Stove loading observation

[Dakotas Dad]

So, been a hard winter so far, warmer temps on the way, we should have enough wood to get us through. When we installed the stove last year I talked to lots of people about how much wood they used and stove type, house type, etc. I determined 2 - 2 1/2 cords would probably do it. I already had a about that much stacked, so figured I was pretty close, but went ahead and bucked and split and stacked another 3/4 cord, just in case. (which was a good idea, as so far, Dec and Jan set new records for avg temps)

Well, here is an interesting observation..

It makes a HUGE difference in how my stove runs now that I am into that "just in case wood". It is seasoned a year less then the wood that was already on the stack, (1 year, cherry) but it was all bucked with the STOVE in mind and is 20" long. All the other stuff was bucked with no real care other than it stacked OK, since it was for a fireplace. Putting 4-5 splits of this longer stuff in, the stove is running hotter and longer very noticeably. I now really can't wait for next year, and even more the year after, which are going to be nearly all oak, cut to 20"... we gonna be warm! Everything 3 years out that I am stacking now is walnut and hickory, but got my eye on some more oak.. lol

So to summarize, it's surprising how well my stove will run with a real "full load" in it. ;-)

 

[oldspark]

Same deal here, once I start gettting all my wood cut to the right length I will as you said have a "full load".

 

[Backwoods Savage]

And dry wood is hard to beat.