Thread: at which diameter (if any) is splitting no longer worth it?

I have cut down a bunch of low diameter Aspen and spitting it has become a major pain in the rear, literally. So my question is at which diameter is it not really worth splitting it anymore. Could I just cut it to size and perhaps let it season a couple of years instead of one year and then just burn it as is?



The smaller logs in this image are about 2" or less, those are the ones I am talking about. In addition (not pictured) I cut down half a dozen mature Aspen, a couple Cottonwood, and three decent sized Alaska Birch trees all of which have quite a few branches. I don't have a wood chipper and I don't want to toss the branches out, I'd like to burn them or at least the straight parts of them. Clearly there's no splitting those branches so what's the "best practices" way of dealing with them?

I am burning all of this in a catalytic stove (Blazeking) FWIW.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated. This is my first season cutting wood. I am using a Husky 353 20" which I love for the larger logs but for the small stuff it is a bit too unwieldy/heavy. Will probably pick up a T425 to deal with the branches and small stuff.

If I can pick it up with one hand it doesn't get split. It will dry faster split but if you are far enough ahead it really doesn't matter how fast wood dries. Some wood (beech springs to mind) will not dry, just start rotting if it isn't split though. At least in this area of the country where the humidity stays high it can take a long time for wood to dry. I try to keep a few pieces of locust in full rounds that will just barely fit thru the stove door to hold the fire on those real cold nights.

Unless I'm cutting orchard wood I don't even cut anything under about eight inches, then only in Lodge pole...but in answer to your question, 6 inches...

I take the stuff 4" and under and run them through the bandsaw. Works out well for me, sometimes them little ones with the bark on will take longer to dry out than the splits.

Originally Posted by WidowMaker

Unless I'm cutting orchard wood I don't even cut anything under about eight inches, then only in Lodge pole...but in answer to your question, 6 inches...

I had to clear some of the thin Aspen to have more of a view and it just seemed like it was too much wood to just toss. It's a couple of cords in 1.5" - 6" diameter (already cut and split! one cord of the small stuff that's not in the original picture) so I figured that I may as well use it as firewood. Split "seasoned" Spruce sells for $250 (US) a delivered cord here whereas 4' logs can be had for about $150 a cord. The seasoned wood is rarely if ever actually seasoned, what that terms means here is that it was cut during the winter, split yesterday, and sold today as seasoned. It's a total rip-off no matter with which supplier you go as everyone and their dog try to cash in on the firewood boom with heating oil hovering around $4.10/gal. So I took matters into my own hands and cut down a bunch of trees that were in the way of the view and in the way of getting more sun on the deck. Will post more pics tonight.

The humidity here ranges from 30-90% with May being driest and August being most humid. Last year the monthly (Jan-Dec) average relative humidity values were 57.5 68.5 65.5 56.5 48.5 48.5 56.0 63.5 66.5 67.0 71.0 72.5 70.5 so it's fairly dry there. Certainly is great news that I don't have to split the little stuff and the limbs. Will still split the 4"+ ones once, that's easy enough done, it's the tiny stuff that was killing me.

due mostly to my laziness, i didn't split some pieces smaller than 3 inches. i found out that pieces of wood with the bark on them don't seem to dry out as quick and as good as split wood and they seem to hold more insects.

so, i usually keep any small pieces in another pile and when i'm bored, i'll run them thru the splitter like an assembly line..two or three at a time just to split them in half.

I guess around 4 inches for me, less than that, I don't bother. I cut enough real small stuff that I have loads of..small stuff. I even slip some up to 10-12 inch diameter unsplit into the stacks, so I always have a handy "all nighter" in case I run out of oddball chunks. I need around over 200 a season of those big pieces, so that's a lot I don't split. all nighters and some "all dayers" as well, once the chill is off the house in the morning.

Don't know about other areas, but all my stuff dries, doesn't seem to matter split or unsplit as long as it is cut to size.

There's an auto shop up the street from me that has a wood heater, he starts every winter with just a big piled up heap of unsplit rounds, and only splits what he needs that day.

It gets hot here, stuff dries.

My rule is..if I have to touch it, it gets stacked up for firewood. Size/species..don't care.

About 2 inches or less then it doesn't get slit unless I feel like splitting, LOL. I usually burn the little stuff in the OWB just to get rid of it or in the outside fire pit. Sometimes it also get tossed in the brush pile too.

The "correct" answer for you depends on a lot of variables. Your climate, wood species, your stove, how far "ahead" you are on your wood supply, etc., etc. If I had a green stick of Oak 4" dia., I would split it in half. If I had a 6" dia. stick of Black Locust that was standing dead (forever) when I cut it, I'd leave it whole. In general terms, split sticks dry faster than UN-split & short sticks dry faster than longer ones. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by zogger

I guess around 4 inches for me, less than that, I don't bother. I cut enough real small stuff that I have loads of..small stuff. I even slip some up to 10-12 inch diameter unsplit into the stacks, so I always have a handy "all nighter" in case I run out of oddball chunks. I need around over 200 a season of those big pieces, so that's a lot I don't split. all nighters and some "all dayers" as well, once the chill is off the house in the morning.

Don't know about other areas, but all my stuff dries, doesn't seem to matter split or unsplit as long as it is cut to size.

There's an auto shop up the street from me that has a wood heater, he starts every winter with just a big piled up heap of unsplit rounds, and only splits what he needs that day.

It gets hot here, stuff dries.

My rule is..if I have to touch it, it gets stacked up for firewood. Size/species..don't care.

Right there, you nailed it. Temperature. And so long as your stacks are accessible to summer breezes (southwesterlies here), they'll dry as rapidly as possible. Helps also to cover just the tops to drain rain.

It's good to have a mix of sizes, for kindling, shoulder-season fires, and blue-norther season.

I was told buy my wood stove seller that the EPA stoves should have anything larger than a baseball split at least once. I have found that it seems to be accurate. My stove also seems to have a hard time burning round wood, just doesn't like to catch fire well.

This would be too big ??

Originally Posted by Steve2910

This would be too big ??

Yeah, you might want to crack those ones in half, just to be sure....

Anything larger than 4".

I reckon it depends on what your time is worth, too. Splitting little rounds can eat up a lot of time.

Anything 3" and up, I split. The small rounds make for good starter wood. Like Dan said, larger rounds don't seem to catch fire as well as splits.

The 353 is a fine saw. Got one last summer and have laid in 7 cords already. I'd like to have a smaller limbing saw for the little stuff. The branches, or slash I leave lay and break up for kindling later.