20 Myths About Outside Wood Burners: Busted

What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners

Outdoor wood burners are a cost-effective solution for heating homes and businesses. They also reduce the dependence on fossil fuels that are non-renewable and aid in a sustainable energy strategy.

For efficient burning, it is important to use seasoned wood. Unseasoned or green wood has a higher moisture content and can create creosote that can reduce performance.

Efficient

Outdoor wood burners have been in use for a long time. They are an energy efficient and green method of heating your home. The design of OWBs promotes a slower, cooler fire which leads to less efficient combustion and more smoke and creosote. These unburned fuels could cause health problems as well as fire hazards, and can also harm the environment.

Moreover, the visible smoke plume that OWBs produce could cause neighbors to voice their concerns and could lead to DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) enforcement action. This type of public relations issue can cause serious damage to the value of your property and could even result in your OWB being shut down.

Crown Royal Stoves has a range of outdoor wood furnaces that are EPA Certified. The Pristine Gasification Series makes use of technology to maximize combustion efficiency and produce an unburned, clean and smoke-free. This is achieved through the negative pressure air system that draws fresh hot, dry, filtered air in from the bottom of the boiler and then pushes it out of the chimney at a much more rapid rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished through an innovative design that utilizes an incredibly efficient multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger constructed of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.

When properly utilized properly, When properly used, the Pristine Series OWB can achieve a 99% combustion rate for a cleaner and smokeless fire. It consumes less wood, and produces a lot less emission than traditional OWBs. It is important to burn only dry, clean and seasoned wood in order to maximize the performance of your OWB. Seasoning your wood for 6 months or a year prior to burning is recommended. This will ensure a more efficient energy efficient and efficient burn.

In addition to maximizing the performance of your wood stove it is also possible to increase the efficiency of your wood burner by performing a "dry burn" every week. This method lowers the amount of creosote in your home which improves boiler efficiency and extends the lifespan of your boiler. By adding a stick for removing creosote to your stove every time you fill it, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote that 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 dirty. They are difficult to clean and therefore, you must clean any buildup on the glass of your stove as soon as you notice it. If not, the soot will begin to become harder and more difficult to get off. Using the right cleaning products for the job is essential, but also be sure you're not damaging the glass's surface with anything that could scratch it. This could leave a weak spot that could break the glass if it's exposed to high temperatures.

Make sure you allow your wood burner to cool completely before cleaning it. Also, make sure that the surrounding area is covered with newspaper. This will prevent the ash from leaking and staining surfaces.

It could take as long as one year for your stove's seasoning to be complete, based on the quality of the small wood burner you choose to use. The wood that has been treated with a seasoned finish will not only burn more efficiently, but will also produce less creosote. This is the substance that is able to build up on your fireplace, decreasing its effectiveness and creating an opportunity for fire hazards. If you're using unseasoned wood, or just starting a fire in your outdoor fireplace, it's recommended to open the lower backdoor and scoop the the ashes into a non-combustible container every week.

You should also perform an annual sediment flush on your boiler at a minimum every four years. This is a simple flush that takes five seconds from the bottom drain valve on your boiler. This will get rid of any sediments that have built in the system and ensure that your boiler is operating well.

Once you've completed the sediment flush, it's time to clean the outside of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's important to cover the floor around the stove with newspaper. Wearing gloves and eye protection is an excellent idea. Also, you should have a ash canister made of metal, a scraping tool and a shovel. You can use a cloth as shield to protect the refractory while you scrape away coal and ash deposits.

Simple to operate

Despite their popularity (they were among the 1990s' "it" trends, together with mullet hairstyles) outdoor wood boilers, also known as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters, are still often misunderstood. Contrary to the EPA's popular wood stoves that are designed to burn at constant, low temperatures, these heaters use an increased fire rate and generate more smoke when they operate. This is the reason why local governments regulate or ban their use.

OWBs work best for homes with high levels of insulation. The visible, smoldering smoke is also a cause of complaint with neighbors, and has led to numerous OWBs being shut down or sued in the past. To allow OWBs to operate properly they should be operated with dry second hand wood burner that has a low moisture content. Wood that is not seasoned or green can reduce efficiency, cause creosote build-up and decrease the life of the burner. Drying wood can take time and the use of a moisture gauge is a must for the homeowner.

In contrast, dual-stage wood gasification boilers (OWGB) utilize a three step process which makes use of the available energy in the wood, resulting in a lesser amount of smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than conventional OWBs, and can be used for a wide range of fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry and well-seasoned firewood. Most wood can be seasoned within a year, but oak and other species with a hardy structure may take two or more years to fully season. This is because they have lower water content and denser mass. This lets them store heat for longer, thus 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 minimize pollution to the air.

Low Maintenance

Modern outdoor wood furnaces are constructed with the environment in mind. Unlike indoor Wood burner wood burners that produce significant smoke modern wood burner outdoor furnaces burn cleanly and without the release of excessive carbon monoxide or heat. They also use less wood to generate the same amount heat as traditional stoves.

Outdoor wood burners also require less maintenance than indoor wood burners and are more accommodating when it comes to the moisture content of the wood. However, outdoor wood burners can only be used with properly treated or "cured" wood. This can take a year or more for certain kinds of wood. Use a moisture gauge prior to loading to measure the amount of water in the wood.

During operation, it is important to periodically inspect the system for the build-up of creosote. Creosote, which is a byproduct of combustion, can build up in the chimney and flue if they aren't cleaned regularly. It can be removed using a special creosote removal product that is poured into the fire. Regularly cleaning the flue and chimney will help eliminate dangerous creosote accumulations, and increase efficiency.

Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technique called Negative Pressure Gasification to achieve 99% combustion efficiency. Our EPA certified Pristine Series outdoor wood furnaces make use of this technology to draw air from the bottom, pushing all of the gasses through an insulated water-surrounded secondary combustion chamber with easy-clean turbines for a smokeless and pollution-free combustion.