How much wood do you split for your owb?

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There seems to be some confusion here, so I will say one more time...

"If you burn anything other than dry, seasoned firewood in your OWB, your are doing it wrong."

You folks have yet to meet the likes of Mr TreeCo, who would like nothing more than to outlaw OWB's of any kind as a result of bad burning practices.

OWB Ban Search Results

Lot of interesting reading there.....
 
I burn 8-10 cords/ year. I like to burn DRY wood Split or not. So I keep 20-30 cords stacked and dried.

If I see much smoke after th initial fire-up -- my wood is too wet!

Dry wood is more efficient and less harmful to everyone/environment.
 
OK, as a direct answer to his question about potentially damaging his OWB by burning treated wood, the answer is YES!
Think about it this way... You've probably heard how corrosive treated wood is to any metal fasteners besides stainless steel, right? And given the right conditions, it is even hard on stainless. So what do you think will happen when the wood is burned away and all those corrosive chemicals are concentrated in the ash and creosote in the OWB?:jawdrop:
Here endeth the lesson.
 
How hard is it to be prepared you all know that you gonna burn wood keep the stuff cut and stack where air and sun can get to it because well seasoned wood is THE KEY just look on here these guys that been burning for years KNOW GREEN WOOD JUST SMOLDERS AND DOESEN T HAVE THE EFFICIENCY!!!!!:deadhorse:
 
I like having a mix of split and whole rounds as stated by yourself and others, it's easier to fill the fire box with different sized wood.


There have been times where all I had were large rounds. It was a pain to try to jam another round in there, that was just a little too big to fit beside the others.

The longer it took me to try to squeeze that round in there, the bigger the fire got as it got more air. Flames would be shooting out the fire box door the longer I struggled with the round. I ended up feeling like I was giving a dragon a dental cleaning.

Better to have different sizes on hand.

:agree2:
 
I have to jump in here gentleman...I've owned a central owb for five years. I always burned what was available. Two kids hardly... had time to split and season the wood. I started seasoning and splitting the wood the past two years and let me tell you it is quite a difference when burning seasoned wood. It burns easier and with less smoke. I don't know if it's in my head but I seems as if it burns hotter and last longer..who knows! My two pesos..Burn what you have but dry is better!
 
I have to jump in here gentleman...I've owned a central owb for five years. I always burned what was available. Two kids hardly... had time to split and season the wood. I started seasoning and splitting the wood the past two years and let me tell you it is quite a difference when burning seasoned wood. It burns easier and with less smoke. I don't know if it's in my head but I seems as if it burns hotter and last longer..who knows! My two pesos..Burn what you have but dry is better!

I just put in my Central OWB last year and was very impressed. I had seasoned wood and the guy down the road "ALWAYS" burns green wood because it seems to last longer. I used half of what he used and his home is well insulated. Don't forget. Part of the heat from your fire goes to Dry your green wood in your stove or it would not burn. In reality you gain nothing by burning green or unseasoned wood.
 
its good to see all the knowledge on here and how everyone burns but thats the key and hope everyone understands this so the dont ban these in all states!!
 
its good to see all the knowledge on here and how everyone burns but thats the key and hope everyone understands this so the dont ban these in all states!!

They tried banning these in CT legislation last year but it didn't go thruough because all of the farm bosses got involved. They must have a lot of pull in CT..i dunno! Either way people are getting pretty serious about banning these things. They will try and revisit it next year. I live on a hill far away from everyon so i have little impact on my neighbors. If they go with a ban or limit burning to months it still effects me. I'll keep everyone posted.
 
Burning green wood is like driving your truck with the brakes on. As far as splitting- I like to mix it up. When I load it I rake the coals, throw a couple of splits directly on the coals, then put enough full rounds on the splits to make it untill I want to load it again. It has been my experence if I put it in, it will eat it. Being stingy with the wood and only putting in enough to make it to the next fill seems to use less.
 
Burning green wood is like driving your truck with the brakes on. As far as splitting- I like to mix it up. When I load it I rake the coals, throw a couple of splits directly on the coals, then put enough full rounds on the splits to make it untill I want to load it again. It has been my experence if I put it in, it will eat it. Being stingy with the wood and only putting in enough to make it to the next fill seems to use less.

Rep for you...:cheers: Can you imagine what it would be like were the OWB's from day one were instructed, advertised, or told to burn just seasoned wood..? I bet things would not be as they are today.
 
I did the same thing up until a year ago. I def saved money on my hot water bill. I took a break from it this year. That is about how much wood I burned too. That's a hell of a lot of wood.

This year the circ pump will kick on only when the fan in the house kicks on. :) That plus burning seasoned wood should reduce my usage.

BUT - we're also going to do 100% of our hot water this year too - that may take be back up to 10 cords - IDK....it'll be interesting to see for sure.
 
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