Size of splits

I wish, chipper would be great but I can't imagine selling much due to the giant pile for free at our tree dump.

 

I like small splits as I can get the stove hotter and they dry quicker as mentioned before. The main seasoning months appear to be May - November around here. Then, it's cold enough that seasoning slows. I don't always split them small before seasoning though. Sometimes, I split them smaller right before they go into the stove. They catch much faster that way and when starting without coals, I can get my room up to temperature a lot faster that way.

 

Ahhhhhhhh, I misunderstood. No my house is not really big enough for two stoves. It is a single story old farm house, I remodled. It is only about 1200 sq ft, stove is located pretty much in the center.

 

Gotcha

 

Do you generally load the big ones after that?

 

Yeah...that's a fair statement. Once I have coals, I can get away with burning about anything except for real big logs. My stove isn't that big to hold decent heat with the bigger rounds. They all need to be split at least once or quartered. I am not as far ahead as you are and we have less than perfect drying as pointed out by someone else. For some reason, I picture Australia as dry enough, that you can get that wood seasoned way faster.

 

Getting over the hurdle of having a enough put back so you have ample to time to dry your wood is the key it seems in a lot of states where the people here reside. Could be a good reason to take out a small loan with the low interest rates you have there to get established in wood and have the piece of mind. A $3000 loan over 3 years would barely be $10 a week in interest.

 

It get my logs from a tree guy. He puts most everything <15" into his chipper, he says it is easier for him to dispose of that way. No such thing as limbs in his loads.

I like to split them a bit larger than what I see a lot of others doing. I think it burns longer and is easier to control. It is also fewer individual pieces to handle so it is less work overall. I can stay far enough ahead so getting it seasoned isn't an issue. Just have to keep the rain off it and it keeps getting drier.

 

I think that's how most tassies must view it too.

 

How big is your stove cubic footage wise though? That is a key factor. My brother burns big logs in his, but he's got 4 cubic feet to play with. At 2 cubic feet, I have to keep them smaller by nature. I think moisture and size of the firebox are key for me, plus whether I have that all important coal bed to work with.

 

We split all of Dad's really small because he is just looking to start a quick fire in his garage and get fast heat. He says when he uses big splits by the time it finally gets going good he is done with his work.

 

I would tend to agree with that. I want small hot fires until I get the coal bed, and then you can stretch them a bit, but there is a point at which the big splits don't hold the stove top temps up high enough, and I have to go back to the smaller splits.

 

Certainly won't get creosote issues this way. What is the typical temp in the garage when he starts and by the time he finishes his work a few hours into it?

 

Very cold and warm last year it was so cold he had to plug in the diesel heater because it was too cold for arthritic hands to start a fire.

 

Ive been tryn to square spit in the 3×3 to 4×4...and put a biggun in for overnite...my stove is not huge either..

 

We have the same stove set-up...even the same saws. I'm not running a flue damper.