Jotul F 600 Wood Length?

[Mackj]

Like many on this site I am going to upgrade from my current stove. I have burned the Brentwood hard and learned a lot. This summer I plan on a complete hearth renovation. I decided on the F600. Don't want to be under gunned any more. Can not wait to start project this summer!

Anyway this brings me to my question. What length are other F600 owners cutting their wood? I see Jotul specs up to 24". I'm about to start bucking wood for winter after next. What will be a good average size? I was thinking probably 20". My wood for next winter is 14-15" which I figure will be real small for this stove, but it will be dry! Mostly oak and beech.
I check this site every day all winter and have learned a ton.
Thanks!

 

[claydogg84]

I've got the smaller Oslo, but it also specs for 24" max length. I had a bunch of 24" leftover stuff from my previous setup and I will say they fit, but it's not practical. I can only fit a couple that length and then I need smaller stuff to pack it. I cut everything 18-20" now.

 

[Overfired]

If you'll be loading straight in, it's generally a safe bet to cut your wood about 2" shorter than what the stove specifies it can hold (this also give you some wiggle room in case you cut a few pieces slightly longer.) So in your case, if you're using the side door, about 22" should be doable. If you won't be side-loading your F600, you may want to aim for a max of 20" to make it more manageable through the double-doors. If you want to play it extra safe, or leave more margin-of-error with your cutting, aim for 18". Haven't burned one in awhile, but when I did, they were mostly 18" - 20" lengths.

 

[fraxinus]

I purchase my wood cut and split and always specify 18 inches. This leaves a couple of inches as a margin for error. Longer pieces, which I have occasionally used, also tend to burn much more unevenly. The middle sections burn more rapidly leaving awkward chunks at the end. Front loading the F600 is really impractical because of the ash spillage problem. I do not open the front doors at all during the burning season.

 

[xman23]

As claydog said, my Oslo will actually take a 26 inch without putting it on an angle. I have 24" inch mark on my saw so when I get down to a piece that 4' , I wack it at 24" and it works. 18" is my standard cut. It leaves a lot of burn room on the ends and the wood pile stacks well. My small 8' pieces I turn north / south

15" will burn just fine. But if you think it's a problem, I'll be right over get rid of it for you. Like the Oslo, the 600 can handle big wood. My splits are big 6' on three sides. Burn times are better

 

[Nick Mystic]

I'm an F600 owner. I can fit 24" splits in the stove, but only in certain spots. The firebox narrows as it goes back so in the rear of the stove the maximum length is shorter. I can't get a tape inside the stove at the moment, but I can tell you at the rear it is closer to 18". My electric splitter can handle wood up to 21", so I generally cut my rounds as close to 20" as possible and that length works well for the stove. Your 14" and 15" splits should fit well in the F600 for N/S loading, but I should warn you to be careful loading N/S with very dry splits because you can really get a hot fire going very quickly in the F600 loading in this manner. And, as others mentioned, all my loading is through the side door on the F600. Using the front doors is one big mess! The side door works great, but heavy long splits require strong hands and shoulders to load that way or else you end up bulldozing the ashes and coals on the way in and you can end up with a burning log sticking a few inches outside the stove when you reload a hot stove!

 

[Mackj]

Thanks for the help guys! I feel like I am going with a proven performer with the 600. And my wife and I really like the look. Will be a fairly good sized project to remove zero clearance and rebuild corner. I have Brentwood on Craig's list. Plan to actually pick up new stove in September, great discount during "Jotul Days" at local dealer. Also dealer has said we could order this spring and he can use as floor model, for an additional discount. So I plan to have everything ready
at that time to set stove in place and hook up.

 

[OhioBurner©]

I'm sure the 600 has to be a beast. And probably one of my favorite looking stoves of all times (really though all the Jotuls look very similar so same goes for 400, 500, etc). Burn times couldn't keep up with my workday though, I don't think. I have the 550 and it specs 24" as well. Different stove, but I can say this... I've tried cutting 24" in attempt to fill it to the max. Problem is with pieces that long unless they are straight as dimensional lumber you are going to end up wasting space. I small warp in the piece, leaving a couple inches gap with the next piece is now going to be 24" long. When I cut short enough to load n/s I could pack the stove so much fuller, though this may not be a good option for the 600 (actually its a pita for the 550 too). Plus the firebox is narrower at the back of mine so only 20-22" for the back pieces. And my other stove was 18", so I couldn't cut anything the same. If you have lots of little cut off, and chunks that could fill the gap on the end then going a bit shorter isn't loosing any space. Or what I just started doing this year, supplementing with the compressed wood bricks. With a stack of 18" wood in the firebox justified to one side, I could easily fit 1 column of Ecobricks in the gap at the end. Just my $0.02

Good luck with the hearth renovation. I see you have a firelace insert now. I to have an insert I'm hoping to ditch this summer and mod for a freestanding stove. Unfortunately not a Jotul, actually replacing my Jotul though I do love it. Just need something that can better cope with 14+ hr workdays.

 

[cheechblu]

Just be careful that you don't whack the baffle pipes on top as you side load. It's true that the side load way is the best way to load these stoves. I use 16-18-20 inch splits. This allows me to load N-S, and E-W. Good luck. You are gonna love the F600. I've had mine going on 11 years. Still the centerpiece of our home. Winter and summer.