How big would you cut it ???

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gblass1

Member
Dec 27, 2008
16
Western Connecticut
Hi guys

OK here's were I'm at. My stove is a Clayton 1600 I got from Tractor Supply 4 years ago. It has a firebox 25" deep 19" wide and about 23" high. I'm after the elusive overnight burn. The wood for this year I tried cutting 12-14" long to load east west. After loading up the stove and damping it down for the night after 6 hours all I have is barely enough coals to get it going in the morning.

My next plan is cut next years wood 22-24" long and keep the splits on the big side.

What do you guys think ?

Thanks

George
In Connecticut
 
that is what i would do what type of wood are you burning if you can get some black loacast that burns hot and long
 
maple man said:
that is what i would do what type of wood are you burning if you can get some black loacast that burns hot and long

I'm burning red oak and ash
 
’bert said:
I would go 17" and load east west leaving 1" on each side for air flow.
+1
No more than an inch on each side.
 
Try for about 16 or 17 inches but also I like your idea of going for some larger pieces. Have the fire good and hot when you go to bed and you should wake up in the morning to some good coals. I don't burn ash but red oak usually gives me some nice coals in the mornings.
 
Big splits in long lengths will get you there.
 
gblass1 said:
Hi guys

OK here's were I'm at. My stove is a Clayton 1600 I got from Tractor Supply 4 years ago. It has a firebox 25" deep 19" wide and about 23" high. I'm after the elusive overnight burn. The wood for this year I tried cutting 12-14" long to load east west. After loading up the stove and damping it down for the night after 6 hours all I have is barely enough coals to get it going in the morning.

My next plan is cut next years wood 22-24" long and keep the splits on the big side.

What do you guys think ?

Thanks

George
In Connecticut
Large size inferior woods will not extend burn times. You need top shelf woods, locust, oak, black birch, hickory etc....
I like a combination of locust and oak personally. Of cours the locust needs at least 8 mos and the oak needs at least 2 yrs stacked under the right conditions to be seasoned sufficiently in my area.
 
gzecc said:
gblass1 said:
Hi guys

OK here's were I'm at. My stove is a Clayton 1600 I got from Tractor Supply 4 years ago. It has a firebox 25" deep 19" wide and about 23" high. I'm after the elusive overnight burn. The wood for this year I tried cutting 12-14" long to load east west. After loading up the stove and damping it down for the night after 6 hours all I have is barely enough coals to get it going in the morning.

My next plan is cut next years wood 22-24" long and keep the splits on the big side.

What do you guys think ?

Thanks

George
In Connecticut
Large size inferior woods will not extend burn times. You need top shelf woods, locust, oak, black birch, hickory etc....
I like a combination of locust and oak personally. Of cours the locust needs at least 8 mos and the oak needs at least 2 yrs stacked under the right conditions to be seasoned sufficiently in my area.

So then those of us with "inferior wood" just shut our stoves down before bed? I am in the north end end of alberta and all i have to burn is poplar but i rarely strike a match in the morning. It can be done even with "inferior wood"
 
I apologize, I forget about you guys that don't have higher quality woods at your disposal.
 
gblass1 said:
Hi guys

OK here's were I'm at. My stove is a Clayton 1600 I got from Tractor Supply 4 years ago. It has a firebox 25" deep 19" wide and about 23" high. I'm after the elusive overnight burn. The wood for this year I tried cutting 12-14" long to load east west. After loading up the stove and damping it down for the night after 6 hours all I have is barely enough coals to get it going in the morning.

My next plan is cut next years wood 22-24" long and keep the splits on the big side.

What do you guys think ?

Thanks

George
In Connecticut

"My next plan is cut next years wood 22-24" long and keep the splits on the big side."::

Some big (thicker) split will help, some of mine are 8" thick, 15 pounders when dry. (longer to dry though,, I season for 2 yrs or more)
N/S may also help you get more wood in the box.
Sounds like a good plan :)
 
Thanks for all the help. It looks like I'm on the right path with the longer larger splits and a plus is half as much cutting splitting and stacking.
 
If you can fit a 19 inch split in there, and you only are putting 14's in, then you're losing 5 inch per split. If you put, say, 7 splits in for a full load, thats 7 x 5 inches which is 35 inches of wasted space in the fire box, over 2 splits short of what you could stuff in :)

So, when you cut longer, it'll be like having an extra two splits in the firebox, that'll make a huge difference.

I have no trouble in the Oslo with hot coals in the morning, but if I want the best overnight burn I use a big fat round up against the back of the stove first, then pack in around that. I always have some BIG rounds waiting for duty when it's cold outside.
 
I just looked up the Clayton, didn't know it was a wood furnace. If it were me I'd cut wood just shy of what the actual depth is of that furnace. If the firebox is 24, then I'd cut 22's, leaving for some error and the split would still shove in there.

Definitely want to load that bad boy north/south in my opinion.

http://www.usstove.com/resources/OwnersManuals/16-1800MANUALcomplete.pdf
 
ansehnlich1 said:
I just looked up the Clayton, didn't know it was a wood furnace. If it were me I'd cut wood just shy of what the actual depth is of that furnace. If the firebox is 24, then I'd cut 22's, leaving for some error and the split would still shove in there.

Definitely want to load that bad boy north/south in my opinion.

http://www.usstove.com/resources/OwnersManuals/16-1800MANUALcomplete.pdf
DOH! My bad... Ja, for a big ass furnace, load the monster N/S. If you use a log splitter, cut it as long as the splitter and the stove can take.
 
gblass1 said:
Hi guys

OK here's were I'm at. My stove is a Clayton 1600 I got from Tractor Supply 4 years ago. It has a firebox 25" deep 19" wide and about 23" high. I'm after the elusive overnight burn. The wood for this year I tried cutting 12-14" long to load east west. After loading up the stove and damping it down for the night after 6 hours all I have is barely enough coals to get it going in the morning.

My next plan is cut next years wood 22-24" long and keep the splits on the big side.

What do you guys think ?

Thanks

George
In Connecticut

Welcome to the forum George.

I like the bigger splits and would go that way. However, you don't state what kind of wood you are burning. That will matter the most as will how you handle the wood. Do you split and stack it long enough to dry good? At least a year for sure. If you don't burn dry wood that means you will have to either have the draft open further to give it more air (and send more heat up the chimney) or else if you damper it down, you end up smoldering, not much heat and dirty chimney and stove.
 
Hey Dennis

I'm burning red oak, ash, birch, and cherry. I do try to stay a year ahead and don't burn anything that's not 25% or less on the moisture meter.
 
Sounds like good wood.....except for that oak. I won't even try to burn oak that hasn't sat in the stack already split for 3 years. It could burn in 2 but a difference like day and night if you leave it for 3 years. The ash, birch and cherry should dry very well in a year but you might also be surprised if you leave that ash one more year. It really can make a difference. With that said, I also do not use a MM. I just believe in dry wood and don't want to have to check it with an instrument.
 
Generally . . . overnight burn = seasoned wood, big firebox, better wood species and bigger wood . . . and let's not forget the nice layer of ash in the firebox.

That said . . . (and not taking into account stoves with cats) . . . you can still get an overnight burn with medium sized splits if the firebox is full.

As for length . . . I like having some lee-way, a fudge factor if you would, when it comes to loading the stove as it seems that invariably some ash will pile up on one side . . . and tend to cut my splits about 2-4 inches shorter than the max length of the firebox. It just makes things much easier when you don't have to pull a flaming split out of the firebox when you discover that it doesn't quite fit.
 
I did some experimenting this weekend. After all the advise you guys gave me I was able to get a 8 hr burn and I think I can even do better than that. First I made sure I had a good couple inches of ash in the firebox (I think this was key). Then I loaded it up to the gills with wood stacked in as tight as I could get it. Then I opened the firebox draft and the ashpan draft all the way, opened the pipe damper and ran it up to 600 deg. for about an hour. Right before bed I shut the pipe damper all the way, the ashpan draft all the way and had the firebox draft open 1/2 turn. Next morning 8 hrs later I had a good 2-3 inches of coals ready to fire it up again.

I'm looking forward to trying the longer larger splits we've been talking about, I think that will get me to 10+ hours.

Thanks for the help.

George
 
George, perhaps you can edit your signature line to put in the name of your stove. That will help in the future. You can do this by going up at the very top of the page and clicking on "Your Control Panel." Put any other relevant or even some not so relevant information in there if you like.
 
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