Marking Logs for Length...why it matters more to small stoves.

[Intheswamp]

This is a spin-off from this thread...Marking Logs for Length. I didn't want to hijack that thread as it's a good one on how folks are physically marking their log lengths for bucking. This post is more of a thought on why it matters to get more precise lengths of firewood.....

It seems to me that folks with smaller stoves would be more interested in precision in attaining their desired wood lengths for at least a couple of reasons.

The first reason being, naturally, so that the split will physically fit into the stove...simple enough.

(The following math used is a variant (deviant) of wood math processed in yours truly's gray matter, so caution henceforth is recommended...)

The second reason that is in my head is a little more involved.... With a small stove the operator will be challenged to get the most heat and longest burn that he can get. Struggling to get an overnight burn with a 1.1cf firebox is a lot diffferent than getting an overnight burn in a 2.4cf firebox. As much of the firebox as possible would need to be filled for the smaller stove to have a chance at an overnight burn whereas the larger stove should still easily get an overnight burn even if it's firebox usage isn't maximized. Both fireboxes can easily be filled in depth and height but it seems at the ends of the wood (sides of firebox) is where space is often wasted by "short" splits.

If the best length for a small stove is 16" then cutting wood sporadically and ending up with a lot of 14" stuff is going to affect the heat output and burn time by leaving a lot of empty space at the ends of the wood. A full load (depth and height filled) with 1/2 load of 16" splits and 1/2 load of 14" splits would be end up being (very) roughly 7.5% less fuel than a full load of all 16" splits. So (simple minded as I am) if we have a small stove that has a burn time of 5 hours with a full load of 16" splits then if we loaded a half-half mix of 14" and 16" splits the burn time would be shortened to roughly 4.6 hours...a 24 minute burn time penalty.

Another way of looking at this would be to figure that at a 5 hour burn time of 16" wood then we're averaging 3.2 inches per hour of wood (full firebox...depth & height). For each inch of wood length we add to a consistent 16" load we would be adding roughly 20 minutes of burn time.

Naturally odd shaped unglies, crotches, knots, punky wood, old tires, etc, will affect burn times.

Anyhow, just some rambling noises in my head this morning...

Ed
(ok you wood-burning gurus, straighten my errors out for me )

 

[Wood Duck]

Another way to look at it is that small stoves aren't going to give an overnight burn anyway, so filling the firebox doesn't matter as much as it would with a medium-sized stove that might give an overnight burn if loaded just right, or might not if the wood doesn't fit quite right. My small stove won't burn all night, so I don't feel a lot of pressure to maximize the burn - no matter how carefully I load I have to either reload during the night or start a new fire in the morning.

 

[firefighterjake]

Maybe it's just me and my addled head . . . but when I work with my buddy he tends to naturally buck up wood shorter since his woodstove takes shorter wood . . . and since we share in the work and the wood it means I sometimes end up with a bunch of shorter wood . . . which is not a problem . . . of course the shorter wood fits into my stove with no issues . . . but the odd thing is . . . I don't tend to notice much of a difference in terms of the burn time between my 18-20 inch wood and his 14-16 inch wood . . .

 

[prajna101]

I have finally started bucking shorter. My little stove (lopi answer) is only 12 inches deep and that is how long I try to cut. I like loading NS because I feel I can get more in and it seems to burn better. 12in splits look kind of funny, but if I am off by an inch I can still load it EW. If I am cutting to 16 inches and am off by an inch, I have to throw it in a pile that needs to be cut again. It just wont fit.

Besides, 12 in splits sure dry quickly.

I wonder how much wood I lose to the kerf? hmm, 50 ft tall tree, 50 cuts I guess I lose one full round out of each tree to sawdust.

t

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Maybe it's just me and my addled head . . . but when I work with my buddy he tends to naturally buck up wood shorter since his woodstove takes shorter wood . . . and since we share in the work and the wood it means I sometimes end up with a bunch of shorter wood . . . which is not a problem . . . of course the shorter wood fits into my stove with no issues . . . but the odd thing is . . . I don't tend to notice much of a difference in terms of the burn time between my 18-20 inch wood and his 14-16 inch wood . . .

No problem for you maybe, but how about for him? I find nothing more irritating then prossesing and stacking wood and storing it for however long, then bringing it into the house and leaving it by the hearth and when I'm finally ready to load the splits into the stove finding out that they are 1/2" too big to fit properly. Now I have to take them back outside, make a seperate stack and when I get enough start the chainsaw and cut an inch or two off the ends. :shut:
I've done that too many times in the past, now I make sure it's the right length, first time.

 

[firefighterjake]

Maybe it's just me and my addled head . . . but when I work with my buddy he tends to naturally buck up wood shorter since his woodstove takes shorter wood . . . and since we share in the work and the wood it means I sometimes end up with a bunch of shorter wood . . . which is not a problem . . . of course the shorter wood fits into my stove with no issues . . . but the odd thing is . . . I don't tend to notice much of a difference in terms of the burn time between my 18-20 inch wood and his 14-16 inch wood . . .

No problem for you maybe, but how about for him? I find nothing more irritating then prossesing and stacking wood and storing it for however long, then bringing it into the house and leaving it by the hearth and when I'm finally ready to load the splits into the stove finding out that they are 1/2" too big to fit properly. Now I have to take them back outside, make a seperate stack and when I get enough start the chainsaw and cut an inch or two off the ends. :shut:
I've done that too many times in the past, now I make sure it's the right length, first time.

HehHeh . . . I try to remember to cut the wood shorter when we're working on his load of wood . . . sometimes he has to cut some up . . . sometimes he just tosses it into my pile . . . and sometimes when I have a few shorts I toss them into this pile . . .

 

[mayhem]

I may be way wrong here, but I beleive its the diameter of the wood that determines more of the overall burn time than the length. If you have two splits of equal diameter, species, etc...one is 14" long, the other is 20" long, they're both going to burn at more or less the same rate and will last about the same length of time...but the longer split will burn hotter because it has a greater surface area, thus more flames in the firebox.

We used to get overnight burns in my mother's house with both the old school (no glass doors) VC Defiant in the living room and her tiny little Westinhouse kitchen stove, despite the fact that you could just about put the Westinghouse INSIDE the defiant. If you wedge in a couple huge splits into that tiny Westinghouse (it took like 12-14" lengths), let it get going and shut it down, there would still be a nice bed of coals when you got up in the morning 6-8 hours later.

When I load up my Morso at night I go for the biggest diameter stuff I can get in there fo a long slow burn...if its cold out I'll toss in a bunch of medium sized or smal stuff for maximum heat at the expense of burn time.

I grant that overall you want to have your firewood be the right size for your stove, but I maintain that its incredibly easy and fast with very little practice to be able to get the length you want by eyeballing it...unless you're the person who is always up on the curb when you parallel park and always bumping the car in front of you in the parking lot.

 

[firefighterjake]

I may be way wrong here, but I beleive its the diameter of the wood that determines more of the overall burn time than the length. If you have two splits of equal diameter, species, etc...one is 14" long, the other is 20" long, they're both going to burn at more or less the same rate and will last about the same length of time...but the longer split will burn hotter because it has a greater surface area, thus more flames in the firebox.

We used to get overnight burns in my mother's house with both the old school (no glass doors) VC Defiant in the living room and her tiny little Westinhouse kitchen stove, despite the fact that you could just about put the Westinghouse INSIDE the defiant. If you wedge in a couple huge splits into that tiny Westinghouse (it took like 12-14" lengths), let it get going and shut it down, there would still be a nice bed of coals when you got up in the morning 6-8 hours later.

When I load up my Morso at night I go for the biggest diameter stuff I can get in there fo a long slow burn...if its cold out I'll toss in a bunch of medium sized or smal stuff for maximum heat at the expense of burn time.

I grant that overall you want to have your firewood be the right size for your stove, but I maintain that its incredibly easy and fast with very little practice to be able to get the length you want by eyeballing it...unless you're the person who is always up on the curb when you parallel park and always bumping the car in front of you in the parking lot.

So you're saying width is better than length . . . I would buy that argument.

 

[CTYank]

I have finally started bucking shorter. My little stove (lopi answer) is only 12 inches deep and that is how long I try to cut. I like loading NS because I feel I can get more in and it seems to burn better. 12in splits look kind of funny, but if I am off by an inch I can still load it EW. If I am cutting to 16 inches and am off by an inch, I have to throw it in a pile that needs to be cut again. It just wont fit.

Besides, 12 in splits sure dry quickly.

I wonder how much wood I lose to the kerf? hmm, 50 ft tall tree, 50 cuts I guess I lose one full round out of each tree to sawdust.

Besides waste from the ~3/8" kerf of typical chainsaw, using a chainsaw to recut small pieces is extremely dangerous IMNSHO.

That's why I buck to 16 or 24 inches, then split down to ~3" width, then buzz to ~8" with HF 10" table-saw for my little stove.

Minimal waste, saw is clamped to portable table, wood is held in two hands. If piece is too wide, flip and finish cut.

 

[Cascade Failure]

I have finally started bucking shorter. My little stove (lopi answer) is only 12 inches deep and that is how long I try to cut. I like loading NS because I feel I can get more in and it seems to burn better. 12in splits look kind of funny, but if I am off by an inch I can still load it EW. If I am cutting to 16 inches and am off by an inch, I have to throw it in a pile that needs to be cut again. It just wont fit.

Besides, 12 in splits sure dry quickly.

I wonder how much wood I lose to the kerf? hmm, 50 ft tall tree, 50 cuts I guess I lose one full round out of each tree to sawdust.

t

I look at it this way...

Take, for example, a 12" and a 8" split. Burn them. Then burn a 20" split. Same BTUs, right?

But which set of BTUs did I use more resources obtaining? Which set did I have to handle more?

At this point I will take the 20" split.

But...

My wife will load the stove, regardless of house temp, right to the gills. For her, the stove is on or off. Period.

So...

Maybe, I just cut everything by eyeball or inclination, screw the math and logic.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

I may be way wrong here, but I beleive its the diameter of the wood that determines more of the overall burn time than the length. If you have two splits of equal diameter, species, etc...one is 14" long, the other is 20" long, they're both going to burn at more or less the same rate and will last about the same length of time...but the longer split will burn hotter because it has a greater surface area, thus more flames in the firebox.

We used to get overnight burns in my mother's house with both the old school (no glass doors) VC Defiant in the living room and her tiny little Westinhouse kitchen stove, despite the fact that you could just about put the Westinghouse INSIDE the defiant. If you wedge in a couple huge splits into that tiny Westinghouse (it took like 12-14" lengths), let it get going and shut it down, there would still be a nice bed of coals when you got up in the morning 6-8 hours later.

When I load up my Morso at night I go for the biggest diameter stuff I can get in there fo a long slow burn...if its cold out I'll toss in a bunch of medium sized or smal stuff for maximum heat at the expense of burn time.

I grant that overall you want to have your firewood be the right size for your stove, but I maintain that its incredibly easy and fast with very little practice to be able to get the length you want by eyeballing it...unless you're the person who is always up on the curb when you parallel park and always bumping the car in front of you in the parking lot.

That's a good Metaphor mayhem, and it's always easier to eyeball a car into a BIG parking space, but when the parking space is smaller it gets easier to make mistakes.
I'm guessing you, like Jake, have a 24" stove, if so then anything from 16" to 23 1/2" will easily fit in the door. That gives you about 7 1/2" to play with, or a 32% margin of error. The maximum size split my stove will take is about 17 1/2", I try to cut my wood about 16", that gives me about an 1 1/2" to play with, or a 9% margin of error.
So you see, unless I want to cut my rounds ridiculously short I'm dealing with a much smaller margin of error than you would be and I'm much more likely to cut a few too big unless I have some accurate way of cutting my rounds.

 

[Intheswamp]

Note the subject line...the point of the thread being that more precise cutting matters more to small stoves.

Another way to look at it is that small stoves aren't going to give an overnight burn anyway, so filling the firebox doesn't matter as much as it would with a medium-sized stove that might give an overnight burn if loaded just right, or might not if the wood doesn't fit quite right. My small stove won't burn all night, so I don't feel a lot of pressure to maximize the burn - no matter how carefully I load I have to either reload during the night or start a new fire in the morning.

Yes, but wouldn't it be a good habit to get into a routine that maximizes the performance of even the small stoves? I know that my little F3CB will be *very* hard pressed to get an overnight burn, but if I can get and hour or two of extra burn time during the day then the stove won't need as much attention during those hours and it would seem the longer burn times between door openings would be more efficient.

... but the odd thing is . . . I don't tend to notice much of a difference in terms of the burn time between my 18-20 inch wood and his 14-16 inch wood . . .

That is interesting (seriously). Roughly 25% more fuel and not much of a difference in burn times noted. I guess this leads into mayhem's comments...

I may be way wrong here, but I beleive its the diameter of the wood that determines more of the overall burn time than the length. If you have two splits of equal diameter, species, etc...one is 14" long, the other is 20" long, they're both going to burn at more or less the same rate and will last about the same length of time...but the longer split will burn hotter because it has a greater surface area, thus more flames in the firebox.

Ok, we're talking about it meaning more to a small stove to cut wood to consistent, optimum lengths (less empty space at the ends of the splits once in the firebox).

Why do we stuff a firebox for an overnight burn?....to have all the fuel that we can available for a long burn.

I agree that the longer split will burn hotter due to it's greater surface area.

We can slow the combustion of both the 14" and 20" pieces down by decreasing the air supply, as we do when burning in cycles. But, we would have to burn the 14" piece a little hotter (more air) to get the same amount of btus than we would get from the 20" (at less air). This would cause the 14" to burn up faster than the 20" would burn up at the same btu output. Thus, if we have the gap at the end of the short piece in the firebox we have to make up the difference in btus by burning the short piece faster which should result in shorter burn times.

My logic may be wrong here...it *has* been a long day.

That's a good Metaphor mayhem, and it's always easier to eyeball a car into a BIG parking space, but when the parking space is smaller it gets easier to make mistakes.
I'm guessing you, like Jake, have a 24" stove, if so then anything from 16" to 23 1/2" will easily fit in the door. That gives you about 7 1/2" to play with, or a 32% margin of error. The maximum size split my stove will take is about 17 1/2", I try to cut my wood about 16", that gives me about an 1 1/2" to play with, or a 9% margin of error.
So you see, unless I want to cut my rounds ridiculously short I'm dealing with a much smaller margin of error than you would be and I'm much more likely to cut a few too big unless I have some accurate way of cutting my rounds.

Yes, cutting to a closer tolerance seems to be more important for small stoves to achieve their rated performance. Too long and there's trouble physically loading the stove. Too short and the performance of the stove isn't realized.

Good discussion, everybody...keep it coming.

Ed

 

[snowleopard]

Moving into the cutting-my-own zone shortly, so have been recently pondering the what's-the-best-length question.

So here's a greenhorn question for you: I've heard that you get less wood in a green cord (after it dries) than a seasoned one. If so, is the shrinkage all horizontal (as viewed on a standing tree) or does it shrink on the vertical, too, if you cut it to length while green? And does this vary from tree species to species?

And if yes, how much accommodation do you need to make for cutting to length?

 

[bogydave]

I don't have a small stove but the length is important, if I get about an inch too long, they don't fit in the bottom,
the front of the split rests against the fire brick & about 2 - 3" off the bottom of the stove. (load N/S)
(I can go almost 24" E/W but N/S works best.)
So I made a jig & eliminated the problem. Used a a broke graphite fishing pole. Easy on & off.
Can leave it on if cutting under 16" dia stuff or mark the log then pull it off to cut.
Now all rounds are +/- 1/4". Stack well & all splits fit in the stove N/S well.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Another way to look at it is that small stoves aren't going to give an overnight burn anyway, so filling the firebox doesn't matter as much as it would with a medium-sized stove that might give an overnight burn if loaded just right, or might not if the wood doesn't fit quite right. My small stove won't burn all night, so I don't feel a lot of pressure to maximize the burn - no matter how carefully I load I have to either reload during the night or start a new fire in the morning.

Geez, Wood Duck, I don't know how you calculate "what matters." To me, it matters a whole lot how long my oil burner has to burn that preposterously expensive heating oil after the stove has gotten too low to warm the room so that it's tolerable when I get up in the morning.

 

[mayhem]

That's a good Metaphor mayhem, and it's always easier to eyeball a car into a BIG parking space, but when the parking space is smaller it gets easier to make mistakes.
I'm guessing you, like Jake, have a 24" stove, if so then anything from 16" to 23 1/2" will easily fit in the door. That gives you about 7 1/2" to play with, or a 32% margin of error. The maximum size split my stove will take is about 17 1/2", I try to cut my wood about 16", that gives me about an 1 1/2" to play with, or a 9% margin of error.
So you see, unless I want to cut my rounds ridiculously short I'm dealing with a much smaller margin of error than you would be and I'm much more likely to cut a few too big unless I have some accurate way of cutting my rounds.

You are correct in that I do have a larger stove, max log length is 22" I beleive.

What confuses me here though is why you think I have a larger margin of error. Sure I can fit 16" pieces into the stove, but why would I want to cut them, as you say, ridiculously short? By the same token, you have the option of putting 10" pieces of wood into your stove, which makes your margin of error 43%...so using your reasoning it seems as though its actually alot easier to cut wood for a smaller stove. I think we all know thats a flawed perspective though.

To my mind, the max length log you can fit into your stove is irrelevant...because we all want to cut our wood to fit our specific stove properly, so we're all dealing with that same rough 1 1/2" tolerance. Doesn't matter how long the log is here, we all want to cut logs that are close to the right length for our stoves...I tend to cut mine at about 20-21" in length and when the stove was new I did make a bunch that were just a hair too long. Now that I'm used to the process of bucking up wood for my stove, I can nail the log length I want every time, no measuring sticks needed.

I don't think its any more important that logs be cut with great precision for a small stove than it is for a big stove. Either way you want to get the most out of it that you can and that menas no matter the size of the stove you want to cut your wood to the right length for your stove.

 

[Wood Duck]

Moving into the cutting-my-own zone shortly, so have been recently pondering the what's-the-best-length question.

So here's a greenhorn question for you: I've heard that you get less wood in a green cord (after it dries) than a seasoned one. If so, is the shrinkage all horizontal (as viewed on a standing tree) or does it shrink on the vertical, too, if you cut it to length while green? And does this vary from tree species to species?

And if yes, how much accommodation do you need to make for cutting to length?

I don't know exactly how long to cut green wood so that it shrinks just enough to fit the stove, but i have a feeling that typical splits are going to shrink no more than an inch or so. I'd cut to the length you want and not worry about a little shrinkage. I would also consider cutting some for north/south loading (front to back, so you see the end of the log though the glass). I prefer to load N/S, it is easier to load the stove fully and it seems to burn better. N/S loads definitely start better. However, that would mean more cutting, more pieces to stack, and in general a little more work.

 

[Intheswamp]

That's a good Metaphor mayhem, and it's always easier to eyeball a car into a BIG parking space, but when the parking space is smaller it gets easier to make mistakes.
I'm guessing you, like Jake, have a 24" stove, if so then anything from 16" to 23 1/2" will easily fit in the door. That gives you about 7 1/2" to play with, or a 32% margin of error. The maximum size split my stove will take is about 17 1/2", I try to cut my wood about 16", that gives me about an 1 1/2" to play with, or a 9% margin of error.
So you see, unless I want to cut my rounds ridiculously short I'm dealing with a much smaller margin of error than you would be and I'm much more likely to cut a few too big unless I have some accurate way of cutting my rounds.

You are correct in that I do have a larger stove, max log length is 22" I beleive.

24" is what I've found stated for the 3610.

What confuses me here though is why you think I have a larger margin of error. Sure I can fit 16" pieces into the stove, but why would I want to cut them, as you say, ridiculously short? By the same token, you have the option of putting 10" pieces of wood into your stove, which makes your margin of error 43%...so using your reasoning it seems as though its actually alot easier to cut wood for a smaller stove. I think we all know thats a flawed perspective though.

mayhem, if you load your stove with 16" lengths of wood will that load give you about the same burn time as it will if you load the stove with your apparently usual 22" length wood?

To my mind, the max length log you can fit into your stove is irrelevant...because we all want to cut our wood to fit our specific stove properly, so we're all dealing with that same rough 1 1/2" tolerance. Doesn't matter how long the log is here, we all want to cut logs that are close to the right length for our stoves...I tend to cut mine at about 20-21" in length and when the stove was new I did make a bunch that were just a hair too long. Now that I'm used to the process of bucking up wood for my stove, I can nail the log length I want every time, no measuring sticks needed.

But... With your 2.14cf firebox you have about twice the fuel capacity as my little F3CB. I would think that it would be easy for you to get overnight burns with decent wood and good burn habits. With decent wood and good burn habits it will be pushing it to get overnight burns with the F3CB. With a packed full firebox the F3CB might have a chance, I would want to think (and I could be drastically wrong) that the Morso 3610 could get an overnight burn without the firebox being packed. My definition over an overnight burn here is having embers left in the morning to get a fresh load of wood burning, I know that the F3CB will not be giving out appreciable heat at that point in time. I'm glad that you can nail your log length every time...trust me, I need to measure to get consistent lengths...and as for as I know, I've never bumped a car in a parking lot. ;-)

I don't think its any more important that logs be cut with great precision for a small stove than it is for a big stove. Either way you want to get the most out of it that you can and that menas no matter the size of the stove you want to cut your wood to the right length for your stove.

<chuckle> I agree that either operator wants to get the most out of our stoves. I would think both small stove and large stove operators would want to run there stoves optimized for best output for their situation. In attempts to get those overnight burns or those "while at work" burns *I* think that the small stove operator will need to pay attention to details a bit closer to attain those goals and that attention to consistent log length would be part of those details.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Wood Duck]

Another way to look at it is that small stoves aren't going to give an overnight burn anyway, so filling the firebox doesn't matter as much as it would with a medium-sized stove that might give an overnight burn if loaded just right, or might not if the wood doesn't fit quite right. My small stove won't burn all night, so I don't feel a lot of pressure to maximize the burn - no matter how carefully I load I have to either reload during the night or start a new fire in the morning.

Geez, Wood Duck, I don't know how you calculate "what matters." To me, it matters a whole lot how long my oil burner has to burn that preposterously expensive heating oil after the stove has gotten too low to warm the room so that it's tolerable when I get up in the morning.

I just keep the thermostat low and plan to wake up and stoke the fire, so exactly how long the stove burns is not critical. If the option was get up or not get up, then it would be more critical. At least that is how I look at it.

 

[Intheswamp]

I don't have a small stove but the length is important, if I get about an inch too long, they don't fit in the bottom,
the front of the split rests against the fire brick & about 2 - 3" off the bottom of the stove. (load N/S)
(I can go almost 24" E/W but N/S works best.)
So I made a jig & eliminated the problem. Used a a broke graphite fishing pole. Easy on & off.
Can leave it on if cutting under 16" dia stuff or mark the log then pull it off to cut.
Now all rounds are +/- 1/4". Stack well & all splits fit in the stove N/S well.

Those are some nice, consistent rounds there Dave. Very good!

Nice country up your way...spent a couple of nights in Skagway a few years ago. Alaska is definitely a beautiful place.

Ed

 

[gpcollen1]

Another way to look at it is that small stoves aren't going to give an overnight burn anyway, so filling the firebox doesn't matter as much as it would with a medium-sized stove that might give an overnight burn if loaded just right, or might not if the wood doesn't fit quite right. My small stove won't burn all night, so I don't feel a lot of pressure to maximize the burn - no matter how carefully I load I have to either reload during the night or start a new fire in the morning.

Geez, Wood Duck, I don't know how you calculate "what matters." To me, it matters a whole lot how long my oil burner has to burn that preposterously expensive heating oil after the stove has gotten too low to warm the room so that it's tolerable when I get up in the morning.

I just keep the thermostat low and plan to wake up and stoke the fire, so exactly how long the stove burns is not critical. If the option was get up or not get up, then it would be more critical. At least that is how I look at it.

For some of us small stove owners you are WAY off. Of course it matters how much I can cram in the stove and that the box is full. More wood = more heat and longer burn. I take great pride in filling as much of my Castine as possible and I had it going 24/7 for almost 2 months until the temps warmed up a bit. I don't want my electric coming on or to have to start a fire from scratch. Sometimes I am starting a fire off of only a few small coals remaining but the stove is still warm and the fire gets going...

 

[wood-fan-atic]

No problem for you maybe, but how about for him? I find nothing more irritating then prossesing and stacking wood and storing it for however long, then bringing it into the house and leaving it by the hearth and when I'm finally ready to load the splits into the stove finding out that they are 1/2" too big to fit properly. Now I have to take them back outside, make a seperate stack and when I get enough start the chainsaw and cut an inch or two off the ends. :shut:
I've done that too many times in the past, now I make sure it's the right length, first time.[/quote]

Amen to THAT, brother. I got a new stove this season, and every Sunday I had to go out in the yard and employ the "firewood shortening box" I rigged-up. It wasnt too bad the first month or so.....and then it really began to get annoying. This season I made sure to mark everything @ 16" and 20" for NS and EW burning, as desired. Live and Learn.

 

[gyrfalcon]

For some of us small stove owners you are WAY off. Of course it matters how much I can cram in the stove and that the box is full. More wood = more heat and longer burn. I take great pride in filling as much of my Castine as possible and I had it going 24/7 for almost 2 months until the temps warmed up a bit. I don't want my electric coming on or to have to start a fire from scratch. Sometimes I am starting a fire off of only a few small coals remaining but the stove is still warm and the fire gets going...

Yeah, but Wood Duck's point is he's going to get up in the middle of the night to reload anyway, and it apparently doesn't matter to him whether that's after 3, 4, 5 hours of sleep or whatever. Each to his own.

I've learned I'm incapable of thinking clearly enough to reload properly, wait around until the fire is engaged, then turn the primary air down by steps, etc., with a sleep-fogged brain. I tried a few times and invariably ended up with a cold stove full of half-charred smoldering splits in the morning.

So my goal, like yours, is just to keep the central heat from going on for as long as possible.

 

[Wood Duck]

Back to the original issue of split length - I have a lot of splits that are about 14 inches (I assumed my 16 inch chainsaw would have a bar that sticks 16 inches from the saw. Wrong. it sticks out about 14.5 inches), but my stove holds an 18 inch split. This turns out to be convenient. I pack the 14 inchers to one side, leaving a 4 inch gap along the wall which I load N/S. If it is the middle of the night I load a bunch of small wood N/S on the side of the stove where the door cracks open and I get a really fast start, so I can turn down the air and go back to sleep sooner. My point is that there is more than one way to load a stove, and cutting splits exactly as long as the stove will hold is not the only way to fill the firebox. I think I get bigger loads (more completely fill the space) in the stove when I load N/S, but it also seems to burn faster.

 

[DBoon]

I have a small stove - the Lopi Answer that a few others in this thread also have. I cut my own wood - mostly since I was tired of getting "16 inch" pieces of wood that were really 17-1/2 inches. But also because I want to create splits that are more squared off. For instance, on an 8" round, I'll split pieces off of opposing sides and leave myself a square block in the middle. I'll create other splits that are flat on opposing sides. This way I can stack very compactly when I reload for an overnight burn. and/or get a lot more BTUs from stove on the really cold days.