24 Hours To Improving Woodburning Stove

How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove

A wood-burning stove can be effective and efficient to heat your home. But, it's essential to maintain your stove in order to ensure the best performance.

Tip: Select seasoned wood with a low moisture content. This will allow for more time to burn and a higher heat output.

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

How They Work

Like the name suggests woodburning stoves burn wood in order to generate heat. The fire is contained within an aluminum and glass body that assists in maintaining a constant temperature inside the home. It also serves as a barrier to prevent smoke from entering your living space.

The primary way stoves control the combustion process is through regulating the quantity of air they allow into the fire. This is done through one or more air vents that can be shut and opened to control the amount of oxygen that is pumped into the fire.

Modern stoves typically employ catalytic or non-catalytic technology to regulate this. Catalytic stoves come with a catalytic convertor designed to reburn the gases that are generated during primary combustion to ensure they don't escape the room. Non-catalytical stoves are not equipped with the catalyser, and instead rely on secondary combustion inside the firebox in order to reduce emissions.

It is recommended that you only burn firewood that is seasoned in your woodburning fireplace. This means that it must have a moisture level of less than 20, as this allows the fire to burn more efficiently. This will help to reduce the amount of smoke and harmful pollution from the flue system and also make the glass inside your stove less prone to be blackened by creosote, which is a byproduct of burning wood that can build up over time.

In addition to reducing emissions the right kind of wood can save money on heating costs, as it will produce more heat for the same amount of multi fuel stoves for sale. This is because the surface area of dry wood is larger and generates more heat per volume.

Smoke from wood can be dangerous to anyone, but it is especially harmful to children and older adults with weakened lungs. It can also affect those with lung disorders such as asthma or chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD). If you reside in a designated smoke control zone, make sure your stove is properly and properly seasoned. It should also be equipped with a chimney that is in compliance with the requirements of the local area.

Burning Wood

Woodburning stoves are a clean and renewable source of heat. They can be used to keep your home warm during a power outage. They also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which are 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 avoid the build-up of creosote. However it is essential to monitor the combustion. Creosote, a dangerous byproduct of incomplete combustion, can clog the chimney and cause it to lose its efficiency. It also creates a fire hazard. By using seasoned logs, you can keep creosote at a minimum and help you save money on logs. It also helps you avoid hiring an expert to clean your chimney.

There are stoves that burn both coal and wood, giving you a choice between carbon-neutral sources of energy. It is crucial to remember that coal is not a climate friendly fuel, and there are concerns regarding the method by which it is extracted.

It is recommended to use an Defra approved stove, and ideally one that is also Ecodesign ready, since they are in line with the latest emission regulations. The UK building regulations specify the type of flue as well as the size of the hearth, and the distance between the stove and the combustible material. It is recommended to talk to our stove experts prior to purchasing an appliance.

Paper and other combustibles like trash and paper should not be used in woodburning appliances. They can cause more pollution, and at worst the possibility of a chimney fire. At best, they will cause them to be less efficient. Other combustibles are less dense than firewood, and thus produce less heat and create more particles.

It is also crucial to only use dried, seasoned, split and dried firewood since this will be more efficient in burning. Using wet or damp wood can produce lots of smoke as well as producing more pollutants. It is also recommended to use a good quality stove pipe to ensure that the flue temperatures are high enough and that it is installed correctly.

Emissions

Woodburning stoves emit a variety of gases and particles. Mostly they produce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which is small enough to pass through the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing damage to the heart, liver and brain. However, they also produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and carcinogenic compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, also known as PAHs. Some of them even release harmful metals such as arsenic and mercury, based on the type of multi fuel stoves they're burning.

There have been a variety of attempts in the US to regulate how much wood-burning stoves emit pollution and have had varying degrees of success. In 1988 the Environmental Protection Agency set emissions guidelines that basically limited how much pollution new stoves could release. 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 not more than 4 grams of pollution every hour.

While these strict regulations caused a major change in the industry, leading hundreds of smaller manufacturers to close up shop and create an effort to design and build high-quality and efficient stoves that could last and capable of producing lower emission levels than traditional models. Stove designers studied and analyzed combustion air flow, baffles, combustion chamber shapes, insulating materials, and recirculation systems in order to improve their products. Over time, they succeeded.

The moisture content of wood is a major factor in determining the emission. The higher the moisture level is, the more harmful emissions the stove produces. The best way to reduce the amount of emissions is by using firewood that has been properly dried over a time of 6-8 months.

Several studies have shown that a single woodburning stove, in the event of frequent use and is regularly used, can produce particles as large as 15 diesel cars based on non-scientific tests that compare the exhaust-related PM2.5 only. However, these studies fail to take into account that about half of a car's particle pollution is caused by the brakes, engine, and tyres instead of its exhaust.

Ten blue states are pushing on EPA to review their carbon emissions and air-quality guidelines for wood-burning appliances. Attorneys general from New York, Washington and Illinois have declared that they will sue EPA if it continues to allow high-emitting wood-burning stoves to to be sold in homes across the country.

Maintenance

Wood burning stoves are efficient in heating homes, but they aren't easy to maintain. To keep your stove looking and functioning efficiently, you'll need to clean it frequently. A dirty stove could be detrimental to the health of occupants and the amount of heat it generates. In addition to cleaning the stove, there are additional maintenance tasks that need to be carried out to ensure that it works well.

Cleaning the interior and exterior of a stove is simple to do. It is recommended to clean the stove on a weekly or biweekly basis depending on how often it is used. It is also recommended to empty ash from the firebox each time the stove has been used. Spread newspaper on the floor prior to scooping ashes from the stove, and put on gloves to protect your hands. Make use of a metal container instead of a bucket in order to avoid corrosion.

It is essential to keep the flue and chimney clean. A chimney sweep professional should be employed once or twice a year to clean the chimney and stove thoroughly. This will help to keep creosote from accumulating and decrease the chance of chimney fires.

A chimney should also be checked for cracks and creosote buildup, bird nests, and other debris. A professional chimney sweep is in a position to fix these issues and restore a safe, working chimney.

The clear glass of a wood burning stove can become smudged or cloudy as soot builds up over time. Spray an ammonia-based mixture and water on the glass, and wipe it with a clean cloth. Be careful not to scratch the glass, since this can cause it to weaken and shatter when it's hot.

Paint that is resistant to heat can be used to re-paint woodburning fireplace in case the paint starts to chip. These paints are typically available at places where wood stoves are sold and are available in many colors.