Marian Brough

What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners

Outdoor wood burners can be a cost-effective solution for heating homes and businesses. They also reduce the dependence on fossil fuels that are non-renewable and help to create a more resilient energy strategy.

Wood that is well-seasoned is crucial for efficient burning. Wood that is not seasoned or green may have a higher moisture content which can cause creosote to build up and slow down performance.

Efficient

Outdoor wood burners (OWBs) have been around for years and offer a very eco-friendly and energy efficient method of heating your home. However, the standard design of OWBs, which promotes an unsteady, cooler fire which results in poor combustion and more smoke, creosote and particulates. These unburned fuels can lead to health problems, fire hazards and degrade the environment.

Additionally, the visible plume of smoke that OWBs emit can cause neighbors to complain and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement actions. This type of issue can have a negative impact on the value of your property, and may cause your OWB being closed down.

Crown Royal Stoves offers a range of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces that are referred to as the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to boost the efficiency of combustion for a clean, smoke-free burn. This is achieved with a negative-pressure air system that draws fresh, dry heated, filtered, and heated air from the bottom and pushes it up the chimney faster than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by an innovative design that makes use of a multi-pass, water-filled heat exchanger made of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.

When properly utilized when properly used, When properly used, the Pristine Series OWB can achieve an 99% efficiency in combustion for a cleaner and smoke-free fire. It consumes less wood, and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. To maximize the effectiveness of your OWB it is crucial to burn clean, seasoned, dry wood. It is recommended to prepare your wood for a period of six months or a year before burning it. This will result in the most efficient and clean burn.

In addition to maximizing the efficiency of your wood stove and enhancing the efficiency of your wood burner by performing the "dry burn" every week. This method helps to eliminate creosote accumulation, makes your boiler running efficiently and increases its life span. Lastly by putting in a creosote removal stick every when you load your stove, you can drastically cut the amount of creosote that you use. The product is available through Wisconsin Wood Furnace.

Clean

The soot particles that are left in the aftermath of burning wood can make a wood stove look very dirty. They are extremely difficult to shift so if you notice any areas of build up on the glass of your stove, wash them as soon as you notice them. Any soot that is not eliminated will become hard and make it more difficult to remove. Using the right cleaning products for the job is vital however, you must also ensure that you're not damaging the glass's surface by using anything that could scratch it. This could result in a weak spot that can shatter glass when exposed high temperatures.

Before you begin cleaning your wood burner, it is important to ensure that it's not lit and completely cool. Make sure that you surround it with newspaper. This will stop any spillage of ash which could stain and mark surfaces.

It can take up to one year for the seasoning of your stove to be complete, based on the quality of wood you select. Seasoned wood will not only burn more efficiently and last longer, but it will also produce less creosote. This is the material that builds up on your chimney, decreasing its efficiency and posing a fire hazard. If you're using unseasoned wood or just beginning a new fire in your outdoor wood burner the best thing you can do is to open up the lower back door and scoop ashes out into a non-combustible container each week.

A sediment flush should be carried out on your boiler every four years. It is a simple flush that takes five seconds from the drain valve on your boiler. This will get rid of any debris that has accumulated within the system and help keep your boiler in great functioning condition.

Once you have done the sediment flush, it's time to clean the exterior of your outdoor wood burner. Before beginning, it is essential to cover the floor area surrounding the stove with newspaper. Wearing protective eyewear and gloves is an excellent idea. Also, you should have a shovel, a metal container for ash and scraping tools. You can use a cloth as shield to protect the refractory while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.

Easy 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. Unlike their cousin the EPA's popular wood stoves, which are designed to burn at constant, low temperatures, these boilers have an increased fire rate and produce more smoke when operating. This is why some local governments have a policy of regulating or banning their use.

OWBs are best used to heat homes with high insulation levels. The smoldering, visible smoke is also a cause of complaint with neighbors, and has led to many OWBs being shut-down or being sued in the past. For OWBs dry wood with less moisture content is required to function properly. Unseasoned or green wood will reduce efficiency, causing creosote to accumulate, and shorten the lifespan of the burner. A moisture gauge will allow you to determine how long it takes for wood to dry.

Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers, on the other hand, use a three-step process that utilizes more of the energy contained in the wood. This results in less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs and can be used to fuel many different fuels. Wood gasification boilers need dry, seasoned wood. Most wood can be seasoned within a year, but oak and other hardy species can require two years or more to fully mature. This is because they have less volume of water and a greater density. This lets them store heat longer, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The EPA's "Burn Wise" website and Cornell Cooperative Extension can help homeowners learn more about how to burn wood efficiently in order to reduce air pollution.

Low Maintenance

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

Outdoor wood burners require significantly less maintenance than indoor wood burners and are more forgiving when it comes to the moisture content of the wood. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for conservatory wood burner that has been properly "cured" or seasoned. It can take a year or more for certain kinds of wood. It is crucial to use a moisture meter to determine the amount of water of your wood prior to loading.

During operation it is important to check the system regularly to check for accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a by-product of combustion, can accumulate in the chimney and flue if they are not cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated by pouring a creosote removing product into the fire. Regular cleaning of the chimney and flue will eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.

Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to achieve 99% combustion efficiency. This technology is employed in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Outside Wood Burners Furnaces to draw air from the bottom and push all the gases through an enclosed secondary combustion chamber that is that is surrounded by water and easy-to-clean Turbulators. The result is a smokeless & pollutant-free combustion.