small or big

[dwinch53]

For you guys that have inside wood furnace/stoves do you prefer small splits or bigger and even full rounds to burn? I seem to get a more even and more controlable burn with smaller splits in my wood furnace..How about you? DW:greenchainsaw:

 

[laynes69]

I split small for spring and fall. I split large for winter. I also mix in rounds for nighttime. I like to split the softer woods like maple, and wild cherry larger, so they burn longer.

 

[willsaw4beer]

It depends. Small pieces and a smaller fire usually burn more efficiently, but you can get more heat with the bigger rounds.

 

[whiting-5]

med size during day small to get fire going use pine or pallets in the morning when i first load gets temp up quick. night oak rounds and large pieces of hickory ....

clayton 1800

 

[Dok]

I like a mix. Rounds seem to burn longer, so I use them for the overnight burn. Rounds 3"- 8" are great. Any larger and the boss complains they are too heavy. :hmm3grin2orange:
Dok

 

[cityevader]

My Jotul insert without an ash drawer creates vastly more coals than ash, so a few hours after a fresh start, there is little room for any large pieces. 4" is about as big as is useable.

 

[Nuzzy]

For our furnace, I like bigger rounds for the night burns (8-12") or any time leaving the house for an extended period. Split for during the day/evening when we're home because it burns hotter and more efficient for creosote buildup.

 

[savageactor7]

Yeah... ditto what dwinch does.

...with the old Shenandoah's bigger was better. But with the newer EPA stove it's so much easier with the smaller splits, you can load it fuller without bashing the reburner tubes on top. and 1 or 2 pieces on a full coal bed will burn it down to dust in short order all the while giving you plenty of heat.

 

[woodbooga]

We heat in a turn-of-the-century cookstove with a small firebox and therefore go with the smaller pieces out of necessity. 2"-4" is what I split to.

We keep some 5"-7-inchers to top off the firebox at nighttime to exentd the burn as late as possible. The baby usually cries a couple hours after that, so I rekindle with a few smalls and drop on a four inch piece.

 

[Zodiac45]

We heat in a turn-of-the-century cookstove with a small firebox and therefore go with the smaller pieces out of necessity. 2"-4" is what I split to.

We keep some 5"-7-inchers to top off the firebox at nighttime to exentd the burn as late as possible. The baby usually cries a couple hours after that, so I rekindle with a few smalls and drop on a four inch piece.

+1 same here. By necessity, I go smaller as it's easier too regulate the temps of the oven when baking etc.. At night I'll use the largest thing I can squeeze in there including full rounds.

 

[woodbooga]

+1 same here. By necessity, I go smaller as it's easier too regulate the temps of the oven when baking etc.. At night I'll use the largest thing I can squeeze in there including full rounds.

Do you bank your fire with a light coat of ash to lengthen burn time? My FIL taught us that years ago. Wood can only burn from the bottom up and we get more time from a fireboxful.

 

[Zodiac45]

Do you bank your fire with a light coat of ash to lengthen burn time? My FIL taught us that years ago. Wood can only burn from the bottom up and we get more time from a fireboxful.

I probably should but usually I just stuff it full (like a jig saw puzzel) fitting in the sticks. I don't crank it down as much as I could though. I prefer too let it burn out hotter rather than smolder just due too the creo/chim factor. Reality is, it's never gonna make morning anyways, so I just let her eat. Next year, I'll have a Woodstock soapstone installed on the middle chimney and that baby should easily make the round trip. I can even use coals from it to restoke the Glenwood!

 

[woodbooga]

I probably should but usually I just stuff it full (like a jig saw puzzel) fitting in the sticks. I don't crank it down as much as I could though. I prefer too let it burn out hotter rather than smolder just due too the creo/chim factor. Reality is, it's never gonna make morning anyways, so I just let her eat. Next year, I'll have a Woodstock soapstone installed on the middle chimney and that baby should easily make the round trip. I can even use coals from it to restoke the Glenwood!

Never had any serious build up, but we don't glob on heaps of ash. Just a little - a thin coat over the split pieces on top. Probably does less to slow the burn than a layer of bark, I should think.

We're considering an additional unit in our house. Unfortunately, the rooflines are such that there's no convenient place where we wouldn't need 35' of chimney - and we don't have the seed $$ to spare for a proper install.