What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners

Outdoor wood burners can be an efficient and cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also help to reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are non-renewable and aid in a sustainable energy strategy.

For efficient burning, it is important to use well-seasoned wood. Wood that is not seasoned or green has higher moisture content and can cause creosote buildup which reduces performance.

Efficient

Outdoor wood burning fires burners (OWBs) have been around for many years and are an extremely green and efficient method of heating your home. The typical design of OWBs promotes 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 problems as well as fire hazards and cause harm to the environment around it.

Furthermore the visible smoke plume that OWBs generate can make neighbors complain. This could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation), taking enforcement action. This kind of issue could affect the value of your property and could cause your OWB being closed.

Crown Royal Stoves has a line of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series uses technology to improve the efficiency of combustion and create an unburned, clean and smoke-free. This is achieved through 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 Burner wood boilers. This is accomplished by a unique design which uses a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.

If properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Series OWB achieves an efficiency of 99% for a cleaner and smokeless fire. It uses less wood, and produces significantly fewer emission than traditional OWBs. It is crucial to burn clean, seasoned and dry wood to increase the performance of your OWB. It is recommended to get your wood seasoned for a period of six months or a year prior to burning it. This will ensure a more efficient and cleaner burn.

In addition to maximizing the efficiency of your wood burner it is also possible to increase the efficiency of your wood burner by performing an "dry burn" every week. This technique eliminates creosote accumulation, makes your boiler in good condition and extends its lifespan. Lastly by putting in a creosote remover stick every time you load your stove, you will be able to dramatically reduce the amount of creosote you use. This product is available from Wisconsin Wood Furnace.

Clean

The soot particles that are left in the aftermath of burning wood can make a stove appear very small wood burning stove dirty. They are difficult to get rid of and therefore, you must remove any buildup from the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. If the soot isn't removed, it will become hard and make it more difficult. It is essential to choose the right cleaner however, you must avoid damaging the glass surface with anything that may scratch it. This could lead to a weak spot that can break glass when exposed to high temperatures.

Before you begin cleaning your wood burner you must ensure that it is not lit and completely cool. Also, be sure that the area around it is covered with newspaper. This will prevent any spillage of ash that can stain and mark surfaces.

It could take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be complete, depending on the quality of the wood you use. Wood that is properly seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, Wood Burner but will create less creosote. This is the material which accumulates on your fireplace, decreasing its efficiency and posing an opportunity for fire hazards. If you are using unseasoned wood, or just starting a new fire in your outdoor wood burner the best thing you can do is to open the back door to the lower part and scoop the ashes into a non-combustible container every week.

You should also perform a sediment flush on your boiler at least every four years. This involves a simple five-second hand wood burner flush from the drain valve of your boiler. This will eliminate any sediment that has built in the system and keep your boiler working efficiently.

Once you've completed the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, make sure to cover the stove's area with newspaper. Wearing gloves and eye protection is also a good idea. You should also have an ash container, a shovel container for ash and scraping tools. You can use a cloth as an insulator to protect the refractory while you take off coal and ash deposits.

Simple to Operate

Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, as were mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, also referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters are often misunderstood. They are not like the popular EPA wood stoves, which are built to burn low temperatures and continuously. They use a higher rate of fire and generate more smoke. This is why a few local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.

OWBs are best used for heating homes with a high insulation level. The smoldering, visible smoke can also be a source of complaint with neighbors, and has led to many OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. For OWBs, dry wood with lower moisture content is required to work properly. Using green or unseasoned wood can reduce efficiency, cause creosote to build up and may cut down the life of the burner. A moisture meter can help you determine the time it takes for wood to dry.

In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) employ three steps which makes use of the available energy from the wood and results in less smoke. These kinds of furnaces are much more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used with a wider variety of fuel. Wood gasification boilers require dry, seasoned firewood. Most wood can be seasoned within a year, but oak and other hardy species may require two years or more to fully mature. They are less watery and have a greater density. This lets them store heat for longer, increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to understand how to burn wood efficiently in order minimize air pollution.

Low Maintenance

Modern outdoor wood furnaces are designed with the environment in mind. Unlike indoor wood burners that emit significant smoke Modern outdoor furnaces burn cleanly without the production of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also require less wood to produce the same amount of heat as traditional stoves.

Outdoor wood burners also require significantly less maintenance than indoor wood burners and are more forgiving in regards to the moisture content of the wood. However, outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly prepared or "cured" wood. Some types of wood can take up to a full year. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to measure the amount of water contained in the wood.

When operating, it is essential to check the system regularly to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote, a by-product of combustion, can build up in the chimney and flue if they aren't cleaned regularly. It can be removed with a special creosote removal product that is poured into the flame. Regular cleaning of the flue and chimney will remove dangerous creosote and improve efficiency.

To achieve 99% combustion efficiency, Crown Royal Stoves designed a new air flow technology called Negative Pressure Gasification. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces utilize this technology to pull air from the bottom, directing all of the gasses through an insulated water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber with easy-clean turbines for a smokeless and pollution free combustion.