). The use of seasoned wood can aid in keeping the levels of creosote at a minimum and save on the cost of logs, as well as helping avoid the need for professional cleaning services.

You can also select stoves that use wood and coal which gives you a choice between carbon-neutral energy sources. But it's important to keep in mind that coal is not a climate-friendly fuel and there are concerns about how it is mined and transported.

It is best to choose an approved stove by Defra, and preferably one that is Ecodesign ready. These stoves will comply with the latest regulations on emissions. The UK building regulations specify the kind of flue and the size of the hearth and the distance between the stove and the combustible material. It is always best to speak with our stove experts before buying the stove.

Other combustibles, like garbage and paper should not be used in woodburning stoves, as they can lead to more pollution, or even a chimney fire and, at best, cause them to operate less effectively. Other combustibles have less density than firewood, and thus produce less heat and create more particles.

It is also essential to use only dried, seasoned, split and dried firewood since it will burn more efficiently. Dry or damp wood generates more pollutants and smoke. It is recommended to use a high-quality stove pipe to ensure that the temperature of the flue are sufficient and that it's installed correctly.

Emissions

Woodburning stoves release a range of gases and particles. They produce a lot of fine particulate (PM2.5) which could be absorbed into the lungs, enter the bloodstream and potentially damage the liver, heart and brain. However, they also produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and carcinogenic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Some even spit out poisonous metals, such as mercury and arsenic, depending on the fuel they're burning.

In the US There have been numerous attempts to regulate the amount of pollution woodburning stoves produce, with varying degrees of success. In 1988 the Environmental Protection Agency set emissions guidelines that basically limited how much pollution new stoves could release. Since since then, there's been two revisions to the regulations. The most recent one, in 2015 requires that all stoves, catalytic or non-catalytic, emit not more than 4 grams of pollution each hour.

These rules imposed by the government caused a major shake-up within the industry, forcing hundreds of smaller companies out of business. However they also spurred the development of efficient stoves that were durable and could produce lower emissions than traditional models. Stove designers studied and analyzed combustion air flows, baffles, combustion chamber forms, insulating materials and recirculation systems to make their products better. They eventually succeeded.

Emissions are largely dependent on the moisture content of the wood that's burned. The greater the moisture content, the more the pollutants that a stove produces. Therefore, the best method of reducing emissions is to use seasoned firewood that's been properly dried for 6-8 months.

A number of studies have proven that a single woodburning stove in the event of frequent use and is regularly used, can produce more particle pollution than 15 diesel cars based on tests that aren't scientifically based which compare emissions-related PM2.5 only. However, these studies fail to take into account that about half of the car's particle pollution originates from the engine, brakes and tyres instead of its exhaust.

Ten blue states have been pushing on the EPA to review its carbon emissions and guidelines for air quality of wood-burning stoves. Attorneys general from New York, Washington and Illinois have declared that they will sue the EPA if it continues to allow high-emitting stoves to continue to be sold in homes across the country.

Maintenance

Wood-burning stoves are efficient in heating homes, but they aren't easy to maintain. To ensure that your stove is clean and functioning efficiently, you'll have to keep it clean regularly. A dirty stove may impact the health of its occupants and the amount of heat it generates. Cleaning the stove is not the only maintenance task that needs to be completed to ensure it is functioning properly.

It is easy to clean the interior and exterior of the stove. It is recommended to clean your stove every week or on a fortnightly basis depending on how often it is used. It is also a good idea to empty the firebox of ash every time the stove is used. Spread newspaper on the floor and put on gloves before taking the ashes out. It is also an excellent idea to use a metal ash container instead of a bucket since this will help prevent rust.

It is crucial to keep the flue and chimney clean. It is a good idea to hire an expert chimney sweep once or twice per year to thoroughly clean the chimney and stove. This will prevent creosote off the chimney and lessen the risk of fires in chimneys.

Additionally, chimneys should be inspected for cracks in the flue liner and the masonry, excessive creosote deposits or bird nests, as well as other debris. A professional chimney sweep is able to repair these problems and restore a safe, working chimney.

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

If the paint on a woodburning fireplace begins to chip, it can easily be repainted with a quality paint that is heat resistant. These paints are usually available at places where stoves are sold and can be found in a variety of colors.