Dutch West 2462

[Kool_hand_Looke]

I have a combustor stove, and for some reason it seems like it won't process bigger rounds. I've got a 25" firebox and it seems the larger rounds almost smoulder. Not quite, but almost.

Is this normal for a cat stove or DW?

 

[pen]

Rounds are notorious for not seasoning well. Even smaller ones (palm sized). If these are larger rounds, the problem may simply be that they aren't ready to be put in the stove or should be split to aide in burning if you have to use them now.

In general, the bigger the split, the longer the seasoning. This gets worse with rounds as the bark keeps them from seasoning well.

pen

 

[Kool_hand_Looke]

Well I thought that very same thing...but I have a round that a critter made it's home in. It hollowed out with holea in it. This has been sitting for 3 years.

Same results. It's burning, but not quite like a good split.

 

[BrotherBart]

Any time I burn a round, and mine are three years minimum on the stacks before they go in the stove, it is between two splits to insure things keep burning in there while the round lazily gives up the volatiles.

 

[pen]

Well I thought that very same thing...but I have a round that a critter made it's home in. It hollowed out with holea in it. This has been sitting for 3 years.

Same results. It's burning, but not quite like a good split.

Still might not be well seasoned. Also, it's a surface area issue to exposed wood that makes a difference as well.

 

[windchaser]

From my experience at least...rounds never burn as well as splits. Aside from using a well seasoned round having a bed of red-hot coals to place the rounds on helps a ton and don't load your rounds too tightly...ensure there is enough room for air and flames to work the sides of your round(S). Done right rounds usually help your cat.stove hit the longest burns.

 

[Kool_hand_Looke]

That's the thing...smaller round burn AWESOME IN my stove. Better than splits. I don't recall understand why.

 

[BrotherBart]

It takes a large round or split longer to get hot enough to release volatiles. Wood ain't what burns in your stove. What burns is the gases released from the wood.

 

[Nick Mystic]

If I have a relatively large round (say 6 - 8") I will put it in the back of the stove and smaller splits in front. I generally save the large rounds for overnight burns so I am loading them onto a well established bed of coals. By the time the front splits have burned down the round in back has had a few hours of intense heat and seems to burn fine. My Jotul F 600 has a fairly deep firebox, so I have something like 16" from my front door to the back of the stove. That leaves plenty of room in front of the large round for a good size fire to burn.

 

[jatoxico]

I have a small book/pamphlet on axes and wood cutting etc and it recommends shaving off a strip of bark on rounds before stacking to ensure proper drying.

Sometimes it happens by luck during cutting and those pieces do seem to dry better.

 

[Woody Stover]

I find that with a cat stove, I don't need big splits or rounds. I can cut the air and run the stove slow on medium rounds. The big stuff is useful in a tube stove from what I understand.