Split wood or unsplit for an OWB?

[Skiboat Dave]

Hi y'all I am a new poster here. I just purchased a new Central boiler 6048. I have spent the last two weeks prepping the area. I have taken some pictures and if I can figure out how to post them I will.

Anyway, I have a question for you experienced OWB folks.

Say I have a 15" round by 30" long nice hunk of hard wood. Am I better to put in the large round log or split it in half or in four times and burn it that way.

I just ordered and American 36" log splitter with a log lift so splitting is no problem.

I guess my question boils down to....for the best burn time and efficiency of my new boiler, am I better to burn large solid pieces (or what ever I can physically lift) or split the wood into smaller manageable size?

 

[Butch(OH)]

Hi and welcome to the best OWB discussion board on the 'net.

I am into my third season with my Woodmaster and so far I have not been able to find any difference in wood usage between rounds and squares. I did however feel a big difference in back pain when I was experimenting with large rounds. The biggest improvements in efficiency I have found is in total stove loading and burning dry wood. Seems like if I pour the wood to it it goes somewhere, needed or not. Wet wood goes away lots quicker too. I split all of mine so it will drier when I burn it and being easier to handle is a nice aside.

 

[Scootermsp]

Whole

If it's dry, cut it to a length you can lift in without straining yourself. Whole rounds give a longer burn time. I split most of my oak this spring only so it would season. Knowing what I know now, I'll only split rounds I can't fit into my 5036. It's faster to cut the rounds shorter for handling than it is to split. (less handling = less work & less time!). To start, I fill my OWB about 1/2 full with rounds and toss in 1 or 2 road flares. In short don't waste too much time splitting.opcorn:

 

[Jaberwky]

Hmmm, my opinion is opposite

It's faster to cut the rounds shorter for handling than it is to split. (less handling = less work & less time!).... In short don't waste too much time splitting.opcorn:

I'm interested to hear that point of view, because I'm thinking exactly the opposite this season. If I have a 30" diameter log, I would have to slice off a heckuva lot of rounds in order for them to be handled. Say that log is 9' long, and my "handle-able" rounds are 8" thick (and using green cottonwood at 58 lb/cuft that makes each piece a hair over 200lb each). This means about 12 cuts. If I use the splitter I can make 3 cuts and then an average of 4 runs through the splitter per large piece. Yes it's more splitting but to me it's a lot easier to stack and handle.

That all being said, when I do have rounds I try to load my stove so that I get the maximum number of concentric rounds packed in the firebox, and if I use a firebox rake to wedge them tight together, that resultant burn seems to last a LOT longer than if I'd packed the firebox with split logs. To me, less surface area means less air movement past the wood, and the burn is then forced to "eat" through the mass of the wood rather than spread across more surfaces.

 

[Skiboat Dave]

My boiler supplier told me to keep the wood near the front of the boiler and that would make the "heat" flow all the way across the water jacket before it heads up the flu making the most of my heat.

I know from good old fashion camp fires that a round logs "seem" to burn a lot slower than a split log. I never timed it. We would call a big round one about a 4 beer burn. :greenchainsaw:

It is a good point about drying the wood better if it is split.

 

[Blazin]

What ever you can pick up without blowin a nut. LOL! Rounds alway burn better, but can be "unrulely" when they get to big to handle.

 

[dahmower]

keep this in mind always!!

round always burns longer but a stove full of rounds u have a lot of voids so I use a combo of rounds and split wood I try to pack it as tight as possible I'm not always sure when I'll return home also EVERYTHING has a btu rating dead animals,tires, trash, misbehaving kids/ wives need I go on!!

 

[ktm250rider]

I was thinking about this over the weekend while splitting. If you look at the age old question of how much wood is in a cord. Yeah I know its 128 cuft stacked tightly with 10-30% air space. The theory goes that if you take a round that fits in a 5 gallon pail and split the round, you wont be able to fit the pieces in the pail. So if I dont split my rounds and stack them tightly into a cord and then take those rounds and split them, Id have slightly over a cord of "measured" wood. Now, if it takes 10 cords to heat my house, according to the above, I should split my wood because 10 cords of split wood is actually less wood than 10 cords of rounds.

 

[Scootermsp]

I'm interested to hear that point of view, because I'm thinking exactly the opposite this season. If I have a 30" diameter log, I would have to slice off a heckuva lot of rounds in order for them to be handled. Say that log is 9' long, and my "handle-able" rounds are 8" thick (and using green cottonwood at 58 lb/cuft that makes each piece a hair over 200lb each). This means about 12 cuts. If I use the splitter I can make 3 cuts and then an average of 4 runs through the splitter per large piece. Yes it's more splitting but to me it's a lot easier to stack and handle.

That all being said, when I do have rounds I try to load my stove so that I get the maximum number of concentric rounds packed in the firebox, and if I use a firebox rake to wedge them tight together, that resultant burn seems to last a LOT longer than if I'd packed the firebox with split logs. To me, less surface area means less air movement past the wood, and the burn is then forced to "eat" through the mass of the wood rather than spread across more surfaces.

:agree2: Yes at some point (probably over 12" diameter) it is easier to split for handling than it is to cookie your rounds, like you said---less surface area gives longer burn times. But there are many variables such as if you have a fan, seasoned wood, etc.opcorn:

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Split anything over 12" diameter one time, anything under burn whole.

Bigger chunks burn longer, but having dry wood is more important than log size IMO.

Dont be like me last year, blow out your knee in January and then all the wood in the shed is too big for the wife to load into the OWB. All my wood is a reasonable size this year

 

[grandpatractor]

Like most have said, just split it into managable pieces that you can pick up and not wreck your back. The first season with my boiler I actually got tennis elbow from throwing the big chunks in. I have found that it is more important to have the correct type of wood than the size of it. Burn the junkier when it is warm and the good dry stuff when it is cold!

 

[Lagrue]

I am by no means an expert, but have run an OWB for the last 4 yrs now. First and foremost you need dry wood. So I will split atleast once so it will dry. It is also easier to regulate you wood consumpiton. That boiler will burn it wether it needs it or not. If I have large wet rounds my fan runs all the time. I can stand the split wood in there tigher too. I split it down to where I can handle it while hauling and stacking with out hurting myself. I have about killed my self trying to load some of those big rounds.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

I'm doing both, mainly splitting for when Miss Vicky has to load the boiler.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I have a mixture of big rounds and small wood in my woodpile, and a pile of small scraps that are not easily stacked.

The small stuff is cut mostly in 36" lengths and is used along with the scraps when the weather is above 40 and the furnace will be in the smolder mode most of the time - and I try to put only enough in to last until the next time I get home to check on the furnace. If the fire goes out it is not a big deal as there is usually plenty of coals to get it burning again - and there is enough heat stored up in the water to keep the house warm. I also have enough small pieces of wood to throw on the coals to re-start the fire. I build the small fires in the back of the OWB as Woodmaster claims that is the most efficient for their OWB - and when I have these small fires I will sometimes put a few pieces of wood in the front of the firebox to dry out while the rest of the wood burns. I then just push this dry wood back into the fire the next time I check on the OWB and add wood - this method is used mostly on the weird shaped knots and stump pieces that sit outside as they don't stack well (I don't have a lot of these pieces).

For cold weather when the furnace will be burning often I use the big rounds and the size is only limited by the weight and what I can manhandle into the OWB. I put the heavy and weird shape pieces in first and work them into the back with a long stick I use to lever them into position. I cut all the rounds 24" long so that the wood is easy to stack in neat rows and the ones that are 24" long and too heavy to lift get split down to a size that I can lift.

In my Woodmaster the manual claims to put the wood in the back for more efficiency - but when the wood is long it can take up the entire length of the firebox and some efficiency is probably lost.

 

[Skiboat Dave]

A lot of you say it is really important to have your wood dry. I am not going to have that luxury this year being the first year I am burning. I did not figure on doing this until just recently. All I have is green wood.
I wonder if I should buy a few cord of seasoned cord wood to add to my green.

It is selling for $300 a cord in my neck of the woods.

I plan to have my local tree man drop off a load of hard wood in log length and my new American splitter will be in next week. But that sure isn't't much time for wood to dry even if I give it hell right away.

 

[Butch(OH)]

A lot of you say it is really important to have your wood dry. I am not going to have that luxury this year being the first year I am burning. I did not figure on doing this until just recently. All I have is green wood.
I wonder if I should buy a few cord of seasoned cord wood to add to my green.

It is selling for $300 a cord in my neck of the woods.

I plan to have my local tree man drop off a load of hard wood in log length and my new American splitter will be in next week. But that sure isn't't much time for wood to dry even if I give it hell right away.

The importance of dry wood is strictly a usage deal. They will heat your home burning fresh cut with sap pouring out and snow shoveled on top. My first year with the OWB a neighbor had a large black cherry taken down and since it was within 150 of my boiler they asked if I wanted the tops. They brought them right to me and we cut them up and burned them green. We went through that wood a lot faster than the dry wood I had been burning, maybe half again faster. The purchase price of wood adds a factor to be calculated, don't know if half again more for green is correct or not? I am lucky in that I don't pay for wood, well not directly anyway (own the farm) All I need worry about is the back factor and a pittance for extra saw fuel etc. Any way you look at it, once you get a year ahead in firewood you are going to burn much less dry wood than green wood to do the same job.

 

[Scootermsp]

Maybe One

A lot of you say it is really important to have your wood dry. I am not going to have that luxury this year being the first year I am burning. I did not figure on doing this until just recently. All I have is green wood.
I wonder if I should buy a few cord of seasoned cord wood to add to my green.

It is selling for $300 a cord in my neck of the woods.

I plan to have my local tree man drop off a load of hard wood in log length and my new American splitter will be in next week. But that sure isn't't much time for wood to dry even if I give it hell right away.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you want to buy 1 cord seasoned you could add just 1 piece from it when you load up. Once you have coals it will burn any wood. The OWB acts as a kiln and will dry the green wood you put in (costs you some BTUs). If you could find some dead trees to cut they would be perfect but hurry up, the leaves are falling and soon you won't be able to tell the dead ones unless they have no bark.

 

[chainsaw1]

Well it has already been said but---
I have had my OWB for 7 years and when i first got it i would not split what i could lift and i was good out of the gate but by the middle or end of winter i was so sick of picking up that big wood, so now i split just about everything and it is so much easier on me and pluse the wife can stoke it up if im am not their. So i would say split it into nice pices you can handle without killing yourself your back will thank you by the end of winter.

 

[Jaberwky]

My dumb opinion...

A lot of you say it is really important to have your wood dry. I am not going to have that luxury this year being the first year I am burning. I did not figure on doing this until just recently. All I have is green wood.
I wonder if I should buy a few cord of seasoned cord wood to add to my green.

It is selling for $300 a cord in my neck of the woods.

I plan to have my local tree man drop off a load of hard wood in log length and my new American splitter will be in next week. But that sure isn't't much time for wood to dry even if I give it hell right away.

If it was me I'd burn the green wood out of pride. I just can't stomach paying $300/cord for split & seasoned IF I HAVE ANOTHER CHOICE in the matter. That being said I'm not sure what the "scientific" difference is in lost efficiency between green and seasoned. Right now I'm burning some small stuff that was standing and growing this time 10 days ago, mostly 'cause it's what's closest to the OWB in the log pile and that way I don't have to carry & stack it....

 

[myzamboni]

Plus, most wood sold as seasoned, isn't really. You'd be better off buying a green cord for less money and save it as a head start for next year.

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