A Retrospective: What People Discussed About Outside Wood Burners 20 Years Ago
What You Need to Know About Outdoor Wood Burners
Outdoor wood burners are an efficient and cost-effective method of heating homes and businesses. They also reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable and contribute towards a resilient energy strategy.
A well-seasoned wood is vital for efficient burning. Wood that is not seasoned or green has a higher moisture content and can cause creosote buildup which reduces performance.

Efficient
Outdoor wood burners have been around for many years. They are an energy efficient and green method of heating your home. The design of OWBs favors the slowing of the fire, making it cooler which results in less efficient combustion and a higher amount of smoke and creosote. These unburned fuels can cause health problems and fire hazards. They also degrade the environment.
Additionally, the visible smoke plume OWBs create could cause neighbors to voice their concerns. This could result in DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) taking enforcement action. This kind of public relations issue could cause serious damage to the value of your property and could even result in your OWB being shut down.
Crown Royal Stoves offers a line of EPA Certified outdoor wood furnaces called the Pristine Gasification Series that utilizes technology to increase the efficiency of combustion to ensure a smokeless, clean burning. This is done with a negative-pressure air system that pulls fresh dry heated, filtered air from the bottom and pushes it out through the chimney at a much faster rate than traditional outdoor wood boilers. This is accomplished by an exclusive design that uses a multi-pass water-filled heat exchanger constructed of 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel.
If properly used when properly used, when properly used, the Pristine Gasification Series OWB can reach a 99% combustion efficiency for a cleaner, smoke-free fire that uses less wood and produces significantly less emissions than traditional OWBs. It is crucial to burn dry, clean and seasoned wood in order to maximize the performance of your OWB. It is recommended that you get your wood seasoned for a minimum of six months or one year prior to burning it. This will ensure an efficient and clean burn.
You can improve the efficiency of your wood-burning stove by executing every week a "dry burn". This technique eliminates creosote accumulation, makes your boiler running efficiently and increases its lifespan. By adding wood burners near me for removing creosote to your stove every time you fill it up, you can drastically reduce the amount of creosote you need to use. This product is available at 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 difficult to remove, so remove any buildup from the glass of your stove immediately. Soot that is not removed will begin to harden and make it more difficult. It is essential to use the right cleaners however, you must avoid damaging the glass surface with anything that may scratch it. This could result in a weak spot that will shatter the glass when it's exposed to high temperatures.
Before you begin cleaning your wood burner, you should make sure that it is unlit and completely cool. Also, ensure that the area around it is covered with newspaper. This will stop the ash from leaking and staining surfaces.
It could take up to one year for your stove's seasoning to be completed, based on the quality of the wood you use. The wood that has been properly seasoned will not only burn more efficiently, but also produce less creosote. This is the material which accumulates on your fireplace, decreasing its efficiency and creating a potential fire hazard. If you're using unseasoned wood or just making a fresh fire in your outdoor wood burner the best thing to do is to open the lower back door and scoop out the ashes into a non-combustible container each week.
A sediment flush is recommended on your boiler every four years. This is a simple five second flush from the drain valve on your boiler. This will remove any sediment that has built up within the system and help ensure that your boiler is in good functioning condition.
Once you've completed the sediment flush, it's now time to clean the outside of your outdoor wood burner. Before you begin, it's crucial to cover the stove's perimeter with newspaper. Wearing protective gloves and eyewear is an excellent idea. Also, you should have a shovel, a metal ash container and a scraping tool. You can make use of a cloth as a shield to protect the refractory as you scrape away coal and ash deposits.
Easy to operate
Despite their popularity (they were one of the 1990s' "it" trends, along with mullet haircuts) outdoor wood boilers, referred to as outdoor furnaces or outdoor wood hydronic heaters, are often misunderstood. Contrary to the EPA's popular wood stoves which are designed to burn at constant, low temperatures, these heaters use a higher fire rate and generate more smoke when operating. Certain local governments restrict or prohibit their use.
OWBs are best suited to homes that have high levels of insulation. 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 that has less moisture content is needed to work properly. Green or unseasoned wood will reduce efficiency, causing creosote to accumulate and reduce the life of the burner. Drying wood takes time, and a moisture meter is a must for any homeowner.
Dual-stage wood gasification (OWGB) boilers however they employ a three-step procedure which makes use of the energy in the wood. This means less smoke. These furnaces are more efficient than traditional OWBs, and can be used for various fuels. Wood gasification boilers require dry and seasoned wood. The majority of wood will mature within a year. Oak and other tough trees may take up to two years. They are less watery and have a denser mass. This allows them to hold heat for longer, thus increasing efficiency and decreasing pollution. The EPA "Burn Wise' website and Cornell Cooperative Extension are great sources for homeowners to understand how to efficiently burn wood to minimize pollution to the air.
Low Maintenance
Modern outdoor wood furnaces have been designed with the environment in mind. Unlike indoor wood burners that produce significant smoke, modern outdoor furnaces burn efficiently and without the production 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 less maintenance and are more tolerant of wood moisture content than wood burning stoves that are indoor. Outdoor wood burners are only suitable for wood that has been properly "cured" or dried or. Some types of wood can take up to a year. It is essential to make use of a moisture meter to measure the amount of water of your wood prior to loading.
When the system is in operation, it is essential to regularly check the system for the accumulation of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of combustion and can accumulate in the flue and chimney when it is not cleaned regularly. It can be eliminated by pouring a creosote removing product into the fire. Regularly cleaning the chimney and flue will help eliminate dangerous creosote buildup and improve efficiency.
Crown Royal Stoves developed a new airflow technology known as Negative Pressure Gasification to attain 99% efficiency in combustion. This technology is employed in our EPA certified Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnaces to draw air upwards 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 and pollution-free combustion.