18" in 16" hole

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sandie

Feeling the Heat
Hearth Supporter
Oct 29, 2009
279
West of Boston, MA
WOW, keep your miind out of the gutter. The question is my stove says 16 " wood to be used but 18" will fit but not horizontally, it will go from the bottom and lean against the side of the stove. Is this safe or bad to do? Someone gave me some nice maple but some is 18" and hate to not use it but do not want to cause a problem.
 
Just stuff your wood in the hole and don't worry about it. It's just like when I was flying the big airplanes. If you can get the door shut, you'r good to go.
 
I would slope the coal bed a bit just so there isn't so much pressure against the firebrick. I broke the firebrick on mine by jamming in long splits.
 
Last year was my first year llumbing / cutting my burning wood. SO I do have some log a litttle longe. Sometime they need to be from the bottom right fron corner to the rear left top corner too fit (Before you guys say anything, so far I only had one like this :-P. ) . But, as long as I can cloise the door, I'm ok with this, it will still burn.
 
LLigetfa said:
I would slope the coal bed a bit just so there isn't so much pressure against the firebrick. I broke the firebrick on mine by jamming in long splits.
used 8# hammer to put it in? :)
 
Sandie, stack your splits in the stove on a diagonal. In the space below the high side, shove in a shorter split, or two. Be gentle, and wear welding gloves to prevent cooking your forearms. And then cram in wood everywhere you can to fill any exposed areas. Monitor air and enjoy. My box is 22", but I burn 24-26" on a regular basis.
 
it will work fine. my stove takes 24 inch splits. sometimes when loading wood that is not so long like 16 inch i'll stuff in a bunch of splits east to west deep in the stove thru the side door and then fill in the left over space with north to south splits. no problems.
 
EKLawton said:
LLigetfa said:
I would slope the coal bed a bit just so there isn't so much pressure against the firebrick. I broke the firebrick on mine by jamming in long splits.
used 8# hammer to put it in? :)
Through the day, if I come across a split that's a tad too long I just put it on the diagonal. The problem is when I'm trying to pack it in for an all night burn and one gets wedged in.

I once got 3 cord of free seasoned Ash that was bucked to 24" and had to take 4" off of every split to fit it in my stove. I put my sons to work with a Sawzall to cut them down.
 
If you're living on the wild side just be sure you've got a good pair of gloves to bring the half charred ones back outside when you get the occasional 18.5" split. I gave up on trying this because all it takes is one good time of smoking up the house and your wife catching it all with a 'what an idiot' look on her face to make you put an extra cut on a longer piece.
 
drdoct said:
If you're living on the wild side just be sure you've got a good pair of gloves to bring the half charred ones back outside when you get the occasional 18.5" split. I gave up on trying this because all it takes is one good time of smoking up the house and your wife catching it all with a 'what an idiot' look on her face to make you put an extra cut on a longer piece.

LOL good one
 
you know what i hate? I hate trying to fit a split that's too big into the stove. I'll try it diagonally one way, then another, then by the time I realize it isn't gonna work, I've got to run out the door and toss the burning split into a bucket outside.

I don't know how many times I read on here that people use welding gloves, but about two weeks ago i went ahead and got some. I could only find some >$10 ones at wal-mart, but darnit if they aren't one of the best "MUST HAVE" items for people with wood stoves. Sure I could do without, but I can load so much easier, and get splits organized better in there, keep the door open for shorter amounts of times. Heck, I can even hold onto the stove top and use that to steady myself while I get that door handle cranked tight. but as I mentioned above, now I can run out the door with a burning split if I need to, lol.

edit: I guess that what you were talking about, drdoct, lol. glad to see I'm not alone.
 
this could be a new tread

how do you clean those welders gloves :roll:

mine went from red to black
 
Mine started black so no harm there. I think that you should probably replace once they stop shielding you from the heat. I use mine to pick up coals that fall out onto the ash shelf all the time. I don't know of a more important accessory than gloves when it comes to wood burning.
 
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