Dimensional fire logs for exstended burn

[Mark1000]

hi this may sound like a bumb idea but I’m pondering using my sawmill to cut dimensional lumber basically 8x8 16” long to place at the back of my stove and place normal fire wood in front of that for a extended burn . I’m thinking ash would be best as it seams to try fairly quick compared to oak which I would normally saw into boards I have tried packing normal fire wood tightly to increase burn time which has helped I’m just looking to go even further with the burn time maybe I can sleep in more.

Looking for any sudggestions or info on this maybe someone has tried this how did it work ?

Cheers

 

[Sawset]

I remember reading somewhere that wood will go through the stages of burning at a rate of 1cm/hr, or about 1/2"/hr. That would be with dry hardwood, and include char and breakdown. The remaining carbon rich coals then can last a long time after that. I've watched over time to see if there was a correlation here with sizes and times, and it seems to be close enough. Splits backed up against the back wall would mean breakdown would only happen from the outer exposed directions. Drying on the other hand would be an issue. Smaller 4-6inch splits would dry normally, 1-3yrs. I'm thinking 8inch rounds (or squares) would take longer than usual, possibly much much longer. I know that larger rounds left whole, may never dry down to usable 20percent MC, or at least on a timetable a guy can count on.

 

[shoot-straight]

i get cutoffs from a mill and stack it like jenga in my blaze king. its all about air and BTUs the more wood (mass) the more heat. less air gaps means less surface area for the wood to combust, so it may or may not burn slower with it. my bk loves them.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

If I had a mill I would definetely try it. A little extra work, but it might be worth it.

More work yet, but you could try some 6x6 if you needed faster drying. I would think those would stack in super tightly and you could create a 12x12 with 4 of them.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Interesting idea for an experiment. Try it with some, and if it works to your satisfaction, go all in.

Some people might think it's a little wacky, but that's ok, if it makes you happy.

What else do you have to do, anyway?

 

[Woody Stover]

You might have to put them toward the front of the box to keep them burning at a decent rate. Stuffed in the back, they don't get a lot of oxygen, the coals grab it first. It's gonna depend on the stove you have and other factors as well, as to how they burn in your circumstances. A BK for example would open up the air automatically on a fat block in the back of the box.

 

[jetsam]

You get longer burns but not more BTUs from bigger chunks. Seems like with milled blocks, you wouldn't get much air infiltration between neatly stacked pieces, so four fast drying 4x4s might burn almost as long as a slow drying 8x8?

 

[Diabel]

If I had a mill, I would measure my firebox and mill one piece of wood to fit the box to its max!

Provided the milled wood is seasoned.

 

[jetsam]

You could also mill 2x8s, dry them, drill them, and pin them together with dowels!

(I want pictures if anyone does this.)

 

[Mark1000]

I’m gonna try it for next year I’m gonna try all different sudggestions and see what happens I think 8x8 might be to large to dry maybe I could put a plunge cut or two in them to help them dry and give it another spot to catch fire on

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I’m gonna try it for next year I’m gonna try all different sudggestions and see what happens I think 8x8 might be to large to dry maybe I could put a plunge cut or two in them to help them dry and give it another spot to catch fire on

Or maybe drill a hole dead center longways to dry the middle.

If they are milled, doesn't matter much if they are smaller, the flats will stack perfectly anyway.

 

[Mark1000]

That is true and I wouldn’t go over board with it I’m just interested in a longer burn for when I’m out longer then usual

 

[weatherguy]

If I had a mill, I would measure my firebox and mill one piece of wood to fit the box to its max!

Provided the milled wood is seasoned.

Lol, stack a bunch of 16 x 16 x 12 pieces on pallets in the sun to season for 3 years, burn 3 pieces a day, simple yet genius.

 

[Diabel]

That is true and I wouldn’t go over board with it I’m just interested in a longer burn for when I’m out longer then usual

Mark

What is your usual burn?

 

[Mark1000]

Well my definition of my burn time is I’m gone 13 hrs a day when I get home there’s just enough coals left in the bottom to toss wood on and keep going however the house is cooled down a fair bit by then too when it’s cold outside. I’d say probably with the draft shut down probably on average 5-6 hrs of flame . The problem seams to be more in the morning waking up to a cool house. I only heat with my wood stove it’s a pe super 27 my house is a 1200 square ft bungalow with a perimeter insulated crawl space the walls maybe r10 or so a good 8” of blow in in the attic with not sure what r batt under it and newish windows .