I have a Hearthstone Heritage and have only had a month of fires before summer came, so am still just getting used to it. Having a 6 inch double walled liner put in my chimney really helped for getting a fire going faster. I have an older man who supplies much of my hardwood (arbutus). Hardwood is otherwise very hard to come by. This old guy is reluctant to do more splitting than absolutely necessary, and I still have some wood he delivered last year, which is on the larger side. My opening would allow for me to load 9 inch logs or splits, but that would nearly fill the floor of the woodbox. I wonder what size I should be aiming for and if I should have someone split the wood I already have. I am telling him maximum 8 inch splits, but I think even that is pretty large. If I do use wood this large, should I first build a fire until I have coals and then put the larger stuff on top? I use a top-down burn method.
wood split thickness
- Thread starter polkadottie
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Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
That is a good question. I believe there is some rule that says you need at least 3 or 4 pieces of wood on fire to support the flame. Now if you have a 4 inch bed of coals, you can sometimes add one piece after that, but eventually it might go out. Try and see how big/small you need to get 4 in there plus a bed of coals. You also need room to add another later.
Go into “The Wood Shed” forum and have a look at the pictures, that will give you an idea what other members are doing. Personally I like a range of sizes.
