What size logs should i get? newbie question

I'm new to this game too, but 16" is pretty standard. There will be some variation, but I'd be surprised if your stove couldn't handle what most people use.

Take a split or 2 from him and see how it is loading, the last thing you want is a cord or more of stuff that won't fit......

I've always found that having my wood a couple inches shorter than the fire box length works out really well . . . it would be fine to have the wood the exact length of the firebox as you could really get the maximum BTU out of each load, but in the real world wood isn't always perfectly straight and invariably you will be loading up wood and find that due to a crotch piece, elbow, etc. it may not quite fit . . . and yanking wood out of the firebox while it is smoking and about to ignite is not fun . . . thrilling . . . yes . . . but not much fun.

I have an Englander 30 and can easily fit 20" splits loaded N/S. In reality 16" works best for me. If I have too long of a split I find that too much of the fire is not under the baffle board and has a tendency to just go around it and up the chimney. At 16" I get the most efficient burn with the best secondaries. Sure I could stuff more in there for maximum BTU's but it seems more controllable and efficient with a little extra free space in front of the glass.

So I vote no longer than 16" in your case.

Jags said:

If the box is 18 wide I would be looking for 16" splits.

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Yup

ootransamoo said:

I have a country comfort cc1000 wood stove the door opening is 16" but the box width is 18" and was wondering what size i should purchase. A bussiness around me is sellling cord's that are 18", is that too long for my stove? thanks in advance.

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If the door is 16, get 16. You can get a couple of 18 inchers through that 16-inch door, but once the firebox is half full, you don't have any more room to maneuver and you're stuck. Also, 16 is the standard length, which makes life easier because there's a lot of it around.

IDE go 16" just because it makes calculating wood quantity easier.

I have a small depth firebox which allows me to fill with 12 inch long splits. The width would take an 18 inch, but that is right by the door and the firebox is more of a trapezoid. Depending on which way you plan to load, measure accordingly or have a variety of sizes.

Not to mention that firewood cutting is not an exact science. When you order 16" splits you most likely will get anything from 14" to 18" with some odd pieces in there.

Grisu said:

Not to mention that firewood cutting is not an exact science. When you order 16" splits you most likely will get anything from 14" to 18" with some odd pieces in there.

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Yeah, good point. But if the door won't let you put the stuff in, the size of the firebox doesn't matter. The little Tribute I used to have had a 16-inch firebox, but I couldn't put more than 1 barely 16-incher in there on the bottom because the door was so small. I could get maybe two 15-inchers in there on the bottom. But most of it had to be 14 or less. PITA, frankly.

Now I have a bigger stove with a side door and a 20-inch E/W firebox, so I told my supplier not to worry too much about length. But I have a friend who needs max 14 inches and preferably shorter, so I trade with her for the stuff that's over-size for her and she can't fit from time to time and we're both happy.

Grisu said:

Not to mention that firewood cutting is not an exact science. When you order 16" splits you most likely will get anything from 14" to 18" with some odd pieces in there.

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Another reason to cut your own. With the mingo marker, every split is the same. Perfect for a picky woodpacker.