Trimming down splits..

[Gooserider]

I agree, I save almost all of my "chunk wood" bits - pretty much anything small fist sized or bigger - a lot of my chunks come from the splitting process... However I found they don't dry well unless you cover them just the way you cover the regular splits.

The other trouble with them is they are a bit more of a headache to handle - regular splits I can bring in on my firewood cart, but the chunks won't fit on that. So currently I bring in the chunks with a couple of 20 gallon plastic garbage cans, which works, but the cans are no fun to horse up the stairs, and look sort of funky sitting in the living room...

Gooserider

Maybe I'm odd, I probably am, but I like the little nubs. Any funky pieces of wood I get that are all knots or twisted beyond splitting get cut into them. Since I scrounge my wood sometimes I get a load of 8" long, 36" thick rounds. They get broken up and tossed in these piles due to them being difficult to stack. They burn great during shoulder seasons. They dry super fast due to the short length and are perfect for when you need a small fire to take the chill off but don't want to get the stove roaring. I save my splits for the cold weather when I need a more complete load with less air pockets.

I think I have just over a cord of them to burn this year. All my wood is raised up off the ground on concrete blocks. The shorts and odds are on a pallet raised up on blocks. I set additional pallets vertically around the edges so I can pile the rounds higher. I have a regular 4x4 pallet and a 4x6 pallet stacked and drying.

Matt

 

[Slow1]

I ended up with two garbage cans full of chunks (already 3 years old) from trimming a pile of splits. I burned a bunch at the end the season (ran out of cold weather before I ran out of chunks though, heh). The way I bring them into the house is in an old milk crate type of plastic box (not an actual milk crate but looks just like one). It holds up to the abuse and has the handles. Just about the right size for the job and easy enough to handle.

I expect to have quite a few chunks again as I'm generating quite a few as I cut now - I rather liked having them. These new ones are green though so I need to dry them out. I was planning on some sort of an 'open to the air' box raised next to the woodpile with a cover to toss them in. I'm rather hoping they do dry out faster than full splits - given they short length I rather would expect that they will, but.....

 

[Creek-Chub]

If you have access to one, a bandsaw works great if you're only cutting 6 or 8 inches (or less) off. I had to cut down just under a full cord last year - a few inches off each split - and the bandsaw knocked them out in no time.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I use a Rubbermaid tote to carry my splits/shorts inside. It keeps the mess away too. When the bottom of the tote fills with garbage I just scoop it into the stove to help start the fire.

 

[Flatbedford]

Here's a link to my design.

I use a similar setup. I have to trim nearly 3 cords of my Craig's List score. I will have lots of chunks.