Split thickness performance

[Vg3200p]

2nd year with wood. Finally getting about a year ahead on my stacks so I'm starting to experiment with split size. Used to split really big so I could process maximum amount of wood to get ahead. Also thought bigger split would burn longer and give off more heat overall. Here recently been splitting alot smaller. The pic is average up till now split size and how I've been splitting recently. What a difference burning small splits makes in my stove performance wise. My stove top temps gain around 150f using same wood just different size. House is about 5 to 8f warmer. Have lost a little burn time though. Think I will be going back and resplitting alot of this year's wood down smaller. What do you guys think?

 

[Tar12]

I find the opposite to be true and split on the large side...2nd year burning for you? Your wood has had a extra year to season and is responsible for your higher temps is my guess..

 

[Vg3200p]

I find the opposite to be true and split on the large side...2nd year burning for you? Your wood has had a extra year to season and is responsible for your higher temps is my guess..

Same wood same day only difference was size of splits

 

[Eman85]

I tend to split small, my stove top loads and it's easier to laod smaller splits and get it full or at least top off the load. I have been splitting larger lately to get a good mix. Small splits do seem to give me higher heat faster. in the long burn I think it all evens out. Might get a little more time between loads with some larger splits. On an old simple stove we always liked big splits for overnight, but most like green wood for that too.

 

[Caw]

most like green wood for that too.

🧐

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I split all 3. Large, medium, small, because Ill.need all 3. Smalls and medium will give off more heat because there is more surface area to catch and burn. I use small and medium to get the stove up to temp. The larger ones definitely for overnight and long burns. I put a bunch of bigs in the stove last night at 8pm.. its 6.30am and stoves still going at 400 degrees

 

[mpaul]

Smaller splits will have more surface area to burn and therefore put out more heat but also shorter burn times The larger splits have less surface area hence why they are better for overnight burns. They won’t burn as hot but they will burn longer.
Always best to have a variety of size splits depending on the time of day and what temps are outside.

 

[Wood1Dennis]

When my folks burned I used to split big for them so they could get longer burn times. 80s vintage wood furnace that was not as tight and efficient as my Caddy. I find with this furnace it does not matter as much. I have good control of the fire either way, so I tend to split smaller so it is easier to handle and pack in the furnace when I need to.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

We split ours 4-5". I like bigger pieces for overnight, up to 12", but those take longer to dry. I can throw a few of those in there and bot worry about it for at least 12 hours.

 

[patrickk222]

i say do whatever floats your boat man i used to be in the same school of thought my first and midway through 2nd yr now i split smaller to mid size stuff to burn now adays primarily cause its easier to manuver around and the wood dries out a little quicker

 

[Isaac Carlson]

We have been splitting smaller as we have tried to get at least 3 years ahead, because it dries faster. Now we will split a little bigger but still easy to manage. Splitting small is great for those just starting out with green wood so they can get it dry asap. I jave found that fresh smaller splits will usually dry to usable moisture levels in 2-3 days by the stove.

We stack up to a face cord by the stove at a time and the stuff lower in the stack and closer to the stove is bone dry by the time we burn it.

 

[Highbeam]

You can always split down bigger splits but if your whole wood shed is too small your stuck with it. After decades I’ve settled on the split size that I can grab the butt end of with one hand and fling it onto the pile from a seated position while splitting.

Too big is tough to stuff the stove fully and too small burns up like kindling. I can’t do a mix since when I’m splitting 5 cords in a day or two I turn into a robot!

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I set up my 4 way to make 4.5" splits under the wings, mostly because if the wings were any taller the shear line would be above my pusher.
The wings can't be higher than the pusher. That size is a nice firewood size, and people love it, but I still want some bigger pieces.