Outdoor Furnace: Top 4 Ways to Make Your Wood Supply Last Longer
Wood is cheap. We love to save money. But it is also a ton of work. So if we can burn less wood, that is always better. Here are FOUR easy steps to make your wood supply last longer - these are steps you can take NOW:
1. Add a Chimney Extension
Remember that HE furnaces require a chimney adapter to add the extension. Blower fans that are older than 5 years old will begin to lose their effectiveness and may not be performing at their optimal power or CFM (cubic feet of air per minute). We recommend replacing the blower fan if you are experiencing poor efficiency for undiagnosed reasons.
AT LEAST, we recommend having a spare blower fan on hand for when your fan dies, which will inevitably happen during the first 10-20 years of your furnace life. Click HERE for our blower fans and learn more.
3.Cover Your Wood
If your woodpile is not covered, you likely have snow, frost, and ice all over your wood. As temps rise above freezing, there may be considerable rain making your wood moisture content high. It is never too late to cover your woodpile with a tarp, which enables the wood to dry and makes your burn more efficient.
Wet wood will burn in your boiler, but many of the BTUs produced from the burning of your wood fuel is wasted because that energy is required just to burn off the water and convert it to steam.
Cover only the top of your woodpile so air can flow through it from the sides and dry out the wood.
4. Completely Clean the Ash and Creosote From Your Boiler
To get the most out of your wood fuel, you want the heat from the wood
to transfer into your water jacket. But a dirty furnace is less efficient.
If the walls of your boiler are covered with thick black creosote, much of the heat from your wood will not transfer to your home, but will just go out the chimney and be wasted.
This can be prevented by putting a creosote stick on your fire once per week. These cost only $3.75 and are available in a 5-pack HERE.
Also, deep layers of ash will prevent heat transfer of BTUs from your wood fuel into the water jacket. So, keep the ash layer to one inch or less.
Also, make sure your chimney, heat exchange tubes, and deflector plate area are clean - deep layers of ash in these areas will prevent proper airflow which reduces efficiency also. Cleaning brushes are available in the "Cleaning Supplies and Tools" section of our website HERE.
These TIPS will not only help you conserve wood, but also helps you save more MONEY, and WORK LESS so you have more time with your family and hobbies!
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Free Water Testing
One of the most important steps in prolonging the life of your outdoor wood boiler is to ensure that the water in your boiler is not corroding the steel. Water starts to eat holes in steel immediately upon contact (through rust corrosion) unless properly treated. We test your outdoor boiler water for free! Get your wood boiler water treatment now!
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