Split wood for owb

[Homemade]

So here’s a question that’s been on my mind lately. You guys, and girls with owb’s. Do you split any or all of your wood you feed and see it make a difference?

I have several friends that have owb’s, I do not, and they all burn mostly soft wood unspilt. One says it burns hotter green and unspilt, next one says it’s the only way to get 12 hour burn times, and the third says splitting for an owb is a waist of time.

What do you guys do?


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[Termitebuffet]

I'd need a bigger door if I didn't split...

Sawhawgz, ruining the internet since 2012...

 

[Fruecrue]

I miss my OWB. Sold that house.
Door opening was 23” square.
More than a few times I had to kick chunks in that didn’t want to go, but my back was more often the limiting factor.
I quartered most rounds and halved smaller ones.
Always kept some smallish split wood to start the big stuff.

 

[cus_deluxe]

Anybody that tells you green unsplit wood burns hotter is a *f-wording (lazy) moron. I would agree tho, with the longer burn times with unsplit. The guys i know with boilers do split a lot of their wood (all hardwood), but no splits that can be handled with one hand. Probably a little different with softwoods.

 

[Stump Shot]

I split everything, drying is important to not make creosote and is easier to load. It takes a bunch of energy to drive off the moisture so as it can burn. No way around that. In an emergency situation green popple is about the best for keeping a fire going and not going out.

 

[paragonbuilder]

I get it small enough to handle. I put some pretty big pieces through the door. I’ve had guys tell me it burns hotter green too. [emoji23] it just takes longer to burn is all, and lots more ash buildup.

 

[Homemade]

Creosote build up is s non issue, because of the style of burn that an owb does. The slow cold smoldering fire until it calls for heat, is a recipe for creosote no matter how dry the wood is. Ash on the other had, I can see being affected.

The guys that do split for handling purposes, do you cut the round to 30” like the rest of your wood or shorter?


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[RI Chevy]

Split wood dries out better and burns much hotter. The bigger the piece generally equates to longer burn time. Maybe keep some rounds to burn along with some split wood will help. A little variety. But I only burn hardwoods up here in the Northeast.
I generally let my wood dry for a couple of years at least before burning.

 

[Duce]

Do not like burning unseasoned wood. Here is my method, plus Wife has to fill stove once in awhile. Local person lost a finger throwing a large round into stove, that's why Woodmaster has a warning label on front of stove. Woodmaster dealer closed his doors over legal action taken against him. Super nice guy that went out of his way when I purchased my stove from him. Installed my own and he came over to make sure everything was working well and answer any questions I had.

 

[Termitebuffet]

Creosote build up is s non issue, because of the style of burn that an owb does. The slow cold smoldering fire until it calls for heat, is a recipe for creosote no matter how dry the wood is. Ash on the other had, I can see being affected.

The guys that do split for handling purposes, do you cut the round to 30” like the rest of your wood or shorter?


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I cut my wood precisely between 12"-38"......lol ...I leave some in rounds they about 6"-10" stuff about 24-26 " long ...my splitter only handles 24" wood, so big stuff stays shorter that that

Sawhawgz, ruining the internet since 2012...

 

[RD35]

Having heated my home for the past 18 years with my owb I have learned a few things. One is that dry wood always burns and heats better than green or wet wood. It just does! Next is the subject of split size. What I have found is that it's all about getting the heat (both thermal and radiant) to come in contact with the walls of the firebox. With smaller cut wood there are more open gaps for the flames to work their way up to the top without heating the side walls. Although this burns really well, it also sends your heat up the stack without extracting any into the water tank. Larger wood tends to force the flames toward the walls. Also larger wood tends to put more radiant heat to the walls as well. This is probably why folks tend to get more run time from their wood when it is in larger pieces. But the flip side is that larger wood is much harder to handle and can cause injuries. So you have to weigh the pro's vs con's on this one. I usually split my wood just as large as I can safely handle and I never fill the firebox all the way to the top. That open airgap does a great job of allowing flames to run all over the walls and ceiling of the box. My wood usage has dropped considerably since I started avoiding a full firebox fill.

 

[Farmchuck]

What brand & model wood stove do you have sir?

 

[Farmchuck]

Having heated my home for the past 18 years with my owb I have learned a few things. One is that dry wood always burns and heats better than green or wet wood. It just does! Next is the subject of split size. What I have found is that it's all about getting the heat (both thermal and radiant) to come in contact with the walls of the firebox. With smaller cut wood there are more open gaps for the flames to work their way up to the top without heating the side walls. Although this burns really well, it also sends your heat up the stack without extracting any into the water tank. Larger wood tends to force the flames toward the walls. Also larger wood tends to put more radiant heat to the walls as well. This is probably why folks tend to get more run time from their wood when it is in larger pieces. But the flip side is that larger wood is much harder to handle and can cause injuries. So you have to weigh the pro's vs con's on this one. I usually split my wood just as large as I can safely handle and I never fill the firebox all the way to the top. That open airgap does a great job of allowing flames to run all over the walls and ceiling of the box. My wood usage has dropped considerably since I started avoiding a full firebox fill.

Could you further explain your wood loading protocol i.e. Not filling the fire box? I have a CB 6048 which heats two farm houses & milk house domestic water fine but I'd love to hear any tips for burning less wood from your years of experience running yours.

 

[RD35]

I am running a Hardy H2. It is one of the old style units that simply has a draft fan controlled by a thermostat in the water jacket. Filling the firebox all the way up tends to allow flames to find their way through the wood pile to the flue which sends all the heat up the pipe. If I only fill by firebox about 1/2-2/3 full then the flames have room to fan out at the top and transfer more heat to the walls. I cannot quantify it but it sure seems like my wood consumption annually has dropped by around 20% since I started doing it this way. Only drawback is that I have to fill the furnace a little more often....although most of the time it seems a 2/3 fill will last just about as long as a complete fill of the firebox.

 

[Fifelaker]

This will be year 15 with my Central Boiler, dry wood burns better. I use my calibrated eyeball to get my wood between 4" and 32" (Randy and I have the same idea) I will split small enough to make loading easier, beyond that if it is wood it gets tossed in.

 

[Farmchuck]

This will be year 15 with my Central Boiler, dry wood burns better. I use my calibrated eyeball to get my wood between 4" and 32" (Randy and I have the same idea) I will split small enough to make loading easier, beyond that if it is wood it gets tossed in.

How many cord would you guess you burn in a calendar year? Which model Central Boiler do you have & abouthow far is it from your house? Thanks!

 

[Homemade]

Here is a load of 99% box elder for one friend’s wood stove.

After a barn fire last night, 4 hours of sleep and then wood cutting outing, I’m beat.

 

[RI Chevy]

Nice load there. That Ford looks like it is straining its pooper to pull all that.

 

[Fifelaker]

I burn about 10 cord per winter, i have about 80' of pex buried.

 

[Homemade]

Nice load there. That Ford looks like it is straining its pooper to pull all that.

Naaa, she can take ‘er. We only had to go one mile down the road so it wasn’t too bad.


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