Seton / Greenwood - wood cutting advice needed

[JMann]

This is definitely a newbie question but I need to get this right:

Four cords of quality hardwood sitting in my driveway. 40% of it is longer than the suggested length for the firebox (18"). Most of that 40% is only 2-3 inches longer. Can I use the longer stuff if it fits in the firebox (on an angle) or should I start up the chainsaw?

If I go the chainsaw route - should I cut the end pieces off leaving little chunks of cut those pieces in half so that there are no chunks left over?

decisions, decisions...

 

[N/A N/A]

Personally I would not bother cutting it again unless it a lot longer than you can possibly fit in your box. Just mix it with the other stuff and you will be good to go. I go through that every year. I do get some slab wood that pieces are 25 26 inch and larger. I will cut those, but a few inches will not hurt.

 

[Nofossil]

In my experience, a few diagonal pieces don't hurt anything. Too many and it gets to be a pain. Might want to cut a few of the extreme ones to length. I use a 84" sawhorse to cut my firewood into sets of 21" lengths. I fill a few totes with the short chunks and throw them in in the first few fires.

 

[chase2378]

Does the wood need to be split or can I use log rounds?

 

[N/A N/A]

Does the wood need to be split or can I use log rounds?

Not really sure what your asking?

 

[Nofossil]

Does the wood need to be split or can I use log rounds?

I don't know about the Seton / Greenwood in particular, but in general log diameter affects burn rate and effective BTU output. One way to compensate for a boiler that's bigger than you need is to burn larger diameter logs. Too large and the combustion temperature drops enough so that you start to lose efficiency. A load of big rounds will smolder and produce smoke and creosote rather than usable heat. On the other hand, the fire will last a lot longer. Not a tradeoff that I'm personally interested in.

I rarely burn anything bigger than about 4" diameter, so I split more than most folks. YMMV.

 

[jebatty]

I also have moved strongly to smaller splits, 4-5" and less is ideal. My gasifier seems to burn best with the additional surface area small splits provide. A few diagonal pieces don't hurt at all. Any trimmings, with combined surface area on ends and rounds, should work just fine without further splitting, so long as everything is dry.

My wood for the old OWB was cut to 24", and my Tarm uses 18" very nicely. I had a couple of cords to reduce in length. The 6" leftover pieces made great fires.

 

[JMann]

Chase,

According to the manual (and most other posts here), the Seton / GreenWood / GreenFire prefers un-split logs for longer burn times. Not sure about the other models that are of different design (EKO, Econoburn, Tarm...)

 

[muncybob]

I've read that certain brands will burn rounds...or even prefer them. But, I have a hard time wrapping this thicvk skull around the concept that a unit would actually "prefer" rounds...or burn better/more efficiently with rounds. It seems to me that every wood burner would burn better with splits?

 

[Nofossil]

I've read that certain brands will burn rounds...or even prefer them. But, I have a hard time wrapping this thicvk skull around the concept that a unit would actually "prefer" rounds...or burn better/more efficiently with rounds. It seems to me that every wood burner would burn better with splits?

I'm with you on this. The technical differences between boilers don't survive their journey through the marketing department. I would be completely amazed if any boiler actually burns more efficiently with unsplit rounds, especially large ones. I think the ONLY benefit is extended burn times in the case where the boiler is bigger than you need.

 

[JMann]

I guess I'll find out via trial and error. Even though Fred Seton is the owner and wants people to use his product, I don't think he'd write that burning un-split logs was preferred in the operation manual if he didn't think that it was best for the end user. Thanks for the responses (I didn't think that I'd get this many), this is a great forum.

 

[antknee2]

I have a Seton w-130 and used it exclusively to heat my home , garage , domestic hot water and year round indoor pool . The boiler was able to produce plenty of btu's with huge oak rounds or some super dry oak splits without a build up of creosote in the heat exchanger tubes . Only problem with the small splits they burn real fast and you better have a massive heat load or a storage system that can suck up energy like a big sponge . One big problem with using my seton is handling very heavy wood messed up my lower back , mostly because of using improper lifting techniques . Also I found all the wood I process has become huge and will not dry as fast as splits .
PS. Two of my neighbors have purchased brand new Setons W-130e boilers Very nice quality with some new features , I personally love the easy to remove side access panel , makes it very easy to clean the hidden back section of the beast .
Anthony

 

[EForest]

one of the first boilers i looked at was a greenwood installed in a barn on the CT coast. It heated the uninsulated barn and the 2500 sq ft poorly insulated house with single pane glass. I was very impressed and I came close to making a deposit on one but thats another story. My reason for this post; I helped the elderly owner load the green beast with SEASONED RED OAK SPLITS...... It was his second year with the green monster after one year of green rounds and his son is/was an installer for a CT area dealer. Bottom line, splits were way better for that specific install. I looked at that system in early november 07'

 

[DKerley]

I own a Greenwood and in my experience found that the Greenwood loves large un-split rounds. Why split wood if you don't have to?

 

[trailhound68]

I OWN A SETON W-90. I SOLD MY KICK ASS LOG SPLITTER LAST YEAR AS A RESULT OF NOT HAVING TO SPLIT (AND STACK) WOOD. MY STOVE LOVES THE BIG ROUNDS, SO DO I. HAVING A VARIETY OF SIZES IS HELPFUL WHEN FILLING THE STOVE. IF A LOG IS TOO LONG I WILL TURN IT SIDEWAYS, PUT IT ON TOP, IN A FEW HOURS IT IS SMALL ENOUGH TO TURN THE CORRECT WAY. LOADING THE STOVE IS A DREAM, PUT IT ON YOUR HIP AND ROLL THAT BAD BOY IN. IF IT FITS, IT'LL BURN. YOU'VE GOT TO WATCH OUT FOR THAT SMOKE AND THE HEAT THOUGH.

 

[henfruit]

trailhound i see you load east to west, do you find it makes a big differance? i have 9 cords of log lenth beach to cut for my green wood. i may have to split a few that look to big? just in the process of moving it to an outside shed / boiler room with 12x20 feet of covered wood storage 90 ft. from the house. i used 1.25 insulated pex for the water /heat transfer. i was wondering if any one could tell how high they would have smoke pipe for the correct draft?

 

[2.beans]

18 feet of 8" metal chimney is the minimum on a seton. you could go less with a draft inducer i believe. im also on board with why split your wood if you dont have to.

 

[henfruit]

2 beans iam using 6 inch . ido have a draft inducer from the set up when it was in the cellar.

 

[2.beans]

2 beans iam using 6 inch . ido have a draft inducer from the set up when it was in the cellar.

id give it a try seeing you already have the stuff

 

[kenkressin]

As some others noted, the Greenwood site recommends large, unsplit rounds:
"These tests continue to reinforce what we preach at Greenwood…burn only large rounds of un-split wood as long as you can roll it, crosswise, into your firebox. You will burn longer, more efficiently and cleaner with less work on your part!". This furnace seems to be one of the few that insulates the firebox. Too hot a fire there probably means such a fast burn that the heat cannot be efficiently extracted later. See the "All About Wood" in the "Resources" tab.

 

[trailhound68]

EAST/ WEST IS THE WAY I ALWAYS LOAD UNLESS I'VE CUT A PIECE A LITTLE TOO LONG. WHEN STARTING FROM A BED OF COALS I ALWAYS START WITH SMALLER DRYER WOOD BEFORE THE BIG BOYS GO ON TOP. THEN, IF YOU'RE LIKE ME AND YOU FILL IT TO THE TOP, YOU WILL NEED A VARIETY OF SIZES TO MAKE THEM FIT. CUT THOSE LOGS ABOUT AN INCH SHORTER THAN YOUR DOOR WIDTH. SPLIT THE OVERSIZED ONES ONE TIME AND SHOVE 'EM IN THE BOX. MY BOILER RUNS 24/7 SO THERE IS ALWAYS A BED OF COALS TO WORK WITH. (WE HOPE).
I HAVE A 6" FLUE ALSO, WITH 24' OF SS INSULATED FLUE WHICH WORKS WELL, MAYBE TOO WELL. I PUT A DAMPER ON IT TO SLOW THINGS DOWN A BIT AFTER TAKING DRAFT READINGS.

 

[henfruit]

trailhound how big in dia. do you use and how dry ? what type of wood do you like to use? thanks

 

[2.beans]

why do you write in upper case are you mad? i dont like splitting wood ether

 

[trailhound68]

ANY HARDWOOD I GET FROM MY WOOD GUY. SO FAR ITS BEEN OAK, MAPLE, HICKORY, BEECH, ASH, BIRCH, CHERRY. SEASONED AND EVEN RIGHT OFF THE STUMP ASH WAS NO PROBLEM. IF YOU HAVE A GGOD BED OF COALS ANYTHING THAT WILL SQUEAK THROUGH THE DOOR WILL BURN. SHE WILL SMOKE FOR A WHILE WITH A NEW LOAD, SOMETIMES HEAVILY, THEN GO CLEAR LATER ON.

I POST IN CAPS AS A FAVOR TO THE 40+ GUYS, LIKE ME, WHOSE EYESIGHT IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I basically don't trust GW, so I have had to verify most of what they say by trial and error.

During the guts of the heating season, big rounds work the best for me. This time of year when I just heat DHW, I use 2 1/2 >5" oak so that the fire will restart after the flap has been closed for say 6 hours.

I try to load for 8 hours. In the winter this means 1/2 way up the door with large rounds. This time of year that means 4 pieces of 3" oak rounds, all at the back of the box.

Someone help me with the physics, but I think large rounds will maximize the mass and minimize the surface area. Probably a mix of sizes will actually enable the most fuel in the box at once. With efficient storage, the extra surface area shouldn't be a problem.

Now . . . back to the original question . . .

East/west seems to work best. If you go North/south, either do the whole load that way, or only the top layer. Mixing them back and forth may be great for kindling on a fresh start, but it leads to hang-ups inan 8-hour burn. And I know whoever said it won't like it, but . . . if yer opening the door mid-load on the GW, yer wasting your time and wood.

The same seems to be true for short pieces. When a chunk is too long, I would recommend cutting it in half. Using remnants (<10") will result in hang-ups also. But if you have a bunch of fuel that is say 10>16", that will work great for warmer winter days. Tends to limit the output. Just load it east/west like you would the 18" stuff.