Technical Aspects of a Wood Furnace
 

Carbon monoxide, often called the "silent killer" is an odorless, tasteless gas that reacts with the hemoglobin in the blood. The hemoglobin is the oxygen carrier in the blood stream, and is responsible for supplying tissues with oxygen and carrying away carbon dioxide.

Hemoglobin has a hard time telling the difference between carbon monoxide and oxygen. As a result, the hemoglobin in the blood stream will pick up carbon monoxide as if it was oxygen. Since living tissue can't survive on carbon monoxide, it dies, sometimes killing the person as well.
 

The combustion chamber, or "fire box" is a chamber with an access door for loading wood and a chimney. Notice that the top of the fire box is rippled. When wood is burned, it releases gases which are also combustible. Rather then vent them through a chimney, a well designed wood furnace will trap these gases and burn them, capturing as much heat from the wood as possible.

A quality fire box is made from either high quality carbon steel or titanium enhanced stainless steel to prevent rust. This is important because of the moisture content of wood.

The efficiency of a wood furnace is determined by how much heat is claimed from the material burned. Generally, the better the furnace collects the heat from the fuel, the more efficient. When wood burns at low temperatures, it produces more ash and smoke than at higher temperatures. The addition of a properly placed natural draft, or a forced air blower increases the burn temperature and efficiency.

In addition, finding the proper balance between fire box volume and water capacity is important. Simply having greater water capacity does not mean higher efficiency, and having a large fire box does not mean that the furnace collects the heat efficiently.

<< PREVIOUS       NEXT >>