Woohoo! I've Got 12" Wood!!!

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Which way do you lay your wood in the stove?

  • Crossways like normal people!

    Votes: 8 22.2%
  • Endways like Bob!

    Votes: 14 38.9%
  • It depends!

    Votes: 15 41.7%

  • Total voters
    36
I do north south the first layer when loading and east west on the second. North south is more stable and doesn't allow wood to roll out of the front. It also doesn't build up Ash in front of the door that spills out when you open it. It is a pain however cutting wood so short. I have a Lopi Patriot. Great little stove. Wood 12" north and south, 17" Max east and west. The door opening is maybe 15"
 
N/S for me. The draft comes from the center front of my stove below the door. I can fit up to a 22” piece either n/s or e/w but it burns better n/s. The only time I will burn e/w is if there is a build up of coals. I rake them all toward the front of the stove and put one split on top.
 
I do north south the first layer when loading and east west on the second. North south is more stable and doesn't allow wood to roll out of the front. It also doesn't build up Ash in front of the door that spills out when you open it. It is a pain however cutting wood so short. I have a Lopi Patriot. Great little stove. Wood 12" north and south, 17" Max east and west. The door opening is maybe 15"

Oh!!! The best of both worlds? Well, I am trying your crossing layers this morning, it's 36 out, and uh huh, that might be even better especially when getting a jump start on quick heat in the mornings. THANK YOU for the suggestions Mr. Briggs! And besides, right now I have a lot of 16" that I already cut so I may as well mix it in.
 
N/S for me. The draft comes from the center front of my stove below the door. I can fit up to a 22” piece either n/s or e/w but it burns better n/s. The only time I will burn e/w is if there is a build up of coals. I rake them all toward the front of the stove and put one split on top.
I'd like a stove with that big a box - that's bigger than I've ever seen inside a house! Dang, how big a piec can you load through the door? I'm thinking about an oak stump...!
 
I didn't realize there were other ways. My stove will fit probably a 20" length. I use 16", it's what I cut for 99% of the wood I do.
Have a few people buy 12-14" lengths. I did a cord of 8" once, never again!

Shop stove would fit around 6ft pieces. We cut about 24" and put 2 rows.
 
Yeah, it would be a huge change to go from cutting 18" rounds down to 12", but I'm retired now too, so I figure I have more time than I did to get it right and not be in a hurry. A cord of wood is a cord of wood whether it's in 12's or 18's... but I hear you. I like what you said about the ability to pack it in tight end wise too, that's the biggest advantage I'm seeing. Thanks for the input.

See? 12" still stacks ok, but looks a little weird.
cordwood.jpg
Looks nice stacked up but I think the little rounds look funny.
 
I didn't realize there were other ways. My stove will fit probably a 20" length. I use 16", it's what I cut for 99% of the wood I do.
Have a few people buy 12-14" lengths. I did a cord of 8" once, never again!

Shop stove would fit around 6ft pieces. We cut about 24" and put 2 rows.
Can you set a firewood processor to cut 8” lengths?
 
I cut to 16" and load E-W.

My stove can handle up to 18" logs running E-W in the fire box. However, the door opening is only about 17.5" wide, so you need to turn them slightly to get them into the stove.

N-S can handle up to 14", but that's right on the glass. If I want to load N-S, I would cut to 12". But yes, 12" logs are awkward.
 
The shorties are a little harder to stack on a pallet as well. I've had a couple tip overs. I mix in longer splits to hold it all together
 
I'd like a stove with that big a box - that's bigger than I've ever seen inside a house! Dang, how big a piec can you load through the door? I'm thinking about an oak stump...!

It’s an Englander 30-NC with 3.5 cubic foot firebox. The door opening is about 12x16”. Officially it will take a 20” length log but a 22” will fit without touching the glass. 24” will fit corner to corner but that screws up loading. 18” length is about the perfect piece. I regularly burn 10x12” (HxW) pieces for overnight burns when it gets cold.
 
I do north south the first layer when loading and east west on the second. North south is more stable and doesn't allow wood to roll out of the front. It also doesn't build up Ash in front of the door that spills out when you open it. It is a pain however cutting wood so short. I have a Lopi Patriot. Great little stove. Wood 12" north and south, 17" Max east and west. The door opening is maybe 15"

This is exactly what I do; most of my wood I cut 16-18". but I cut about a rick a year at about 10-12". I lay 2 pieces of short wood front to back, then side to side for the rest on top. Makes a perfect "nest" right in the middle of the short wood for one of those wax/sawdust starter blocks if starting from cold. Works great for me...
 
Good looking stove. I have an old stove no window just a door to load it and a door below for the ash pan. I just put the wood straight in, it will take a 24" piece but I usually cut them to 18" to make it easier to deal with.
 
The instruction booklet for my stove says for hotter more efficient burning, burn north south for slow overnight burns go with east west. The reason they say is the air flows down the front glass into the bed of the stove and up the chimney. If the logs are north south they get plenty of air in the gaps, if the are east west the air flow is slower thus slow burn.
I use both methods depending on how cold it is. If I want long overnight burns I put two logs east west with a bigger log at the front as it gets more air and burns faster.
 
Most of my stoves were deeper than they were wide so I always loaded front/back. Then I got a King model Blaze King one year and that was the first stove that was wider than deep. It could fit a 16" length front to back but my wood was already cut 18-20" long. I didnt get a chance to use it with shorter splits but I can imagine it being easier to load the stove. I was always concerned about getting a long split and it hitting the glass when shutting the door and breaking it. Now I'm using a boiler and still cutting 18-20" wood. I couldn't imagine trying to stack 12" splits. I usually stack my rows 6' tall and as long as I can, about 24-30'.

I did have an old round Shenandoah and if you loaded it front to back it would have to take 12" splits. Again, my wood is already 18 ish so I loaded that stove with the splits standing up and down. It worked very well but might have been because the ash grate in the bottom and air flows up through it... Maybe you should try loading your stove like and and report back.
 
This is exactly what I do; most of my wood I cut 16-18". but I cut about a rick a year at about 10-12". I lay 2 pieces of short wood front to back, then side to side for the rest on top. Makes a perfect "nest" right in the middle of the short wood for one of those wax/sawdust starter blocks if starting from cold. Works great for me...
Most of my stoves were deeper than they were wide so I always loaded front/back. Then I got a King model Blaze King one year and that was the first stove that was wider than deep. It could fit a 16" length front to back but my wood was already cut 18-20" long. I didnt get a chance to use it with shorter splits but I can imagine it being easier to load the stove. I was always concerned about getting a long split and it hitting the glass when shutting the door and breaking it. Now I'm using a boiler and still cutting 18-20" wood. I couldn't imagine trying to stack 12" splits. I usually stack my rows 6' tall and as long as I can, about 24-30'.

I did have an old round Shenandoah and if you loaded it front to back it would have to take 12" splits. Again, my wood is already 18 ish so I loaded that stove with the splits standing up and down. It worked very well but might have been because the ash grate in the bottom and air flows up through it... Maybe you should try loading your stove like and and report back.

I had an old Blaze King long a go too! It just ate the wood - old drafty house in Eastern Oregon. I'm interested in the "Boilers" some day maybe.
 
I had an old Blaze King long a go too! It just ate the wood - old drafty house in Eastern Oregon. I'm interested in the "Boilers" some day maybe.
I tried a brand new one. I was pushing my old Shenandoah too hard and it was getting unsafe. Plus, loading that thing every 4 hours in the worst of the winter was getting old. The King was a nice stove but couldn't meet my demand. I went with a Froling boiler and a 820 gal thermal storage tank. My house had the hydronics already installed so I made sense to move to a boiler but, just a lot larger expense than a stove. Lickilly i bought the boiler on a 30% discount... The King would last 8-9 hours with a packed full load and left on max heat output. If you didnt need it on high it could have lasted 12 hours easily. Very well built stove and easy to operate.
 
I tried a brand new one. I was pushing my old Shenandoah too hard and it was getting unsafe. Plus, loading that thing every 4 hours in the worst of the winter was getting old. The King was a nice stove but couldn't meet my demand. I went with a Froling boiler and a 820 gal thermal storage tank. My house had the hydronics already installed so I made sense to move to a boiler but, just a lot larger expense than a stove. Lickilly i bought the boiler on a 30% discount... The King would last 8-9 hours with a packed full load and left on max heat output. If you didnt need it on high it could have lasted 12 hours easily. Very well built stove and easy to operate.

Very cool,

Im still learning what the best methods are for me and my PE Summit. This is my first EPA stove this winter. I have not quite built the confidence to “fill” the firebox. Right now i do a bottom layer of about 4 splits and then 1-2 small splits on top of that. All oak beside 1 pc of black walnut. I can get about 5 hours max out if that with the damper about 3/4 closed.

I think when i get the confidence to do 2 full layers i will see 7-8 hour burn times as advertised.




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My stove is 18 by 24 inside, I can put 16 inch wood in it either way. Mines a basic older glass door stove with the air coming straight in the bottom of the door under the glass.
I put the wood in n-s to get the fire going or when im home and its cold out but the stove will barely go 7- 8 hours when filled like this. I put the wood in e-w when I want the fire to be going for 8 or so hours with the last piece of wood up against the bottom of the door to block the airflow, it makes a big difference in how long the fire goes in my stove.
 
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