The WOOD GUN may like this but I doubt the wife will

[infinitymike]

Now that I'm well into my third year of burning, I think I have a handle on what the Wood Gun likes to eat!
Never burning a stick of wood to heat my house before, I kinda jumped right in with a gasifier.

Following what I read here, I began splitting wood to the size of a playing card.
But I struggled with huffing and probably burnt way more wood than I should have.
Those little splits are like kindling for the WG.

But still naive into my second year I split a tad bit bigger and things seemed to get a tad bit better.

Now into my third year and after speaking with fellow Wood Gunners, I've come to the conclusion that bigger really is better.

In the first picture the split on the left is what I'm trying to shoot for these days and the splits on the left is what I split the first year out. I still have 4 cord of that oak. You can see it in the background.

The second picture is what I started splitting the second year out.
I have 15 cord of that oak.

And the third picture is just another comparison with a piece of dog wood that is unseasoned!

So from now on in I will be shooting for a minimum of 4x4 and a max of 8x8

 

[hobbyheater]

Now that I'm well into my third year of burning, ]

Your dog is telling you that there is enough wood ! So throw the ball!

 

[velvetfoot]

That's a very cute picture.

 

[phantomblack]

Nice pic, they really are mans best friend.

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Nice pictures Mike!

As you might already know this is my first year with the WG, and I am in the middle of a crash course of WG education. I have a few questions if you don't mind... Has the larger splits cured the puffing? What length are you cutting your wood? Are your splits covering the whole length of the nozzle front to back, and have you found that that it makes any difference if your wood a bit shorter and it leaves a few holes of the nozzle exposed? have you had any experience burning round unsplit pieces? sorry about all the questions but any Wood gunner knowledge would be a big help.

I have over 10 cord of 20" small split wood, and after a month with the WG I have been having much better luck. I bought the "EPA" plug from AHS and Darren @ AHS has been a big help diagnosing my issues. I think most of my issues with the puffing (after I got the fan adjusted) are from the size and moisture of the splits. I have been mixing each fuel load with (semi seasoned wood) larger splits and have been getting much better results!

 

[avc8130]

Green,

I'm going to try to comment on your questions:

1. Larger splits definitely huff less as there is less surface area off gassing at any one time.
2. I cut my wood to 22" because that is as long as my splitter can handle.
3. Unfortunately, my splits cannot cover all of the nozzles since there are 30" of nozzles and my wood is only 22". AHS had advised that leaving the rear most nozzle uncovered might aid in gassification.
4. I save my round pieces for overnight or times when I need longer burns. They burn great.

With wood that is shorter, you could make your neat pile towards the back of the boiler and then put a few pieces vertical on end in the front and see what happens. More than likely your E180 has plenty of firebox capacity, and maximizing its capacity isn't necessary on a daily basis.

ac

 

[MarkW]

"throw another log on the fire", not "another dog on the fire".

We like bigger pieces as it saves time splitting. I'm only in the first year so I've yet to discern a difference in what my boiler prefers.

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Thanks ac,

Your advice is greatly appreciated! I'm starting to get the hang of this thing. Im looking forward to cutting my firewood much longer next year with with larger splits. Im not looking forward to getting through the next 10 cord of small very dry wood. do you know what moisture content works best (limited huffing) in your WG?

 

[avc8130]

Thanks ac,

Your advice is greatly appreciated! I'm starting to get the hang of this thing. Im looking forward to cutting my firewood much longer next year with with larger splits. Im not looking forward to getting through the next 10 cord of small very dry wood. do you know what moisture content works best (limited huffing) in your WG?

What's moisture content? Haha.

I don't really keep track. I just cut wood and try to stay ahead. I don't really keep track because I don't think it matters. Wood is how I heat my house. The wood I have is what it is. I do my best to burn first in/first out. Generally what I am burning is ~1.5-2 year c/s/s.

ac

 

[velvetfoot]

2 cords a year is a low number.

 

[avc8130]

2 cords per year would be awesome. That's just how old the wood is.

ac

 

[velvetfoot]

LOL. I knew wood boilers were efficient, but that would indeed be awesome!

 

[infinitymike]

Nice pictures Mike!

As you might already know this is my first year with the WG, and I am in the middle of a crash course of WG education. I have a few questions if you don't mind... Has the larger splits cured the puffing? I haven't begun to burn those real big ones on the left of the pictures but larger splits will avoid huffing. You can just get away with the splits on the right in the second picture. I just loaded a 3/4 load last night of the splits on the right from the first pic and even with the EPA plug it huffed, Luckily not that bad, the EPA plug made a big difference, normally the whole machine would have been jumping around.
What length are you cutting your wood? From the beginning I cut ALL my wood to 24" the E100 fire box is 26" deep.
Are your splits covering the whole length of the nozzle front to back,So yes all the nozzles are covered.
and have you found that that it makes any difference if your wood a bit shorter and it leaves a few holes of the nozzle exposed?What I will do is when it burns down to a bed of coals is rake the rear nozzle clear and then reload
have you had any experience burning round unsplit pieces?No not yet, however I do have about a dozen 10-12" diameter rounds of oak that have been laying around for about a year and I am going to try adding those in with these small split and see if that helps out.
sorry about all the questions but any Wood gunner knowledge would be a big help Its all good, ask away, thats the only way to really learn. You are already ahead of the curve with prior wood burning experience and with the help of Darren from AHS and others here you'll be fine in no time..

I have over 10 cord of 20" small split wood, and after a month with the WG I have been having much better luck. I bought the "EPA" plug from AHS and Darren @ AHS has been a big help diagnosing my issues. Darren is an amazing guy with a lot of experience and knowledge.
I think most of my issues with the puffing (after I got the fan adjusted) are from the size and moisture of the splits.Size and moisture always seem to matter in everything, don't they?
I have been mixing each fuel load with (semi seasoned wood) larger splits and have been getting much better results!Perfect