Large wood

[chad3]

Having a hard time tonight.
Have only 2 splits in the stove, one ash about 14x3 and a piece of red oak about 12x6.
Both are dry, no hissing at all. Stove won't lit to my liking. Getting only about 300 on the stovetop with the oslo.
Just a hint, even dry make sure you guys put in a few "sides" to burn. This sucker won't get started. I'm going to wait and see what happens. If not much more, I'll crank it in the am. Don't split them too large just because you don't need them for a while.
Chad

 

[bsruther]

Sometimes 2 splits just doesn't do it for me either. They will just smolder. I find it's worse if it's very hard wood. Now if I have a really hot bed of coals, 2 splits fire up with no problem.
Are the outside temps warmer than usual? That might be a factor too.

 

[trafick]

Wood likes company. The more pieces in the stove the better it will burn. That's why I split to about 4"x4". Just seems to burn better for me.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

What you guys need to do is to build a few fires outdoors! You will very quickly find that you can not start or keep a fire going with 2 pieces of wood! It just don't work! Add just one more piece and you will then have happy flames. So, if that is the key in building an outdoor fire, perhaps it is the same for an indoor fire?

 

[backpack09]

That is when I throw in a couple pieces of pallet scrap to get everything a moving.

 

[savageactor7]

^yup either that just grab a maul and make some smaller splits.

Chad those splits will burn OK on an established bed of coals but it's hard to get a fire started with them. For a scratch fire smaller is better.

 

[myzamboni]

pallet scrap or a piece of 2x4 usually solves the issue. I've even used a thick piece of bark. It seems the flames need and interference in their path to build up heat and burn the '2 splits' effectively.

 

[mainstation]

pare the Ash down to thick kindling and half the oak,, help the draft.

good luck.

 

[JeffRey30747]

Fire, like a lot of other things, performs best in a "happy medium" (brush fires are a notable exception due to an overabundance of fuel with a low ignition point). It needs air for the reaction to occur but it also needs confinement to keep in the heat necessary to continue the reaction.