Do you loose anything burning 16” splits in a firebox sized fir 21”?

[Blueox4]

I found a bulk firewood dealer close by who sells a triaxle truckload of logs which I’m going to probably buy a load and also has 16” splits by the truckload that I was thinking about for my incoming stove, Osburn 2400 insert, that has a firebox that can take 21” splits. Do I lose anything using smaller split pieces in a larger firebox?

 

[GadDummit]

That firebox is only 22 1/2'' wide. That's about 3 inches clearance on each side of a log. I'd imagine 16" logs is what most people burn in that firebox. You're good to go. My fireplace can handle 30" logs with 2-3" clearance on each side and I regularly stack two rows of 12" logs end to end in it when I'm down to the smallies. It burns just fine and puts out good heat.

 

[Jazzberry]

I cut mine to about 1" clearance on the glass door and touching at the rear. I like my stove to be full when I get finished stoking it.

 

[Ashful]

I cut mine to about 1" clearance on the glass door and touching at the rear. I like my stove to be full when I get finished stoking it.

Ditto. When my stove was 22” wide, I used to cut to 21”. Now it’s 19”, so I cut to 18”. I want that box full, when I stuff it for a full-day’s burn.

At 16” in a 21” box, assuming the firebox is at least 16” in the other direction, you could almost jam a few splits in on the end of the main load, to get the firebox full.

 

[Jazzberry]

Here is a cool little tool I found that helps when your cutting with a 1" tolerance. Look up Firewood Buddy on Ebay. I duct taped a welding rod to mine because it only comes in a 16" length.

 

[Blueox4]

I’m going with a truckload of 16” splits, all hardwood with Ash, maple, oak and cherry cut last December I was told. I’ll be inspecting prior to acceptance of course but he says a truckload is about 7.5 facecords. I’ll talk to him then about maybe getting a log truck to drop off a load of logs too. I live out in the country and have some timber on my land too which I’ll probably harvest some of that too this winter maybe when I can haul it out with my snowmobile and a sled. I’m just hoping I can have quality burns this year with this wood. Going forward I’ll have enough put up that I will know it’s seasoned. I just got my son in law a new Stihl Farmboss for Father’s Day and I’ve got a 261 main saw and Husky 445 backup saw. I like cutting firewood too with the right tools. I need a splitter I guess too but I’m going to look around for one. Think I want a vertical capability too on whatever splitter I go with. Thanks for the helpful advice!

 

[Pertzbro]

what is the best way to reduce split wood down to firebox size? Say you have everything at 20 and you get a new stove that only takes 18?

Chainsaw and sawbuck? Chopsaw?

 

[Ashful]

what is the best way to reduce split wood down to firebox size? Say you have everything at 20 and you get a new stove that only takes 18?

Chainsaw and sawbuck? Chopsaw?

This is a frequently broached subject around here, and I just finished cutting down about 30 cords of split wood from 22” to 18”, myself. I settled on what I think is the best way to do the job, but others may have their own ways, which suit their equipment and work methods.

I built a rack that’s about 6 feet tall, 18 inches deep, and as wide as the longest bar I like to normally run (28 inches, in my case). The rack is all open framing, with the only sheathed surface being the solid plywood back, which controls that 18 inch dimension to which I’m trying to cut. I stack about 0.4 face cord in that rack, run a ratchet strap around the whole thing, and then with one pass of the saw take it all down from 22 to 18 inches. The rack is built with no nails in the areas where the saw will inevitably chew on it, using glued dowels there, to avoid chain damage or injury. Each rack build takes me under an hour, and is good for 15 - 20 cords, before it’s pretty much shot.

It is shown/described a little in this thread I’m linking below. I would just cut down the wood one cord at a time, as I was ready to haul it up to the house to burn. In that way, cutting down 30 cords took me just a hair over 3 years.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/homemade-or-diy-wood-tools-equipment.169151/#post-2271432

 

[Highbeam]

This is a frequently broached subject around here, and I just finished cutting down about 30 cords of split wood from 22” to 18”, myself. I settled on what I think is the best way to do the job, but others may have their own ways, which suit their equipment and work methods.

I built a rack that’s about 6 feet tall, 18 inches deep, and as wide as the longest bar I like to normally run (28 inches, in my case). The rack is all open framing, with the only sheathed surface being the solid plywood back, which controls that 18 inch dimension to which I’m trying to cut. I stack about 0.4 face cord in that rack, run a ratchet strap around the whole thing, and then with one pass of the saw take it all down from 22 to 18 inches. The rack is built with no nails in the areas where the saw will inevitably chew on it, using glued dowels there, to avoid chain damage or injury. Each rack build takes me under an hour, and is good for 15 - 20 cords, before it’s pretty much shot.

It is shown/described a little in this thread I’m linking below. I would just cut down the wood one cord at a time, as I was ready to haul it up to the house to burn. In that way, cutting down 30 cords took me just a hair over 3 years.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/homemade-or-diy-wood-tools-equipment.169151/#post-2271432

Are you loading the BKs east/west? You must be with 18" splits. Not many do that. I buck at 15.5" to load N/S in my BK.

Those same 15.5" splits are fed to the NC30 that can swallow a very long split, something over 20" so I had to decide whether to leave a gap in front or back when I load. 6" of firebox is a pretty big space. I burn the NC30 really hard so I pulled the fuel up to the front for fastest, cleanest, hottest, combustion. It might burn a bit longer with more fuel if I was able to cut full length splits but I need to reload every few hours anyway.

 

[Ashful]

Are you loading the BKs east/west? You must be with 18" splits. Not many do that. I buck at 15.5" to load N/S in my BK.

Those same 15.5" splits are fed to the NC30 that can swallow a very long split, something over 20" so I had to decide whether to leave a gap in front or back when I load. 6" of firebox is a pretty big space. I burn the NC30 really hard so I pulled the fuel up to the front for fastest, cleanest, hottest, combustion. It might burn a bit longer with more fuel if I was able to cut full length splits but I need to reload every few hours anyway.

Nope, I’m loading N/S. In fact, my BK’s will take 21 inches N/S, but the bottom course must be under 19” to clear the door sill. That’s why I just cut it all between 18” and 19”.

If I went east west, I think they’ll still take 19” up to the firebrick sides, and then 21” above that. I’m not sure, I’ve never tried loading E/W.

 

[Poindexter]

I find it counterproductive to load E-W on a bed of hot coals.

For quick reloads in a hot stove I hold each piece by the door end and load north-south. It is sometimes possible to add a layer of E-W splits in front of the main NS load just inside the door. It has to be pretty darn cold for me to bother with that step.

FWIW I process everything at 16". I process 10-15 cords annually, burn 8-10 and don't have time to deal with folks that want splits 18.737 inches long. If you can run your stove on 16s, I got some primo stuff. First three stove loads are free. If you want more, Benjamin's. If you want 18.737 inches, I don't have time to be your dealer. Try some 14% MC, just for kicks. It's fun.

 

[Ashful]

I process 10-15 cords annually, burn 8-10 and don't have time to deal with folks that want splits 18.737 inches long. If you can run your stove on 16s, I got some primo stuff. If you want 18.737 inches, I don't have time to be your dealer.

Making firewood without a wood processor, is a mighty tough way to make a living, unless you really enjoy the work. Heck, it’s a tough way to make a few bucks on the side, too.

 

[Poindexter]

Making firewood without a wood processor, is a mighty tough way to make a living, unless you really enjoy the work. Heck, it’s a tough way to make a few bucks on the side, too.

It is just something to do outside while the water is hard. Some folks go dog mushing, some folks run a trap line, some go snow machining. I don't like being that far from the house in weather like that, but I hate being cooped up indoors.