How long do you cut your wood? POLL

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What size do you cut your wood?

  • 14in or smaller

    Votes: 7 3.6%
  • 15in

    Votes: 9 4.6%
  • 16in

    Votes: 70 35.7%
  • 18in

    Votes: 41 20.9%
  • 20in

    Votes: 30 15.3%
  • 22in

    Votes: 16 8.2%
  • 24in or larger

    Votes: 7 3.6%
  • Other sizes...State Below

    Votes: 2 1.0%
  • Mixture of all the above

    Votes: 12 6.1%
  • Don't really care

    Votes: 2 1.0%

  • Total voters
    196
Wood Doctor
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
12,553
Location
Omaha, Nebraska
I checked 18", but 17" to 18" is more accurate. Most of my firewood customers have fireplaces and not stoves. For the ones with stoves, I can usually find shorter than 18" lengths. I like to pack the truck with four rows of 18" lengths because I have a 72" or 6' box. The top of the packed load where the racks are allows slightly longer than 18" lengths.

On occasion, I get a special request for under 14" lengths. That's because a few customers have smaller potbelly stoves, similar to the ones they used to have on a train caboose. I also get quite few "nothing over 18" requests, but rarely "nothing over 16" requests.
 
kingOFgEEEks

kingOFgEEEks

Out, standing in my field.
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Messages
386
Location
Tioga County, PA
Approximately 20", +/- 2", depending on my mood. Generally, from the rivet on my 24" bar, to the case of the saw (turn saw 90 degrees, eyeball for length, return to crosscut orientation and cut). My stove can take the full 24" length, but my wife complains if the splits are too heavy. And we all know, happy wife...
 
Wood Doctor
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
12,553
Location
Omaha, Nebraska
Approximately 20", +/- 2", depending on my mood. Generally, from the rivet on my 24" bar, to the case of the saw (turn saw 90 degrees, eyeball for length, return to crosscut orientation and cut). My stove can take the full 24" length, but my wife complains if the splits are too heavy. And we all know, happy wife...
My stove also takes the 24" length, but it's amazing how many stoves top out at 18". One nice think about using a saw with an 18" bar is that the bar minus the bumper spike always sets the log at just under 18" when used as a measuring stick. Like this one:

Stihl 028 Super
 
zogger

zogger

Tree Freak
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
16,456
Location
North Georgia
16s, three rows on a pallet with some overhang on the sides for air circulation in the middle. I am pickier on the size for wood that can be potentially moved. What I burn can be pretty random. I have two kinds of stacks, grade A, and lesser, I mostly burn lesser.
 
greenskeeper

greenskeeper

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
339
Location
PA
22" max to fit width wise in the stove so I put a groove on the rail of the splitter so I can make sure the splits will fit before tossing them into the pile. If the log is "oversize" I just trim it to the mark while on the splitter.
 
SteveSS

SteveSS

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
1,275
Location
Russellville, MO
I cut 18" because Dad's fireplace won't take anything longer. We cut together and share what we cut so even though I could use 24 inchers, I don't cut it that way. I've been wondering what kind of burn times I could get with a full load of 24's. Might be worth a truckload or two to find out.
 

Cody

ArboristSite Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
847
Around 18" is perfect but I like shorter pieces as well. Max log length for my stove is around 20" but I like to keep it away from the glass. The few guys we sell to have fireplaces or older stoves that can take the bigger pieces so the ash that we cut is longer. We also have an old schweiss in the garage for heat, mainly on the weekends but with that big of stove ya just chuck em in and fill 'er full.
 

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