An outdoor wood furnace is a kind of wood stove that is placed outside a home or away from a living place and that provides heat inside the house through a boiler system. The functioning of an outdoor wood furnace is different from an indoor furnace that is placed inside the house to provide direct heat.
The outdoor wood furnaces are preferred by many home owners among a load of choices to warm the house as the wood furnaces are more effective and efficient. The wood furnaces use wood rather than using propane, natural gas or electric power supply which is why is cheaper than other ways to provide heat in a house.
HOW AN OUTDOOR WOOD FURNACE OPERATES
There is a very simple principle that underlines the functioning of an outdoor wood furnace. Instead of placing an indoor wood stove or furnace inside the house, which can cause unpleasant odors, indoor pollution, and many other health hazard along with a continuous danger of fire hazard, an outdoor wooden furnace is a separate structure that is being placed far from your home and heats your house indirectly.
The main process takes place in a firebox in which wood is being burned. This fire box is surrounded by a water jacket which is a chamber in which water is kept. When you start the fire, the water starts heating. This heated water is pumped to your home continuously.
There are well insulated pipes that are buried two feet underground and link your home and the outdoor wood furnace. The water gets pumped in a loop – first it get pumped from the outdoor furnace to the pipes, which take it toward your home to provide heat, then after the heat is exchanged, it is being taken back to the water chamber in the furnace.
A heat exchanger which is installed in your current furnace, transfers the heat of water to the furnace blower, which then circulates the heat produced by the outdoor boiler throughout your home.
There is an option to add additional pipes to heat other buildings too. Once the water gets heated to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, a blower fan which feeds air to the fire gets turned off automatically and the damper is closed. This process saves wood by starving the fire of oxygen proving to be an efficient way to heat a house. When the fire is turned off, the water temperature level will start to fall. When the water temperature falls to 160 degrees, the fans are started again automatically, feeding fire to the smoldering wood, heating the water to 180 degrees again. This process maintains the temperature of water between 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit and you get the continuous supply of heat inside your house.
This efficient set-up to heat up a house usually only requires refilling of wood one time a day.
Why choose an outdoor wood furnace over an indoor wood furnace?
Placing an indoor furnace inside your house means to spare a large space for them as they occupy a certain amount of space. Indoor furnaces also produce unpleasant odors inside your house. These indoor wood burning stoves create pollution and smoke inside an enclosed are which results in breathing, skin and other health problems. They also provide a significant amount of fire risk, resulting to be much more inconvenient and dangerous.
An outdoor wood furnace on the other hand provides less threat of a health hazard and that of a fire explosion indoor. This allows people with kids and pets to relax easy, assured that their family and belongings are safe.
The downsides of outdoor wood furnaces:
While an outdoor wood furnace provides secure and efficient heating, they have their own disadvantage with them. Most of these risks and drawbacks can be reduced with a little extra efficiency and by buying a best quality out door wooden furnace.
The main problem associated with outdoor wooden furnaces are the amount of smoke hey produce. As the outdoor wood furnaces are built with regulators to stop water reservoir from getting extremely hot, they produce a large amount of smoke while in operation. If you live in a village or near country side, this doesn’t seem like a problem but in an urban area, it will be the cause of legal and environmental problems. A cheap outdoor furnace is more prone to fast rust and deterioration.
Another problem encountered with outdoor wooden furnaces is that they pose an inconvenience if you have to control them. As these set ups are placed away from home, if there is any problem, you will have to go out of the house to check it, which can be frustrating in cold nights.
How to get an efficient wood furnace:
When you go to shop for an outdoor wooden furnace, there are some things to keep in mind to ensure that you get the best wooden furnace. Firstly, you must choose a model that has the highest customer rating for efficient fuel burning. A wooden furnace that burns efficiently, will help in saving your money by using less fuel than other less efficient furnaces and will also demand less work on your behalf. An efficient wooden furnace will also produce a low amount of smoke so that you will not hear any complaints from neighbors.
Also, choose a furnace that has a high smokestack, as they are more environmental friendly. Also, get a wooden furnace that has an internal chimney which reduces the fire danger and are well worth the money paid for them.
If you want to have a reliable wooden furnace that provides consistent heat to your house while being highly efficient and environmental friendly, it is better to pay extra amount of money to get a wooden furnace which is high quality. It is also a good consideration to pay an expert contractor to install these furnaces and boilers so that you can reduce the cost and trouble of having to check and pay for any damage later on.
