10 Meetups About Woodburning Stove You Should Attend

How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove

A wood-Log Burning Stove (Cadplm.Co.Kr) stove can be an efficient and effective way to heat your home. It is important to maintain your woodburning stove in order to ensure it is operating at its best.

Tips: Choose seasoned wood that has a low content of moisture. This will give you longer burn time and a higher heat output.

State environmental agencies are wrestling with how to tackle the issue of particulate air pollution from old wood burning stoves.

How They Work

Wood-burning stoves as their name suggests are made of wood that produces heat. They do this by containing the fire within a metal and glass body. This can help keep the temperature inside your home at an even level. It also serves as a barrier to stop smoke from entering the living space.

Stoves control combustion by controlling the amount of oxygen they let into the fire. This is done through one or more controllable air vents that can be opened and closed to control the amount of oxygen that is pumped into the fire.

Modern stoves use either non-catalytical or catalytical technologies to regulate this. Catalytic stoves have a catalytic convertor designed to reburn the gases that are produced during primary combustion so they don't escape the room. Non-catalytic stoves, on other hand, do not have a catalyst and rely on secondary combustion to occur within the firebox, thereby reducing emissions.

It is recommended to only burn wood that is seasoned in your woodburning stove. It should have a moisture level lower than 20%, which allows the fire to burn efficiently. This will lessen the amount of smoke and harmful pollutants that escape from the flue. It will also stop the glass of your stove from becoming blackened by creosote. Creosote is a by-product of wood burning and will build up over time.

In addition to reducing emissions seasoned wood can save you money on your heating bills, as it will produce more heat for the same amount of fuel. This is because the surface area of dry wood is larger and generates more heat per unit.

Wood smoke can be dangerous to anyone, but it is especially dangerous to children and adults with weak lungs. It can also cause irritation to those suffering from lung diseases like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you reside in a designated smoke-control zone, make sure your bio ethanol stove is properly seasoned. It should also be equipped with a chimney that is in compliance with the local standards.

Burning Wood

Wood-burning stoves are a safe, renewable heat that is also a great choice to keep your home warm during power outages. They also help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which can be detrimental to the environment, from fossil fuels such as oil and gas.

Modern woodburning stoves are more efficient than previous models, and are designed to prevent the accumulation of creosote. However it is essential to monitor combustion. Creosote can be a dangerous byproduct of incomplete combustion and it can block the chimney if it is allowed to build up, resulting in reduced efficiency and posing a fire risk. The use of seasoned logs will keep creosote at a minimum and will save you money on logs. It can also help you avoid having to hire an expert to clean your chimney.

There are stoves that can burn wood and coal giving you a choice of carbon neutral energy sources. However, it's worth remembering that burning coal is not a sustainable fuel, and there are concerns over the way it is mined and transported.

It is recommended to use a Defra approved stove and one that is Ecodesign ready, since they are in line with the most recent emission regulations. The UK building regulations specify the kind of flue used and the size of the hearth, and the distance between the stove and combustible material. It is best to speak with our stove experts before purchasing the stove.

Paper and other combustibles like rubbish and paper should not be placed in woodburning devices. They can cause more pollution and, at worst, a chimney fire. At best, they will make them less efficient. Other combustibles have less density than firewood, which means they produce less heat and create more particles.

It is essential to only use properly seasoned, split and dried firewood. This will burn more efficiently. Wet or damp wood creates more smoke and pollutants. It is recommended to use a stove pipe of high-quality in order to ensure that the temperatures of the flue are adequate and that it's installed correctly.

Emissions

Wood-burning stoves emit many gases and particles. Most often, they release fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which is small enough to penetrate the lungs and penetrate into the bloodstream, which could harm the liver, heart and brain. However, they also produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and carcinogenic compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs. Based on the type of fuel they are burning, some can even release out toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury.

In the US there have been a number of attempts to regulate the amount of pollution woodburning stoves can produce with varying levels of success. In 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency established emission guidelines that limited how much pollution new stoves were permitted to release. Since then, there have been two modifications to the guidelines. The most recent revision in 2015 mandates that all stoves, catalytic or non-catalytic, emit not more than 4 grams of pollutants each hour.

While these strict regulations caused a major shake-up in the industry leading to hundreds of smaller companies to close up shop They also sparked an effort to design and build efficient and well-designed stoves that could last and able to produce lower emission levels than traditional models. To improve their products, stove makers looked at and analysed combustion flow baffles, combustion chamber shapes. They also analyzed the insulation of materials and the recirculation systems. Over time, they succeeded.

The moisture content of the wood is a major element in determining the emission. The greater the moisture content, the more emissions a stove can produce. The most effective way to reduce the amount of emissions is making use of seasoned firewood that is properly dried over a period of 6-8 months.

A number of studies have proven that a single woodburning stove, in the event of frequent use, can generate more particle pollution than 15 diesel cars based on tests that aren't scientifically based comparing the exhaust-related PM2.5 only. However these studies fail to take into account that about half of a car's particle pollution comes from the brakes, engine and tyres, not its exhaust.

Ten blue states are pressing on the EPA to review their carbon emissions and guidelines for air quality for wood-burning appliances. Attorney generals from New York, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, California, Alaska, Oregon and Vermont have announced plans to sue the EPA for continuing to allow high-emitting stoves to be installed in homes across the nation.

Maintenance

Wood burning stoves are efficient at heating homes but aren't easy to maintain. To keep your stove looking and working efficiently, you'll need to clean it frequently. A dirty stove can impact the health of those who use it and how much heat it produces. Cleaning the stove isn't the only maintenance task that needs to be completed to ensure it is running smoothly.

It is easy to clean the interior and exterior of a stove. Cleaning a stove is recommended every week or every two weeks depending on how frequently it is used. It is recommended to remove ash from the fire box each time the stove has been used. Spread newspaper on the floor prior to scooping ashes out of the stove, and put on gloves to protect your hands. Use a metal container instead of a bucket to avoid the rusting.

Keeping the flue and chimney clean is also essential. It is a good idea to hire a professional chimney sweep at least once or twice a year to thoroughly clean the chimney and stove. This will help keep creosote off the chimney and decrease the chance of chimney fires.

Additionally, chimneys should be inspected for cracks in the flue liner as well as masonry as well as creosote deposits excessively as well as bird nests and other debris. A professional chimney sweep will be able to repair these problems and restore a safe, functional chimney.

Over time, the glass of a wood-burning stove may become clouded and smudged with soot. A mixture of ammonia and water can be sprayed onto the glass and then cleaned with a cloth until clean. Be careful not to scratch the glass, as this can cause it to shatter and weaken when hot.

Paint that is heat resistant can be used to re-paint wood burning fireplace in the event that the paint starts to chip. These paints are usually available at the places where wood stoves are sold and are available in various colors.