Burning Too Much Wood In Your Outdoor Wood Boiler?
Do you believe you are burning too much wood in your outdoor wood furnace? High wood consumption can be caused by a number of factors – but many of these can be easily resolved.
If your outdoor wood furnace is consuming wood, those BTUs are going somewhere. If you think you are burning too much wood, then the question you will want to answer is “Where did those BTUs go?” You want that heat energy to go into your home, not somewhere else!
Common Culprits Why You are Burning Too Much Wood
NO CHIMNEY EXTENSION
The biggest culprit to burning too much wood is this: NO CHIMNEY EXTENSION! Chimney extensions greatly improve efficiency and cut wood consumption. This is the easiest to resolve also – just get an INSULATED chimney extension.
Remember that chimney extensions must be properly insulated so they don’t harm your boiler! Don’t just add a section of single-wall pipe to your chimney – that will harm your outdoor wood boiler. Click HERE to learn more about why you need an insulated chimney extension.
THE WOOD HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY SEASONED
If your wood is green, technically you are burning almost 40% of your wood pile just to burn off the moisture in your wood!
CREASOTE BUILD UP
If your wood isn't properly seasoned, you will likely have thick layers of creosote inside your boiler. You should remove those layers of creosote by tossing a creosote stick into your outdoor wood furnace's firebox once per week.
BAD FURNACE INSULATION
The next culprit is insulation at your outdoor wood furnace. If you will feel warmth when you touch the skin or roof of your furnace, you may need to upgrade your insulation.
ASH MAINTENANCE
If the level of the ash in your furnace is too high, this kills the efficiency of your furnace and far too much of your heat will just go out the chimney.
BROKEN AQUASTAT CONTROLER
If your Aquastat Controller is not functioning properly, it must be replaced. Get Aquastat Controller at Outdoorboiler.com or call our technical support team for a proper diagnosis.
DISCONNECTED PULL ROD
if your traditional model furnace has a pull rod, the normal operating position of that rod is pushed in. If you operate the boiler with it pulled out, or if the plate has become disconnected from the pull rod, most of the heat generated in your firebox will escape too quickly up the chimney and you will waste wood.
Hopefully this was helpful! We promise that if you follow these instructions that you will be able to burn wood without wasting any of the actual burn power!
