burning unsplit wood

[krav51]

Wondering how big in diameter you should burn in a wood insert.I have a new Lopi Freedom that im still getting used to .I just recieved a load of wood that contained a bunch of pieces 3-6 inces in diameter and are a pain to split.Im sure once my stove is up to operating temp(500-600 degrees at the stove) they will burn,but are there any downsides and how large can i go before i have issues with it burning?
thanks

 

[JA600L]

If you split them in half figure it will probably dry in half the time.

 

[krav51]

If you split them in half figure it will probably dry in half the time.

thats the problem,most have odd shapes or bends that make it tough to split them

 

[jatoxico]

thats the problem,most have odd shapes or bends that make it tough to split them

Rounds can take a long time to dry, even smallish ones.What are you splitting with? If you have a sharp splitting ax like a Fiskars you can lay the splits that won't stand by themselves down flat and go at them that way.

This works well and even if a piece is super knarly and you don't fully split it you've opened the bugger up for drying. Another option is to use hatchet or ax to peel a strip or two or bark from the rounds that are too small or odd shaped to split.

 

[Fod01]

I'm assuming these are rounds. Do you know what species? If oak or similar, they might be next year's wood.

Try one on top of a couple dry splits and see how it does. If the stove burns ok then mix 1 in on a reload. If not, put them aside and try splitting in the Spring. Some times the tough ones get easier with age .

 

[BobUrban]

The only downside is moisture content - or lack there of if seasoned long enough. Once you are 3, 4, 5 years ahead you can begin to split larger and leave more in the round. I love burning nice stove pipe straight 6-10" rounds of elm and ash rounds but my wood has 3-4yrs to wait before it gets any stove time. If I was pressed I would split them all.

 

[krav51]

Most of it is oak with some black walnut,im using a generic maul to split but im gonna look into a Fiskars,thanks for the suggestions!

 

[branchburner]

I just received a load of wood that contained a bunch of pieces 3-6 inces in diameter and are a pain to split.

Given that you just received it, in all likelihood NONE of the wood in that load is ideally ready to burn, split or not. (That is, unless you know for a fact it is fully seasoned.) There is nothing wrong with burning unsplit wood of those diameters so long as they are given the extra time to dry, which could be much longer than for smaller split wood.

If they are a pain to split, you can leave them aside for a later year rather than struggle with them now. For a 6" round, I would probably give it twice the drying time as I would if it were split in two. So for maple, ash, and others that might be 2-3 years rather than 1+... but for oak, that might be 4 years instead of 2.

 

[firefighterjake]

If I can palm a round generally I don't split it . . . but then again I am a few years ahead.

If I was getting wood ready for the following year I would probably split most everything I could to aid in the seasoning process.

 

[Nick Mystic]

I want to add a cautionary note about laying a log down on its side and attempting to split it with a Fiskars, which is an extremely sharp splitting ax. I would be concerned about the ax possibly glancing off the side of the log upon impact. The blade on my Fiskars is like a razor blade in sharpness and would do a lot of damage if it glanced off the round side of a log on the down stroke. And since the edge of the blade is so sharp it would be badly damaged if it went into the ground and hit a rock on/in the ground.

 

[blades]

I want to add a cautionary note about laying a log down on its side and attempting to split it with a Fiskars, which is an extremely sharp splitting ax. I would be concerned about the ax possibly glancing off the side of the log upon impact. The blade on my Fiskars is like a razor blade in sharpness and would do a lot of damage if it glanced off the round side of a log on the down stroke. And since the edge of the blade is so sharp it would be badly damaged if it went into the ground and hit a rock on/in the ground.

Got the scar and stitch count from a bouncing axe.

 

[jatoxico]

Always keep your hands below the head of the ax as you swing and it cannot come at you. Bend at the knees boys!