Long burns- rounds or splits?

[jamkam]

Was reading the manual for the PE Summit and it said for long, overnite burns, use rounds sted of splits. What do you folks think?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Rounds. Look at how wood burns- any fibers/splinters go up first. Then the corners/edges. Without corners, fire has a harder time getting purchase. I've seen this as a strategy in building sheds over kilns- round beams are better at resisting combustion.

That said- you can pack more pounds of wood in using certain splits, or a mix. All rounds leaves more space. They take longer to dry as well.

 

[jamkam]

Well, I happen to have a good assortment of oak rounds that have been laying around stacked for about 4 years. They're only slightly bark punky and look nicely cracked. I was gonna split them when I get the splitter next week, but maybe I'll have a bunch for those cold nights. Thanks.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

If it's dry and fits- then you don't need to split. It's good to have a variety to fill in spaces and pack tighter, though for the longest possible burn.

 

[bmwloco]

I have some massive oak rounds, too big for my VC Resolute II, but boy, when I split 'em up, they burn so very nicely.

Got my chainsaw up and running again. I have to split up some smaller oak, locust, and dogwood.

I hate burning dogwood, but with all the trophy houses going in around here, it's "push it over and build it". Lots of free wood, but when something as beautiful as a dogwood gets taken down, I cringe a little.

Oh well. It's good heat.

 

[jamkam]

...
I hate burning dogwood, but with all the trophy houses going in around here, it's "push it over and build it". Lots of free wood, but when something as beautiful as a dogwood gets taken down, I cringe a little...

Not worry, pretty darn soon; a) fewer and fewer of those house will be in demand and b) those folks building the McMansions will realize that with what it costs to heat, it'll be cheaper to burn dollar bill bundles than oil. Oh, it already is?

 

[Risser09]

A round will give a longer burn. It's a bonus to fill the sides with splits/small splits.

 

[ScottF]

If it’s dry and fits- then you don’t need to split.

But if its sharp and it slits, that thin log you may hit

and if you can get the round one lit, all the longer you may sit

but if you don't like my wit I wont blame you a bit.

 

[Jags]

Just talking about burn characteristics, rounds would be the obvious choice. Your summit, being a big firebox should do well even with decent sized rounds. Some smaller stoves may not react as well to the larger rounds.

Now assuming that you throw the "control" feature into the mix, meaning that you basically have full control of the burning fuel, the big factor is pounds of fuel. How to get the most btu's jammed into the box. Rounds could fit into this mixture, but you would need many different sizes to be able to pack the firebox. Smaller splits may actually allow more pounds to fit. Hopefully this makes sense???

 

[InTheRockies]

I intentionally didn't split all the smaller diameter pieces to have rounds to use at night. Before going to bed, I put a couple of rounds and then fill up around them with splits and anything that fits. Seems to work well for me--I'm getting between 6-7 hour burns overnight and wake up to a nice bed of coals that easily restart the fire in the morning.

 

[jamkam]

Sounds like some seasoned medium sized or lg 1/2 rounds are gonna be great to have on hand for those sub-freezing nights!