How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove
A wood-burning stove is a reliable and efficient method of heating your home. It is important to maintain your woodburning stove to ensure its maximum performance.
Tips: Choose wood that is seasoned with low moisture content. This will let you burn the wood for a longer period and produce more heat.
The state environmental agencies are trying to find a solution to the issue of particulate pollution caused by old wood-burning stoves.
How They Work
Like the name suggests, woodburning stoves burn wood to generate heat. They accomplish this by enclosing the fire within a metal and glass body, which also helps to keep the temperature of your home at an even level. It also serves as a barrier to smoke from entering your living space.
The primary way stoves control the combustion process is through regulating the amount of air they let into the fire. This is accomplished by opening and closing one or more air vents.
Modern stoves utilize catalytical or non-catalytical technology to regulate this. Catalytic stoves have an catalytic convertor designed to reburn the gas that is produced during primary combustion so they don't escape the room. Non-catalytical stoves don't have a catalyser and rely on secondary combustion within the firebox in order to reduce emissions.
It is recommended to only burn firewood that is seasoned in your woodburning fireplace. It must have a moisture level below 20%, which will allow the fire to burn efficiently. This will reduce smoke and harmful pollution from the flue system, and also make the glass inside your stove less likely to become blackened due to creosote which is a byproduct of burning wood which can accumulate over time.
The use of wood that is seasoned will reduce emissions and save money in your heating bills. It generates more heat per unit of fuel. This is because dry wood has a larger surface area and consequently produces more heat from a certain volume of fuel.
Smoke from wood can be harmful to anyone, however it is particularly harmful to children and adults with weakened lungs. It can also cause irritation to those with lung disorders such as asthma or chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). If you live in a designated smoke control zone, make sure your stove is properly seasoned. It should also be equipped with a chimney which meets the requirements of the local area.
Burning Wood
Wood-burning stoves are a safe and renewable source of heat. They can also be used to keep your home warm during an power outage. They also help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which can be detrimental to the environment, from fossil fuels, such as gas and oil.
Modern wood-burning stoves are more efficient than previous models, and are designed to avoid the build-up of creosote. However, it is important to keep an eye on the combustion. Creosote, a dangerous byproduct of incomplete combustion can block the chimney and cause it to become less efficient. It also creates a fire hazard. The use of seasoned logs will keep creosote low, and save you money on logs. It also can help you avoid hiring a professional to clean your chimney.
You can also get stoves that can burn wood and coal, which gives you a choice of carbon-neutral energy sources. However, it is important to remember that burning coal is not a climate-friendly fuel, and there are concerns about how it is mined and transported.
It is recommended to use the Defra approved stove and ideally one that is also Ecodesign ready, since these will comply with the latest emission regulations. The UK building regulations specify the type of flue and the size of the hearth and the distance between the stove and combustible material. It is best to talk to our stove experts before purchasing the stove.
Other types of combustibles like garbage and paper are not suitable for use in woodburning stoves, as they can cause pollution, at worst the possibility of a chimney fire or
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It is also important to only use dry, seasoned,
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Emissions
Wood-burning stoves produce a myriad of gases and particles. They produce a lot of fine particulate (PM2.5), which can be absorbed into the lungs, enter the bloodstream and potentially damage the liver, heart and brain. However they also produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and carcinogenic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Some of them even release harmful metals such as mercury and
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There have been numerous attempts in the US to regulate how much wood-burning stoves emit pollution, with varying degrees success. In 1988 the Environmental Protection Agency set emissions guidelines that basically limited the amount of pollutants that new stoves could emit. Since since then, there's been two revisions to the regulations. The most recent revision in 2015 mandates that all units whether catalytic or not, emit no more than 4 grams of pollutants each hour.
These rules imposed by the government caused a major shake-up in the industry, forcing hundreds of smaller companies out of business. However they also sparked a race to design efficient stoves that could last and could produce lower emissions than conventional models. To improve their products, stove makers looked at and analysed combustion flow, baffles and combustion chamber shapes. They also looked into the insulation materials and recirculation systems. In time, they were successful.
The emission levels are mostly influenced by the moisture content of the wood being burned. The higher the level of moisture of the wood, the more pollutants the stove can produce. The best way to reduce the emission levels is to making use of seasoned firewood that has been properly dried over a period of 6-8 months.
According to several studies, comparing exhaust-related particle pollution only, a woodburning stove can create as much particle pollution as 15 diesel vehicles. These tests were not scientifically valid. However these studies fail to consider that around half of car's particle pollution is caused by the brakes, engine, and tyres instead of its exhaust.
Ten blue states are putting pressure on EPA to examine their carbon emissions and guidelines on air quality for wood-burning stoves. Attorneys general from New York, Washington and Illinois have announced that they will sue EPA in the event that it continues to allow high-emitting wood-burning stoves to to be sold in homes across the country.
Maintenance
While woodburning stoves are very efficient in heating homes, they can be difficult to maintain. To ensure that your stove is clean and functioning properly, you will have to keep it clean regularly. A dirty stove can affect the health of those who use it and how much heat it produces. In addition to cleaning the stove,
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It is simple to clean the interior and exterior of a stove. Cleaning a stove is recommended on a weekly basis or every two weeks depending on how frequently it is used. It is also recommended to clean the ash from the firebox every time the stove is being used. Spread newspaper on the floor prior to scooping the ashes out of the stove, and wear gloves to protect your hands. Use a metal container instead of a bucket in order to avoid the rusting.
It is essential to keep the chimney and flue clean. A professional chimney sweep is required once or twice a year to clean the stove and chimney thoroughly. This will prevent creosote from building up and decrease the chance of fires on chimneys.
A chimney should be inspected for cracks in the flue liner and masonry and creosote deposits that are excessive or bird nests, as well as other debris. A professional chimney sweep is able to fix these issues to create a safe and working chimney.
Over time, the glass from the wood-burning stove will become clouded and smudged with soot. Spray an ammonia-based mixture and
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If the paint on a woodburning stove begins to chip it can be easily replaced with a high-quality paint that is heat resistant. These paints can be purchased at the majority of retailers for wood stoves and come in a wide selection of colors.
