Optimum Size Red Oak in a Garn?

[eauzonedan]

Newbie getting his advance work done.......

I've got a 1500 sitting in the garage in NW WI and hoping to get the Garn barn up this summer. Working on "Job 1" at this point and trying to get a couple years ahead on the fuel. I can have semi loads of red oak (mostly 6" - 12") dropped in the yard for about $80 a cord.... Picked up a Speeco splitter thinking 100" sticks and a 26" splitter is a no brainer....25" cuts.....well sorta.....the splitter is just a bit generous on the 26" number and the sticks (machine harvested) sometimes end up a few inches long....... got a couple questions for the brain trust.....

Best to shoot for 24" cuts and just throw the "frizby's" in the wood stove or ourdoor fire pit?.....I would hate to drop down to 20" and have that many more chunks to handle.......I only get over-runs on maybe 10% of the sticks.....once you get too long the wings on the splitter that prevent the wood from following the cutter on retraction - start to bend things as the piece splits....so it's a bit of a dance to get close on bucking length....just not too close........ I've been trying to split no larger cross sections than about 4" x 6".......looks like a trade off between more work to handle little pieces, Best size for Garn burns and the drying time........ Your thoughts would be welcome as far as sizing

Stacking is currently using double (only 2 back to back) rows with about 4" of air space between them......mostly in the sun and an open area....... Does this sound like about the right size / approach for Garn food? I was shooting for two years of drying time.......input on drying red oak of that size up in Northwest Cheezeland would be appreciated.

As always I appreciate input from those that have "been there" and already found the "better way"

Dan

 

[TCaldwell]

measure the depth of the firebox and subtract about 12 inches, 8 between the inside of the air collar and the front of your wood and 4 from the end of the wood and secondary burn chamber. This does not have to be exact, just roughly on average, random chunks and shorts are fine also. Basically the front 8 inches helps prevent possible puffing and the rear 4 helps mix the secondary air with the hot gasses for a good secondary burn. Mixed sized splits and mixed species loads are a good way of homoginizing moisture content and burn rate. Good boiler choice!
tom

 

[heaterman]

Loading and wood size is detailed in the Garn manual Dan. Basically, the firebox is 40" front to back and you want 6-8" in front and behind the wood so 24" is about perfect.
Anything 6-8" in diameter should be split once and stuff that is above that should be whacked 4x.

 

[bioman]

Anything 6-8†in diameter should be split once and stuff that is above that should be whacked 4x.



+1

 

[Sawyer]

Dan, I do as Jim suggests.
I split almost everything once as the rollers never seem to dry wrapped in the bark. Sometimes an 8-9†may get split in threes to expose more surface for drying. I cut 24-25 inch pieces, 4 out of a 100†stick. I just finished a logging project on my land and asked to have 25 cords of hard maple left roadside. I chose 6-12 inch diameter as a good target size. I will dry two years after stacking. I stack mine on pallet bases, which gives me 48-50 inch deep piles usually 8’ high. I cover only the top, leaving the sides exposed to the wind and sun.

I live 15 miles south of Hurley. Stop in for a visit if you are in the area and have a little extra time.

 

[jebatty]

Dan - you'll like your Garn and like even better getting ahead on your wood supply. Two years drying on oak would be perfect. I dry two summers on everything. But your computer keyboard is a little funky putting all those .... everywhere. Give it a good cleaning and you're good to go.