OWB: Splitting vs. Not?

[bodhisoma]

I have a Classic CL-5036 OWB and I've been wondering what the penalty might be for not splitting the logs I've been pulling out of my backyard (or purchase in the future). They tend to be perhaps 12", 14" at the most, tho that might change depending on what I find.

I noticed in another thread, someone wrote:

I don't buy wood but I do have the expense of cutting and hauling, although much less splitting now that I have my OWB.

Can I just toss in logs of a given-or-lesser diameter with more-or-less impunity because it's an OWB? I imagine there's an efficiency hit but is it large?

 

[morewood]

I split to make it easier to handle. If it's dry I guess it wouldn't matter whether it is split. Just make sure when you load it that it can't get jammed against itself and not stay on the coals. I have had that happen when using larger pieces.

Shea

 

[Uncle John]

You should burn seasoned wood in OWBs like anything else. Splits season quicker.

 

[artbaldoni]

If I can lift it...it goes in the OWB. I find that I can't lift as much as I used to now that I'm using a hydraulic splitter compared to spliting by hand. :msp_tongue:

 

[H-Ranch]

I tend to split down to the size I can pick up with one hand - so a 6" round it about as big as it gets. I do have some larger chunks that go to the "bummer" pile that I can't split because of knots or crotches and they go in overnight one by one until they are gone. Now that I am ahead by a couple of years I may split slightly larger as it will have plenty of time until it burns. I do try to keep the pieces reasonably sized so my wife, neighbor, or buddy can easily fill it if I'm not able.

 

[allstihl]

dont have a owb. i used to split everything, as the years go by ive gotten to where i only split what wont fit in the door. im 3yrs ahead so drying isnt an issue. i do get longer burn times with unsplit

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

All things being equal if the wood is dry and you can handle the larger stuff I believe the larger rounds burn longer. Less surface area to ignite I would say. Not a scientific answer mind you, just what my simple mind seems to think and what I think my experience has been. Last few years I have been splitting more of the big stuff as my back is not getting younger and the Mrs. told me if I split some wood she can handle she would have the OWB loaded for the nights I get home late from work. Though my firebox is 36" deep I do not cut my wood that long. 24" length 5-8" thick with 5 or 6 pieces of good hardwood in the firebox it will last me 12 hours. That works out well for me. Loading it once in the morning and once in the evening fits my schedule.

 

[Stihl310]

I started out putting big rounds in, then got sick of the lifting. Everything now gets split, seasons better and gives me a more consistent fire.

 

[Brushwacker]

I heat my whole house with a small insert. I like dry round unsplit logs that just fit in the door. Burn a lot of oak,some pine, maple, mulberry, cherry, birch and this and that. I find quite a bit standing dry enough it burns very well and holds a fire better unsplit. If not its not dry enough it will smolder and even go out. Building the fire up, split burns hotter faster but often I leave the house most the day and I like to have something still burning when I get back. A few small to medium splits or dry rounds and 1 big 1 on some hot coals, about 15-20 minutes of open air dampners and then I close it and I can hold some coals for around 10 hours give or take a couple. Seems hard to get that far with big split logs. If you need to up the drying time or lighter weight split it, otherwise I prefer to lessen the handling and have better night logs along with as much split and smaller stuff for when I need more and faster heat when the house cools down.

 

[kybaseball]

We split everything that is over 8 inches thick. I just like the way it piles in the OWB better when split. I do like big chunks for over night not to worry about momma getting cold.

 

[Bcat22]

i've played with this alot. for my woodmaster, i get longer burn times with bigger rounds. less wood fits in the stove, but it ends up lasting longer. with dried splits, i can usually see a 14 inch flame shooting out of my stack at night. with rounds, just clear hot air.

 

[Dogsout]

This is my second year with my OWB and the first year I split everything 10" or more. This summer I took the advice of a few of the wise board members that "If you can get it in the door burn it". I would guess that I cut my splitting in half. My cement pad is not that high and it does not take a great effort to get the round up and roll it in the 20"X22" door . I also agree with one of the above posters that IMHO they burn longer. I am burning mostly 2 year old ash that is seasoned well and burns the same. This year I cut roughly 2 cords of oak for next winter and I did start splitting this at 8" or so because of all of the comments of how long it takes oak to season. Again if you can roll it in the door and it is seasoned you will save yourself a bunch of time and handling.

 

[bodhisoma]

Awesome. As usual, thanks for all the advice. Don't know what I'd do without ya.

Actually, I do. I'd be burning propane...

 

[alvise]

I own a gassification unit and a "normal" OWB unit.
The gassification (CB e-2300) unit is very picky and you have to have everything super dry and small size (2"-4") otherwise tend to get stuck and not slide down.
If you have Poplar is very hard do have it dry without splitting, also dead standing tree tend to be still wet.
Remember that any moisture in the wood is energy you lose to get it from the liquid status to gas (vapor) so it can go out of the cheminy.
For normal OWB I found that in summer or with little demand you can use unsplit wood (12"+) and have no problem. In winter if you have high demand if you burn big logs the speed they burn is lower and sometime they don't burn quick enough to extract all the heat you need, with small size wood (4"-6") split or not split you have a "hotter" fire.

 

[Guswhit]

CB 5036 unit here.
Cut lengths 20 inches- if not home wife or friend can stoke it up with out problems to keep fire going and I don't care to handle those big honking pieces anymore, might spill my beer!
I have also found that on below zero nights here I can get a much tighter load with the split pieces when I need to fill it all the way up for a 12 hour burn. It has been only down to 12 degrees for a low so far this year and getting into the mid 20's during the day for the last week and I have only been filling mine up a little over half full with split cherry. I'm saving the locust and oak for the colder months.
My buddy has a CB 6048 and he has been burning used railroad ties cut into about 30 inch pieces. He says the heat is amazing. I just wont do it because of the creosote/oil in them. It also puts off one heck of a stink when the damper opens.
I guess you need to decide what size you want to handle, what drying time you have and what works the best for you as you continue to burn at different times of year.

 

[boilerwood]

For the first two years I had my OWB I didn't even own a splitter. If I could pick it up it would go in the stove. Learned that just because I COULD pick it up doesn't mean I SHOULD pick it up. I still burn pretty big pieces but split more than I used to. If seasoning time is an issue, by all means split. I still cut a lot of 6" and under stuff 4 ft. long, why have a big fire box and not use it?

 

[Biglurr54]

Ive been studying this for 2 years. At first is appears that the large chunks burn longer. But last winter I had wet big chunks and it was snuffing out the fire. So i broke out the monster maul and split everything. The split lights up quick. This year I got the bottom of this issue. My pile is 50/50. When I load I rake coals forward and then throw spilt pieces in the back. On top of the split goes big stuff. Its about 25% split 75% big. the small lights quick and they get the bigger stuff going. I noticed when I loaded all small split wood it would get hot and burn quick. I would have a 6 inch around blow torch coming out of the stack. The big stuff would take for ever to catch and it would have a long recovery time to build water temp.

As for people saying that the split burns up quicker ... my experince and study showed that the split would turn into coals within 2 cycles of the draft fan. The stove would look like it is low on wood but it would have a bed of coals that would last 2 days. The big stuff seems to stay in log form longer with less coals. When I am away for a weekend I will load the boiler full of spilt wood and burn it for a few hours then level out all the coals and then add the big stuff. Weather dependent i can get 4-5 days with the house warm.

This has been my experiment. Yours may differ. Splitting 9 cord of wood sucks when all you have is a monster maul so I may be biased.

 

[AdamG]

I have a 6048, and I split nothing!
I do burn slab, so I suppose it's not a completely true statement when thinking about the way things burn.
Almost everything is cut to 46-48", except the larger (16"+) then I just cut to a size I can handle. I throw in a layer of slab, and a couple of logs. I try to guess and only throw in just enough to get a 24hr burn, except with my larger logs I will just keep adding slab over a couple days time until the logs is burnt up. The slab keeps a nice coal bed.

I have found my system to be not much trouble, and it works pretty effortlessly for me, so I haven't been too enthused about trying anything different.
My brother has a 5036 and does completely different than I, with completely different results. I like mine better

 

[owbguy]

I started out putting big rounds in, then got sick of the lifting. Everything now gets split, seasons better and gives me a more consistent fire.

X1. 10 seasons now with mine.

 

[greendohn]

I split most all of my rounds that measure bigger than 10" or so, even if I'm just knocking one edge off, leaving a few that size whole. Any thing bigger than about 10"-12" gets split at least once. I guess every now and then I'll come across a 16"-18" round and wonder how it got there!
I really haven't put much thought into it, most times I back the truck up to the woodshed and splitter and spilt and stack. My 1st winter I tried the big rounds/long lengths routine and it just didn't work out. I cut with other guys a lot so cutting to 18"-20" lengths works out better when it comes time to load up the trucks. I like a mix of bigger wood mixed with some smaller stuff. Depending on the wood I'm cutting, I'll cut the limb wood down to a couple/few inches and throw that stuff on the truck if it's straight and not too bushy.