How Many Splits A Day You Say?

[katwillny]

I read of folk here running their stoves on 3 splits per load or very few splits per day. My 30 must be hungry because on average I load 6 to 8 relatively large splits with a few small ones to fill the cracks per load and I have been loading about 3 to 4 times a day on weekends, 2 to 3 times during the work week. Just wanted to get an idea what other folks with other stoves are doing on a daily basis. My splits are usually 10 to 20 inches long and about 5 to 6 inches wide. Different spices of wood ranging from oak to locust to maple.

 

[Hogwildz]

7 or 8 splits a load, 2 loads per day. Sometimes 3 or 4 splits of soft wood between loads( several days this week in single digits to low teens).

 

[bluedogz]

I am feeding my 30 in a similar way.
I found I got a lot more heat out of it after learning when to cut the air down and how to move the heat around.

 

[begreen]

6-8 splits per load, 2-3 times a day depending on outside temps and thickness of the splits.

 

[jeff_t]

Number of splits is pretty subjective, depending on the size. I had a bunch of big, fat, flat ones from my cross stacks in the rack. I loaded six of them last night, and there wasn't room left for a stick. I make my splits big anyway, but this was impressive. I wish I was home. She's probably still burning them.

I typically fit 8-9 in on the night load, with maybe a couple of small ones to fill the voids. During the day, it's odds and ends.

 

[schortie]

Three fires a day most of the time - unless it's over 36* or single digits.

Four to nine splits (depending on split size, species, and temps). I'd suppose six splits in an average fire.

 

[Highbeam]

I do 8-10 splits for a full load which is all I do, full loads all the time. Turns out that this is about all I can carry in one arm. I got curious about this too so I stepped on a scale with my full load still in my arm, then came back after loading and reweighed myself to get the difference which is wood weight, and I am almost always in the mid 40s. 24 hour burns on 45 lbs of red alder keeps my house in the 70s all the time. If we compare weights per loading then the quality of the wood is no longer an issue. Hickory and alder both have the same energy per lb.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It all depends upon the weather.

 

[NH_Wood]

In 'typical' cold - say, high of 30 and low of 10, I'm at 8-10 splits per load and three loads per day - so, 24-30 splits - a lot depends on split size. Cheers!

 

[katwillny]

Thanks all. My wife and i are contemplating a Blaze King King or a soapstone for next winter and heard that they are very economical on wood.

 

[PapaDave]

Older stove, but overnight load is 8-9 splits N/S.
The firebox is 23" wide, so I guess that means the splits are about 5" across the flat side.
During the day, since I'm mostly home, it changes from 3-8 per load. If I need to burn down coals, it's one split.
However, like Dennis and I'm sure others, it varies depending on the weather.

 

[Pallet Pete]

I can really crank some heat with a small load and don't always need to fill it. If there is a coal bed 2 or 3 good splits and it does not need more. From a cold start fill it up tight and build a coal bed. The cast part of the stove pushes increadable heat out for a very long time.

Pete

 

[Highbeam]

I've recently switched from non-cat soapstone to this BK and it took a while but I've gotten used to the new concept that the amount of wood in the stove is not what determines the heat output but rather, the air setting. So I can load the firebox to the top when it is 50 degrees outside but turn the air down low and not overheat. It wasn't like that with the non-cat, you had to adjust your fuel load when you didn't want much heat.

After having both, and if you can stand the looks of the BK (I didn't at first but the bold look grows on you) then I would recommend the BK. If you must go stone, the looks of stone are very nice, then I would recommend the woodstock line since they have mostly cat stoves which will give the all important long burns that you can't get with a non-cat.

 

[glassmanjpf]

Pretty cold here on the Long Island...burning pretty much oak and locust. Three loads of 6 to 8 with a couple of 3 piece loads in between full loads.

 

[lopiliberty]

When its cold I load 6 to 8 splits and fill in with little ones 2 or 3 times a day. This stove goes through to much wood only loading 2 or 3 splits at a time.

 

[Applejacks]

During this cold spell I've been using 25 splits a day----30 if its windy and cloudy

 

[rdust]

Number of splits is pretty subjective, depending on the size.

Yep, means very little to me. I can load the stove with 6 splits or 14 splits depending on the size of them. When I see you fill the King with only 8 splits I smile.

 

[jeff_t]

When I see you fill the King with only 8 splits I smile.

Six is even better. Should have snapped a pic.

 

[aansorge]

I seem to put about four or five in 4 or 5 times in a day.

 

[Cross Cut Saw]

We put in as many as it takes to fill the stove to where the top of the wood is right around the top of the andirons.
That's up to 15 splits depending on size. Currently with outside temps in the single digits for the better part of a week we're loading at 6am, 1pm, 9pm using bigger splits for the 9pm load.