Last year I got a late start and split small to help make sure my wood was dry by winter. I paid with shorter burn times however. This year I'm trying to split larger without going too big. Wood is 95% dead Ash. Looks about right to me, but would like to hear some opinions. Thanks SB
Is this about right for splits?
- Thread starter Sodbuster
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Beautiful. I like an assortment of sizes to choose from. Depends on your burn habits.
WoodpileOCD
Minister of Fire
This is about what I have been doing but I'm starting to include a lot of splits that are much bigger now as well. However it depends on your stove. I have a very large firebox. It's not very high but it's really deep and wide.
Looks good on sizing. Nice to have an assortment, as gzecc said. I would leave them stacked single-row (one row per pallet) to get the best drying. I've gone to two rows per pallet on stuff that's going to be stacked a few years but staying single-row on stuff I'll need next season (dead White Ash and soft Maple.)
That sizing is just about perfect, IMO. Now, if you have several years' worth of wood on hand, it wouldn't hurt to split the softer stuff (maple, ash, cherry, walnut, etc) a bit bigger if you wanted to. But I'd be splitting all the oak and hickory to about the size you have there, as it takes 2 to 3 years to be ideal.....
Lookin good!
Lookin good!
Well, it is what it is. I don't know about Ash, but have heard it dries well in a year.
Go get some more.
Go get some more.
Go get some more.
Then, you can get some oak.
Went past Hartland on the way to our daughters last Thanksgiving.
Use to fish at Parshallville when I was much younger.
Go get some more.
Go get some more.
Go get some more.
Then, you can get some oak.
Went past Hartland on the way to our daughters last Thanksgiving.
Use to fish at Parshallville when I was much younger.
Looks good to me?? I split a little smaller trying to get up to speed the first season and now they seem to get bigger and I leave larger stuff in the round as I get 3-4-5yrs ahead. Plenty of standing dead ash there in Hartland along with some nice stuff felled by mother nature. Around here the word is, "get it before it rots!!" Ash is what I am burning about 90% of the time the past two winters and is 90% of what is in my stacks with no end in sight. I am right down the road from you in Fowlerville.
Welcome and I second - keep cutting, splitting and stacking that ash. It is like looking at money when it is out there drying.
Welcome and I second - keep cutting, splitting and stacking that ash. It is like looking at money when it is out there drying.
I also notice some rounds in there which are good if they have time to dry. Another great reason to be 3 years ahead on your wood supply. We tend to split not too large but also have several rounds most years. Just a couple nights ago I filled the stove with all rounds. Held the fire much longer than normal. These weren't super dried though. They were stacked in April 2009.
I try and split a mix of medium 30% large 70%. If I need smaller there is always the option to re split a medium. I keep a hatchet handy for quick re-split needs.
Blue2ndaries
Minister of Fire
Looks good to me and agree with what others have said re: having a variety of sizes to pick from. You can always re-split smaller (if needed), but it's hard to make "bigger" pieces.
Thanks guys, first year burning with the Summit, so I'm still getting a handle on how much I need. I'm cutting everything I can get my hands on, trying to beat the spring "squishy" season. The back of our property is wet, but I can get the tractor in there now to haul wood out. Once spring arrives, I will get stuck just thinking about it. I did find a nice downed Oak that I thought was going to be rotten, but when I cut into it, only the outside 1/2" or so was punky, the rest was solid. It was culled as I split and is going on it's own pile for a longer cure time.
HDRock
Minister of Fire
ArsenalDon
Minister of Fire
Redlegs
Feeling the Heat
No No No - those are all wrong! Bring them over here quick and I'll put the in my stacks so you can go get some better ones. 
+1 for keepin' a mix of sizes in the stack. You'll get the feel for what your stove does best with over time but it looks like you're off to a good start!
+1 for keepin' a mix of sizes in the stack. You'll get the feel for what your stove does best with over time but it looks like you're off to a good start!
Hay ! Sodbuster, Hartland , WELCOME
I use to live on Crouse Rd on a Dairy farm, that is now a golf course
I get my kiln dried hard wood at Armstrong Millworks, do ya know it ? out on 59
Is that the farm with the white barn you can see from Old 23 & Crouse? I've seen Armstrong Millworks on 59, but have never had a need to stop in.
Actually the sizes look too uniform to me, kind of looks very much like some of my stacks, but what I found wrong with mine was I was sometimes looking for some smaller splits. But of course as others have said, it depends on how you burn. I found the smaller splits helped get a fire going quicker, either from low coals, or a fresh fire. On an already roaring fire, or a hot bed of coals, the bigger splits are preferable.
Looks good to me. My preference when splitting, especially bigger rounds, is to split small or medium half rounds and then sometimes to wedges off the sides of the round, and work my way around till I have a nice big rectangular split or two from the middle. Depends on the size of the round, but usually 4 large to medium 1/2 rounds(some split further to wedges)s off the outer perimeter, then 1 or 2 large square or rectangular splits from the center. Gives a nice variety, and works well for loading my insert. Larges on the bottom and mediums and smalls to fill in at the top. This has given great burn times, yet not a ton of coaling to contend with. Always experimenting with different sizes and loading techniques.
That's pretty common with oak to find the outside 1/2" punky. Won't hurt a thing.
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