Split at any diameter?

I’m very tempted to not split my maple that’s under 6” . Other than taking longer to dry is there any detriment to not splitting?
I’ll be burning it in a kumma if it makes any difference

Thanks



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I wouldn’t bother with 6 or under maple. I stacked some 8-10” White Oak Monday. Someday it will be some good overnight wood.

 

I wouldn't split it. Those 6" and 8" rounds burn slow and even. Always nice to have some scattered in the stacks!

 

You'll find that with the Kuuma being a gasifier, it likes smaller pieces, and big rounds like that just don't make as much heat...I'd split that every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Agree JRHAWK9 ?

 

I want to lurk on here to see what people say. I cut up some cherry today, and I was eyeing some pieces thinking I wouldn't be splitting them.

 

I split smaller stuff like that all the time. That way you *know* it’s going to dry thoroughly. The smaller splits come in handy first thing in the morning when you’re tossing them onto last night’s coals and want to get the fire roaring again fast. I like to have a wide variety of split sizes on hand for this reason. As I’m looking through the stacks I can pretty much know right off the bat what I’ll be using each split for. OCD, no doubt

 

I would split it. I usually harvest down to 3-4". 4-5" ill split in half unless its a gnarly piece then ill leave it. Bigger rounds are good for overnight burns though.

 

Normally, yeah...but in a Kuuma furnace the larger pieces off gas slower, so the early part of the burn where you normally get the big BTU's is muted...firebox temps are low, so the damper opens to give more air, the logs start to burn instead of gasify...basically you end up with a pile of ashes and a house that is not as warm as it would've been with a load of smaller splits.
Counter intuitive I know.
You'd think that operating a computer controlled wood furnace would be idiot proof, right?! There's still a learning curve...
But every install will be a little different...depends on how big and how well insulated the house is in comparison to the capability of the furnace...some smaller well insulated places like comanche79p, has will heat just fine with a few larger chunks in the ole VF200...

 

not familiar with those. Based it on my experience with an insert.
Unfortunately my learning curve is a hairpin turn!

 

My motto is, "It isn't firewood till it's split" .

Wood doesn't dry more than 1"/year from the ends.

 

All this off gassing has me thinking of the beans scene in Blazing Saddles.

 

Well now I know what a Kuuma is.
In general I like split. I’ve seen three year dried 1-3” black birch sticks spit sap like crazy. I still have sticks in my stacks, just don’t like them as much as I once did. I’m not the one who puts them there anymore

 

Anything bigger than 4 inches and I split it.

 

That makes sense to me !

 

yeah, I seem to split anything over 4" or so in diameter. The stuff smaller than that I throw in a "don't split" pile and when I am doing my splitting/stacking in spring I use those small rounds to fill in on top of my stacks. I tend to use those small rounds for my after work partial loads where I can use a few pieces without overfilling the firebox for the short time I need heat for.

 

I’d split that.

 

I would. Anything that I can't pick-up one-handed, gets split. Otherwise, my Sweet Melissa will remind me...

 

I am not familiar with this stove and technology. Obviously, you are . My older, certified reburn technology, Country Stove likes some medium or large chunks mixed with the smaller stuff. But it will work OK with any size as long as it is dry! Personally, with my stove, a few of those 6"-8" rounds make for a slow, even burn.