Lots of wood to cut for Jotul F600 Firelight - Should I cut it to 24" long

[Detector$]

Guys and Gals,
I just bought 5 acres of land and have had it mostly cleared for horse pasture.
It was almost completely covered in old White Oak and Hickory.
I have an enviable stack of wood to cut, so here's my question.

Our new house will have a Jotul F600 Firelight... the manual says the max log length is 24"
I want to maximize it's burn performance and time by getting as much wood in there as I can.
Should I cut all my rounds into 24" pieces? Will 24" just barely fit?

Thanks for your input!

 

[smokinj]

Guys and Gals,
I just bought 5 acres of land and have had it mostly cleared for horse pasture.
It was almost completely covered in old White Oak and Hickory.
I have an enviable stack of wood to cut, so here's my question.

Our new house will have a Jotul F600 Firelight... the manual says the max log length is 24"
I want to maximize it's burn performance and time by getting as much wood in there as I can.
Should I cut all my rounds into 24" pieces? Will 24" just barely fit?

Thanks for your input!

It would probly go a little bigger than that,but i would stick with 24in should be easier loading.

 

[Hanko]

if you have a 24 inch fire box, why should you cut them bigger than 24 inches?

 

[woodconvert]

Guys and Gals,
I just bought 5 acres of land and have had it mostly cleared for horse pasture.
It was almost completely covered in old White Oak and Hickory.
I have an enviable stack of wood to cut, so here's my question.

Our new house will have a Jotul F600 Firelight... the manual says the max log length is 24"
I want to maximize it's burn performance and time by getting as much wood in there as I can.
Should I cut all my rounds into 24" pieces? Will 24" just barely fit?

Thanks for your input!

Vary the length. I'd go out and measure my stuff but it's dark and drizzling....i'll be out there tomorrow so I can give you a good measuring range that I use. I've found mine likes it better though with various lengths.

 

[Hanko]

Guys and Gals,
I just bought 5 acres of land and have had it mostly cleared for horse pasture.
It was almost completely covered in old White Oak and Hickory.
I have an enviable stack of wood to cut, so here's my question.

Our new house will have a Jotul F600 Firelight... the manual says the max log length is 24"
I want to maximize it's burn performance and time by getting as much wood in there as I can.
Should I cut all my rounds into 24" pieces? Will 24" just barely fit?

Thanks for your input!

Vary the length. I'd go out and measure my stuff but it's dark and drizzling....i'll be out there tomorrow so I can give you a good measuring range that I use. I've found mine likes it better though with various lengths.

Kinda chilly out there tonight in Michigan, got one going? I do just lit it. the wife was lookinjg a little blue

 

[fossil]

If you're gonna side load it, then I s'pose you could cut all your wood to 24". If you're ever gonna want to front load it, then 24" might have to go in just a bit catawampus to get through the door opening, then straighten out inside. Fiddling around with a split trying to get into an already burning hot and cluttered firebox isn't a lot of fun. Why limit your options? If you're bucking the wood yourself, it can be any length you want. I think maybe I'd cut it all about 22" or so...but then, I don't have a Jotul F600, so what the heck do I know? I have a stove that'll take 24", and another stove that'll barely take 17" (both front-loaders). I use 16"-17" wood in both stoves, because I don't want to have to differentiate my stored wood by size. When I come across the inevitable "big gnarly" it goes straight into the big stove. If I only had the big stove, I think I'd shoot for maybe 18"-20". Rick

 

[Hanko]

If you're gonna side load it, then I s'pose you could cut all your wood to 24". If you're ever gonna want to front load it, then 24" might have to go in just a bit catawampus to get through the door opening, then straighten out inside. Fiddling around with a split trying to get into an already burning hot and cluttered firebox isn't a lot of fun. Why limit your options? If you're bucking the wood yourself, it can be any length you want. I think maybe I'd cut it all about 22" or so...but then, I don't have a Jotul F600, so what the heck do I know? I have a stove that'll take 24", and another stove that'll barely take 17" (both front-loaders). I use 16"-17" wood in both stoves, because I don't want to have to differentiate my stored wood by size. When I come across the inevitable "big gnarly" it goes straight into the big stove. If I only had the big stove, I think I'd shoot for maybe 18"-20". Rick

Ya rick said that

 

[Todd]

I'd go for a couple inches under max length so you have some wiggle room. Or maybe take a 24" split to the stove shop and stick it in there and see.

 

[gpcollen1]

My stove takes up to 24" and I cut plenty that length. I vary what length I cut my logs. I usually cut them anywhere from 16-24" depending. I got some 4' lengths - I cut half of them in two and the other half in threes. I do now have a second stove that takes 18" splits so it makes more sense now.

Bottom line, you may want shorter splits for burning N/S with the first row of splits to get the fire going quicker and you will definitely want some 24" to fill the firebox to the max on those cold winter nights.

 

[BotetourtSteve]

With all due respect to the other posters, I actually have a Big 6, and I would strongly advise against cutting to full 24" length. Those size logs will only fit in the front portion of the stove, as the firebox tapers slightly in size towards the back. Plus going to that full size just gives you absolutely no wiggle room (literally!) for loading the stove when you account for ash buildup, misshapen logs or anything else that may compromise an inch or two. 18" to 20" is just fine for the biggie. You can slip a few pieces in there up to 24", but you're not going to be able to pack 'er up if all your wood is that length.

Happy burning.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Our family has a few Jotul's, Flash has an F600, Jim and me have F500's. We cut all our wood to 20"
anything less than that will look lost in your stove ( will look lost in the F500 also)
If you bought the F600 for its big firebox, then fill it with long pieces so you can get those long burn times.

WoodButcher

 

[Jags]

Nothing is going to tick you off more than going to load up a stove for the night and trying to pack that box to find out that the log you are trying to fit in is 24.75" long, and its already on fire.

I agree with woodbutcher in maximizing your usable space, but 22" is what I would shoot for. Not too mention, a little space on the edges may help with air movement and promote better burning. Just my opinion.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Nothing is going to tick you off more than going to load up a stove for the night and trying to pack that box to find out that the log you are trying to fit in is 24.75" long, and its already on fire.

I agree with woodbutcher in maximizing your usable space, but 22" is what I would shoot for. Not too mention, a little space on the edges may help with air movement and promote better burning. Just my opinion.

Jags has it right, that way when your bucking you'll end up with an average somewhere between 21"-23" (especially on those days when your tired and your cutting big trunks)

WoodButcher

 

[Highbeam]

My max log size is 21 inches and I cut all of mine to 18". Major measuring to do this since I want max burn time and easy loading. An inch and a half on each side isn't much

 

[FLASHMAN]

Guys and Gals,
I just bought 5 acres of land and have had it mostly cleared for horse pasture.
It was almost completely covered in old White Oak and Hickory.
I have an enviable stack of wood to cut, so here's my question.

Our new house will have a Jotul F600 Firelight... the manual says the max log length is 24"
I want to maximize it's burn performance and time by getting as much wood in there as I can.
Should I cut all my rounds into 24" pieces? Will 24" just barely fit?

Thanks for your input!

I run a 600... DO NOT cut to 24" it will technically fit, but only dead center, and not if it's too big... Cut 20's, that'll give you room to move the wood around, and also leave room for air to move around the wood...

 

[billb3]

Too small will always fit.

 

[RedRanger]

My max log size is 21 inches and I cut all of mine to 18". Major measuring to do this since I want max burn time and easy loading. An inch and a half on each side isn't much

I agree.. cut it shorter, cause if you have to criss-cross it to fit, it will just burn up quicker. Ie-if your firebox takes 24 inch, then cut it to 20 inch. way, way , less hassles that way. And it makes the burn so much more controllable.

 

[iceman]

shorter is always best may not be perfect but it will always fit
like someone else said " nothing worse than that piece that won't fit and is already lit"

 

[wellbuilt home]

If you want max burn & heat you need to get the longest logs you can fit .One of the other posters said the fire box is smaller at the back i would cut half the logs the length of the back of the stove . The other half i would cut to 16" so you could stack it with the 24s even .I burn half my wood in jan ,feb and the other half the rest of the year. The 16" logs wont cook you out of the house in the spring and fall. The larger logs will burn longer and give off more heat.

 

[RedRanger]

If you want max burn & heat you need to get the longest logs you can fit .One of the other posters said the fire box is smaller at the back i would cut half the logs the length of the back of the stove . The other half i would cut to 16" so you could stack it with the 24s even .I burn half my wood in jan ,feb and the other half the rest of the year. The 16" logs wont cook you out of the house in the spring and fall. The larger logs will burn longer and give off more heat.

Sweet= makes no common sense whatsoever!!

All the longer logs won`t fit all the time, so why not simplify?? :roll:

 

[fossil]

I have averaged all of the quantitative answers offered in this thread, and so, from this sample of the woodburning population, your optimum split length is exactly 20.533". I recommend a good digital caliper. Maybe a belt sander, too. %-P Rick

 

[Sheepdog]

Rick,

catawampus?!?!?!

-Sheepdog

 

[fossil]

Rick,

catawampus?!?!?!

-Sheepdog

catawampus

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.
–adjective
1. askew; awry.
2. positioned diagonally; cater-cornered.
–adverb
3. diagonally; obliquely: We took a shortcut and walked catawampus across the field.

Also, cattywampus.

 

[BJ64]

I have averaged all of the quantitative answers offered in this thread, and so, from this sample of the woodburning population, your optimum split length is exactly 20.533". I recommend a good digital caliper. Maybe a belt sander, too. %-P Rick

Ohh poo! I recommend you get a good stats calculator and forget the belt sander.
:coolsmirk:

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

I have averaged all of the quantitative answers offered in this thread, and so, from this sample of the woodburning population, your optimum split length is exactly 20.533". I recommend a good digital caliper. Maybe a belt sander, too. %-P Rick

Rick ...our calculations differ, I come up with 20.335 %-P

WoodButcher