Have You Ever Heard About Outdoor Wood Burning Practices?

Using wood for indoor home heating could be a cheap way to augment your heating bills but do you know that it is not just about using wood but how you use your wood? Wood burning stove manufacturers each have their own wood burning practices. These are techniques on how to burn wood in an efficient and smart manner which improves the efficiency of your wood stove and will also get you savings along the way. Here are some of them:

1. Always read and follow all operating instructions supplied by the manufacturer. You can find this in an operating manual or download the manual that is suitable for your particular stove model online.
2. Only use listed fuels recommended by the manufacturer of your stove. Never use trash, plastics, gasoline, rubber, naphtha, household garbage, material treated with petroleum products such as particle board, railroad ties and pressure treated wood, leaves, paper products, and cardboard.
3. For a more efficient burn, the loading times and amount of wood must be followed. Follow the manufacturer’s written instructions for recommended loading times and amounts which are stated in your operating manual.
4. You may be tempted to use starting fuels. No matter what you do, never use lighter fluids, gasoline or chemicals.
5. The location of the unit matters. It is recommended that the unit be located with due consideration to the prevailing wind direction.

Outdoor Wood Furnace Best Burn Practices according to the EPA HH Phase 2 (0.32 LBS/MM Btu Output) For Stick Wood; Batch Load

1. Read and follow all operating instructions supplied by the manufacturer.
2. Only use listed fuels recommended by the manufacturer of your unit. Never use the following: trash, plastics, gasoline, rubber, naphtha, household garbage, material treated with petroleum products (particle board, railroad ties and pressure treated wood), leaves, paper products, and cardboard.
3. For a more efficient burn, pay careful attention to loading times and amounts. Follow the manufacturer’s written instructions for recommended loading times and amounts.
4. Do not use lighter fluids, gasoline or chemicals.
5. It is recommended that the unit be located with due consideration to the prevailing wind direction. If the stove is located within 300 feet to any residence not served by the furnace, it is recommended that the chimney be at least 2 feet higher than the peak of the residence served. If it is located within 100 feet to any residence not served by the furnace, the chimney must be 2 feet higher than the peak of the residence served or not served, whichever is higher.

Important reminder:

Even if you are using your stove outdoors, you will still need to follow some important guidelines in its use and sometimes, plain common sense. Comply with all applicable state and local codes. Be considerate of neighbors when operating your furnace. Operating your furnace in the summer months be certain that your chimney exhaust is not affecting neighbors with an open window. 

Open Air Wood Furnace Chimney Emissions Standards and the Environment

Americans have smoldered wood for eras. Mindful manufacturers work to guarantee their heaters (additionally alluded to as hydronic radiators) are appropriately introduced and used to create clean, protected and effective high temperature.

EPA Emissions Testings

To comprehend the ecological effect of open air wood blazing heaters, it is best to depend on the testing and reports created by the U.S. Natural Protection Agency (EPA). In the wake of testing an outdoor wood burning heater, EPA reported that these heaters produce comparable particulate matter (PM) as wood stoves.

EPA said: "Contrasted with an extensive variety of private warming alternatives, these heaters' discharges were of the same request as other stick wood copying apparatuses." (EPA report: EPA/600/SR-98/017, February 1998)

Moreover, when contrasting information from this report and information from a report on EPA confirmed stage 2 indoor wood stoves (EPA report: EPA/600/SR-00/100 December 2000), the correlation shows discharges from the Central Boiler wood heater and EPA guaranteed stage 2 indoor wood stoves both normal 10 grams of particulate matter every kilogram (g/kg) of wood devoured. (Outflows Comparison from Two EPA Reports)

At the point when heating a home, outside wood heaters likewise deliver less particulate matter than chimneys.

EPA Emissions Guidelines

Popular outdoor wood heating brands work with EPA on new testing guidelines and works with state and neighborhood governments on fitting regulations to empower a cleaner best outdoor wood furnace and to actualize Best Burn Practices.

On January 29, 2007, EPA declared new emanations test rules under Phase 1 to advance the production and offer of cleaner outside wood heaters. Stage 1 finished on March 31, 2010. On October 23, 2008, EPA declared Phase 2 of EPA's Hydronic Heater Program to advance the production and offer of cleaner and more proficient open air wood heaters. The EPA HH Phase 2 Program for outside wood heaters has a considerably more stringent emanation standard of 0.32 lbs/million Btu of hotness yield. To meet a yield based emanation constrain, the apparatus must attain to low PM outflows and high proficiency. Fundamentally, the Phase 2 Program has implicit into it, prerequisites by makers to create machines that are fit for delivering low outflow alongside high proficiency.

Different Emissions Studies

A few discharges studies report that warming homes with open air wood heaters create a larger number of emanations than warming homes with indoor wood stoves. These reports are deceiving. To high temperature an average 3,000-square-foot home, the quantity of wood stoves needed to hotness the home would have equivalent emanations to those from a solitary outside wood heater warming that same home. Actually, open air wood heaters are more productive than chimneys. There are more than 16 million chimneys utilized as a part of homes in the United States. A Central Boiler open air wood heater will warm a home with less wood blazed and far less PM emanations than warming the same home with chimneys.

Apparently, there are around 200,000 outside wood heaters and 10 million indoor wood stoves in the United States.