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How to Maintain a Woodburning Stove

A woodburning stove can be a powerful and efficient method of heating the home. However, it's important to keep your stove in good condition to ensure maximum performance.

Tip: Choose seasoned wood with low moisture content. This will allow for longer burn time and will produce more heat.

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

How They Work

Like the name suggests, woodburning stoves burn wood in order to generate heat. The fire is contained within the body of glass and metal that helps to maintain a constant temperature inside the home. It also serves as a barrier against smoke entering the living area.

Stoves manage combustion by controlling the amount of oxygen they let into the fire. This is done by opening and closing one or more air vents.

Modern stoves typically employ non-catalytic or catalytic technology to regulate this. Catalytic stoves have catalytic converters that are designed to reburn the gasses produced during primary combustion, to ensure that they do not escape into the room. Non-catalytic stoves, on other hand, do not have a catalyst and rely solely on secondary combustion taking place within the firebox to minimize emissions.

It is recommended to use firewood that has been seasoned in your fireplace that burns wood. This means that it must have a moisture content less than 20 percent and this will allow the fire to burn more efficiently. This will lessen the amount of smoke and harmful pollutants 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 burning wood and can accumulate over time.

The use of wood that is seasoned will lower emissions and help you save money in your heating bills. It generates more heat per unit of fuel. This is because the surface area of dry wood is larger and produces more heat per volume.

However, it can be harmful for everyone, especially children and older adults who have vulnerable lungs. It can also irritate those with lung conditions like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you reside in a designated smoke-control zone, ensure that your stove is properly seasoned. It should also be equipped with a chimney that is in compliance with the standards of the area.

Burning Wood

Woodburning stoves are a clean and renewable source of heat. They can also 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 work more efficiently than older models and are designed to avoid creosote build-up but it is still important to monitor the combustion process. Creosote is a potentially dangerous byproduct of incomplete combustion can block the chimney and cause it to lose its efficiency. It also creates a fire hazard. Using seasoned logs will keep creosote low, and save you money on logs. It also helps you avoid hiring a professional to clean your chimney.

You can also select stoves that burn both wood and coal, giving you a choice between carbon-neutral sources of energy. It is crucial to keep in mind that coal is not a sustainable fuel, and there are concerns regarding the method by which it is mined.

It is best to use an Defra approved stove and ideally one that is Ecodesign ready, as they are in line with the most recent emission regulations. The UK building regulations have specific requirements for the way that the flue is positioned as well as the size of the hearth and the distance the stove is from combustible materials It is therefore advisable to consult one of our stove experts before purchasing a new stove.

Other types of combustibles like paper and garbage are not suitable for use in wood-burning stoves as they could cause more pollution, and at worst, a chimney fire and, at best, make them operate less effectively. This is because combustibles other than firewood have different density properties than firewood, which means they burn at a lower temperature and produce more particulates.

It is also essential to use only seasoned, split and dried firewood since this will burn more effectively. Using wet or damp wood produces lots of smoke as well as generating more pollution. It is also recommended to make use of a high-quality stove pipe to ensure that the flue temperatures are high enough and that it is installed correctly.

Emissions

Wood-burning stoves produce a myriad 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 liver, heart and brain. They also produce carcinogenic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Some even release harmful metals such as arsenic and mercury, depending on the type of fuel they're burning.

In the US, there have been numerous attempts to regulate the amount of pollution woodburning stoves generate with different degrees of success. In 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency established emission guidelines that regulated the amount of pollution new stoves were allowed to release. Since since then, there's been two changes to the regulations. The most recent one, in 2015 requires that all stoves catalytic or non-catalytic release no more than 4 grams of pollution each hour.

These strict rules led to a major shake-up of the industry, and forced hundreds of smaller manufacturers out of business. However they also sparked the development of efficient stoves that could last and could emit less carbon dioxide than conventional models. To improve their products, stove designers looked at and analysed combustion flow baffles, the shape of the combustion chamber. They also looked into insulating materials and Recirculation systems. Over time they succeeded.

Emissions are largely dependent on the moisture content of the wood that's burned. The higher the moisture content of the wood, the more pollutants the stove can produce. The best way to reduce the emission levels is to using seasoned firewood which is properly dried over a period of 6-8 months.

Several studies have shown that a single woodburning stove if it's used regularly, can generate particles as large as 15 diesel cars based on tests that aren't scientifically based which compare exhaust-related PM2.5 only. These studies do not consider that the majority of pollution from cars comes from 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 of 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 continuing to allow high-emitting stoves to be sold and installed in homes across the nation.

Maintenance

While woodburning stoves can be extremely efficient in heating homes however, they can be a challenge to maintain. A stove will need to be cleaned regularly to ensure it is clean and functioning correctly. A dirty stove can have an impact on the health of occupants and the amount of heat it produces. Cleaning the stove is not the only maintenance task that needs to be done to keep it running smoothly.

Cleaning the exterior and interior of a stove is simple to do. Cleaning a stove is recommended on a weekly basis or every two weeks depending on the frequency at which it is used. It is also a good idea to empty the firebox of ash every time the stove is being used. Spread old newspaper on the floor and put on gloves when taking the ashes out. It is also an excellent idea to use a metal ash container instead of a bucket because this will stop rust from forming.

It is crucial to keep the chimney and flue in good condition. It is a good idea to employ an experienced chimney sweeper every year or once to thoroughly clean the chimney and stove. This will help keep creosote from accumulating and decrease the chance of fires on chimneys.

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

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

Paint that is heat resistant can be used to paint a 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 a variety of colors.