This will be my first winter running my Hardy. Should I load rounds at night or will packing it full of splits keep me just as warm?
OWB ? all splits or some rounds ?
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I'm further north than you and don't have a Hardy but I found with my OWB that loading the unit full didn't gain me much time between fills but used more wood. Using all splits burned the wood quicker too. Rounds take longer to burn but require a good coal bed to get them going and keep the btus coming. So I settled with a few splits on the bottom and a splits few tucked into the crevices between the rounds until I had about a half load. A full load was just so much insulation in the firebox that had to get heated before it could heat the boiler up. The "set rule" will depend on your heat demands and the given temperature and the conditioning of your wood so you will have to learn to be flexible. A partial load will go "radiant" (to coals) sooner and produce less smoke. I usually got 12 hours for a half load last year and about 16 hours max for a full load.
Coach B
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With my Hardy in the past I found that the type of wood being used was much more important than whether it was rounds or spilts. One of the advantages of using the OWB is that they are not picky about the size or type of wood being used and you don't have to split the wood to get use out of it. If it will fit in the door it will burn. Now, I understand that split/seasoned wood has mucho benefits and I do it as much as i can, however, not alot of OWB users see the need(or understand the need) at least initially. I have always just filled er up and checked it the next day. Obviously the weather will dictate when to use your best wood. We usually get at least one stretch of single digit type weather here in the mid-south where I'll use the good stuff. Other times early and late in the season I might go two or three days without having to load at all and can use whatever junk needs using up. I must admit I have not experimented with half or partial loads but plan to do so this season Lord willing.
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