Excellent point Star Gazer. I well remember the years we wintered near Yuma, AZ. Down there if it got down to 60 (daytime), it was cold. Seems at that temperature there was always a real stiff north wind that really drove the cold into you. Worse than a still morning at 30-35, which we also experienced down there. But here at home, I love it at 60 degrees!
all i know is the older i get, the colder cold feels. i can't say i like cold weather at all, but ohio is all i know.
X2 on that ,the older i get, the colder cold feels. i can't say i like cold weather at all, but Michigan is all i know Spring, summer ,fall
I load my stove both ways, but one way at a time. I never criss-cross the wood because that leaves too much air space and it would burn too fast. With my stove I can fit a split about 17 inches long into the stove east/west. If I get a piece a little too long I set it aside and cut it in half, which is just about right for north/south loading. I cut a fair bit of wood 8 or 9 inches long for north/south loading because I think it is better for quick heat in a cold stove. Long, rectangular straight pieces are great for longer burns.
No, it's not old age, it's thinning of the blood from living in a warmer climate. My botherr that grew up with me in Wisconsin (normal but you can never assume nowadays) moved to Florida. We had a 73 degree Easter that he came to visit us for. Both my brother and his wife, were cold. Weirdos.
Not only that but I couldn't get that much wood in my stove loading criss-cross. My stove is square 18" so can load ether way but , I load N/S , it's easier and I can get it packed tighter, being square I can use any of my 17" splits E/W for burning down coals
N-S, then 2nd layer E-W to light. When it is burning well, I'll pull it all N-S. Adding wood is generally done N-S.
Edit: I actually do cold start ,small loads ,criss-cross sometimes in shoulder season when I need small fires that start easy and don't last long
I go in through the side. I guess that's EW for me. I'm still confused on this topic. I never open the front and EW is easier to load full. I get clean burns provided that I have good coals prior to loading. I get small fires going with pine 2X4's cut short and split with a hatchet.
My stove loads either way 16". I load e w when it is not real cold and burning hard,n s when it gets real cold and need more heat and using more wood.
Forgive my earlier post! I have twisted sense of humor. I like east west the best and the firebox is deep enough and big enough never have to worry about rolling against the glass. It takes 22 inch pieces either way with room to spare but burns a lot better and longer when east west. I seldom have to load more than 3 splits at night and it stays around 80F when above zero F. When it gets cold we go to a couple of larger splits that weight 15-20 lbs each.
I agree with others, it is based on the stove. My wood furnace will take a 24-26" piece north to south, or around 18-20" east to west. It is too hard to wrestle a 14 inch diameter piece through the door and try to rotate it. Since the stove is nothing more than a heat exchanger, I do have one practice I would suggest you use where possible. The combustion gases from my stove exit through the top in the back, therefore I always rake coals to the front causing the high end of the logs to be opposite of the door. The fire to some extent travels back towards the door, allowing the hot combustion gases to contact more of the surface area in the stove prior to exit. In other words if you can stack the wood such that the flames are directed away from the flue. Will work for some, but I am certain not for all.
I load mine with the ends facing the glass front door as its deeper than it is wide and that's how the owners manual suggests. I beileve the combustion air comes in to the front of the stove too, because it tends to burn from front to back.
