My answer to him was smaller the more BTU'S and in my mind a stove full of small seasoned haedwood will burn fast and put out more heat and it will !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Griz, I'm sure a bunch of us would miss your posts if you chose not to post outside the chainsaw room. I know I enjoy reading what you have to say - I'll usually jump on a thread if I've seen you posted it. This is a real friendly forum in general, but I think part of the problem with all online communication is that tone gets lost, and it's easy for miscommunications to happen. Hope to hear more from you in the future. And I think there was some interesting conversation generated because of your question, and some conflicting ideas to boot.
Same wood type: For volume, big splits = more weight = more btu Small splits, less wood volume ,more air space = less weight = less btu. Releasing the BTUs faster, small splits will burn faster, more air space & more surface area to off gas faster. Faster heat & burn hotter but not as much total BTU. I say "big splits of the same wood will have a higher BTU content ", you'll get more wood weight into the stove (same volume)
I would approach the answer as far as wood goes a little differently. I never hoard enough to follow the 3 year rule yet, although I'm trying. For me, small splits or noodled logs later split small are better for btu as it will dry faster with more wood exposed and a quicker dry time obviously. This wastes less btu's from wet wood, and I have less bubbling on the ends. I would assume this man is asking the question since he likely doesn't have 20 cords stacked in the backyard. For people like that, smaller splits are much better with maybe some larger stuff mixed in for overnight burns. With that being said, smaller splits will burn faster, so if he is lighting the stove and hoping to have burn times after 8 or 10 hours at work, he would do better with a bigger stove packed full such as a 4 cubic foot monster. He will come home to a nice coal bed and usable heat. A small stove like my Heritage and small splits will not yield much of a coal bed after 5 or 6 hours. That is where the stove material comes into play with soapstone and cast iron better able to retain heat than would thin steel in a barrel stove set-up. My stove is at work, where I spend too many hours to admit in the winter, so it makes no difference if I'm constantly reloading 3 or 4 times throughout the day. If I was running a stove for long burn times, I would look at a large cat stove like a BKK with a 90 pound load and the stove dialed back. So, my vote is for small splits and some larger stuff mixed in to extend the burn. I can't say anything about btu absorption with large versus small as that would be a variable on every set-up likely. If he can get a big stove like an Englander 30, he'll have more heat when he gets home than a 2 cubic foot set-up. The construction of the stove and it's metal also changes heat retention, but bigger is better. 90 pounds of wood will produce a ton of heat and probably have a nice coal bed regardless of cat vs. non-cat when the guy gets home from work. I think everyone has been respectful and we all have to have a little humor mixed in. We aren't like some forums out there with that. (I know...move on, move on; the past is the past)
