10 Quick Tips About Woodburning Stove

How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove

A wood-burning stove can be an efficient and effective way to heat your home. It is essential to maintain your woodburning appliance to ensure it is operating at its best.

Tips: Choose seasoned wood with a low amount of moisture. This will let you burn the wood for longer and generate more heat.

The state environmental agencies are trying to find a solution to the issue of particulate pollution caused by the old wood-burning stoves.

How They Work

Wood-burning stoves as their name implies, burn wood to produce heat. The fire is contained within a metal-and-glass body which allows for a steady temperature in the home. It also serves as a barrier to smoke from entering your living space.

The primary way stoves control the combustion process is through controlling the amount of air they allow into the fire. This is accomplished by opening and closing one or more air vents.

Modern stoves typically use either non-catalytic or catalytic technology to manage this. Catalytic stoves feature a catalytic converter which is designed to burn the gasses produced during primary combustion, so that they do not escape into the room. Non-catalytic stoves, on the contrary, don't have a catalyst and rely solely on secondary combustion to take place within the firebox, thereby reducing emissions.

It is recommended that you only use firewood that has been seasoned in your wood-burning fireplace. It must have a moisture level less than 20%, which allows the fire to burn efficiently. This will lessen the amount of the amount of smoke and harmful substances that are released from the flue. It will also stop the glass of your stove from getting blackened by creosote. Creosote is the by-product of wood burning and will build up over time.

In addition to reducing emissions, using seasoned wood can save you cash on heating bills, as it will produce more heat for the same amount of fuel. This is because the surface area of the wood that is drier is greater and produces more heat per volume.

However, smoke from wood can be harmful to anyone, but especially older adults and children with weakened lungs. It can also cause irritation for those with lung conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD). If you live in a designated smoke-control zone, make sure your stove is properly seasoned. It should also be installed with a chimney that is in compliance with the standards of the area.

Burning Wood

Woodburning stoves provide a clean, renewable heat that is an excellent option to keep the home warm during power outages. They also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which are harmful to the environment from fossil fuels like oil and gas.

Modern woodburning stoves operate more efficiently than older models and are designed to avoid creosote build-up however, it is important to monitor the combustion process. Creosote, which is a risky byproduct of combustion that is not properly slowed, can clog the chimney and cause it to become less efficient. It also creates a fire hazard. The use of seasoned logs will keep creosote at a minimum and help you save money on logs. It also can help you avoid having to hire an expert to clean your chimney.

There are stoves that can burn both coal and wood giving you the option of carbon-neutral energy sources. It is crucial to keep in mind that coal is not a green fuel and there are concerns about the way it is mined.

It is recommended to use an Defra approved stove and one that is also Ecodesign ready, as they will be in compliance with the latest emission regulations. The UK building regulations specify the kind of flue and the size of the hearth and the distance between the stove and combustible material. It is always best to consult our stove experts before purchasing the stove.

Other combustibles such as paper and rubbish are not suitable for use in wood-burning stoves because they could cause more pollution, at worst a chimney fire or worse, cause them to function less efficiently. Other combustibles are lighter than firewood, which means they produce less heat and produce more particles.

It is also important to use only seasoned, split and dried firewood because it will burn more efficiently. Using wet or damp wood will create plenty of smoke as well as producing more pollution. It is also recommended to use a high-quality stove pipe in order to ensure that the temperatures of the flue are sufficient and that it is set up correctly.

Emissions

Wood-burning stoves produce a myriad of gases and particles. They mostly produce fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which is small enough to penetrate the lungs and penetrate into the bloodstream, potentially damaging the liver, heart and brain. However, they also produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and carcinogenic compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Depending on the kind of fuel they're burning, some even spew toxic metals like mercury and arsenic.

There have been several attempts in the US to regulate how much wood-burning stoves pollute the environment with different degrees of success. In 1988 the Environmental Protection Agency set emissions guidelines that basically restricted the amount of pollution that new stoves could emit. Since since then, there's been two revisions to the regulations. The most recent one, in 2015 stipulates that all stoves whether catalytic or not, release no more than 4 grams of pollution each hour.

These strict rules led to a major shake-up of the industry, forcing hundreds of smaller companies out of business. However they also spurred a race to design efficient stoves that were durable and produced lower emissions than conventional models. To improve their products, stove makers examined and analyzed the flow of combustion, baffles and combustion chamber shapes. They also studied the insulation materials and recirculation system. They eventually succeeded.

The moisture content of wood is a key element in determining the emission. The more moisture content, the greater pollutants a stove will produce. Therefore, the best method to reduce emissions is to use firewood that has been seasoned that has been properly dried over 6-8 months.

Several studies have shown that one wood-burning stove, if it's used regularly it can create particles as large as 15 diesel cars based on tests that aren't scientifically based comparing exhaust-related PM2.5 only. These studies do not consider that the majority of particle pollution emitted by cars is caused by its brakes, engine, and tyres, not its exhaust.

Ten blue states have been putting pressure on the EPA to review its carbon emissions and guidelines for air quality for wood-burning stoves. The attorney generals of New York, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, California, Alaska, Oregon and Vermont have announced plans to sue the EPA for allowing high-emitting stoves to be installed in homes across the country.

Maintenance

While woodburning stoves can be extremely efficient in heating homes but they can be difficult to maintain. A stove needs to be regularly cleaned to ensure it is clean and operating properly. A dirty stove can be detrimental to the health of those who live there as well as how much heat it produces. In addition to cleaning the stove, there are also maintenance tasks that must be completed to ensure that it is working properly.

It is simple to clean the interior and exterior of the stove. Cleaning a stove is recommended every week or every two weeks based on the frequency at which it is used. It is recommended to remove ash from the firebox each time the stove has been used. Spread an old newspaper over the floor prior to scooping ashes from the stove, and then wear gloves to protect your hands. It is also an excellent idea to make use of a metal ash container rather than a bucket, as this will prevent rusting.

It is important to keep the chimney and flue clean. It is recommended to hire an experienced chimney sweeper once or twice per year to thoroughly clean the chimney and stove. This will prevent creosote from building up and lessen the risk of chimney fires.

Additionally, chimneys should be inspected for cracks in the flue liner as well as masonry as well as creosote deposits excessively or bird nests, as well as other debris. A professional chimney sweep will be in a position to fix these issues and restore a safe, working chimney.

Over time, the glass from a wood-burning stove may be smudged and clouded with soot. A mixture of water and ammonia can be sprayed over the glass, then wiped with a cloth until clean. Avoid scratching the glass, since this can cause it to cause it to shatter and weaken when hot.

If the paint on a woodburning fireplace begins to chip it can be easily repainted with a quality heat resistant paint. The paints can be bought at the majority of retailers for wood stoves and are available in a wide selection of colors.