# rounds VS splits



## banshee67 (Apr 4, 2010)

so which will let off more btu's? or is more desirable? 
i feel like small rounds would let off more than split pieces of the same volume 
say you have all 18" pieces of wood, some are 4"diameter rounds-unsplit , some are same volume only split chunks. do you think it makes a difference weather or not there is bark surrounding the whole piece being unsplit versus a chunk of split wood from a say a 30" round that made 12 pieces of firewood and most pieces have no bark?
does it even matter?
i feel liek most customers would frown upon gettin a bunch of unsplit 4" diameter rounds VS getting all split chunks from larger pieces,
what do u think?
:monkey:


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## turnkey4099 (Apr 4, 2010)

All wood will produce the same amount of BTUs per pound no matter what shape/size the pieces are. Small pieces will, of course, burn _faster_ so produce those BTUs faster. Thus the choice is do you want small chunks for faster fires or bigger ones for longer lasting fires. Were I a customer I would want a mix of both.

As for a 4" round vs 4" split weighing the same? I would expect the 4"split to burn faster as it would have more surface area.

Bark? As a customer I would prefer the minimum amount of bark. It also produces BTUs but is very light. I even threw in a 1/4 cord once when the load I delivered had excess bark attached.

Harry K


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## AKKAMAAN (Apr 4, 2010)

as turnkey4099 said, it is the same BTU per lbs, no matter what shape you your wood have. 
The fact that Smaller wood burn faster in the burner, is because the burner don't allow you to control the combustion speed. and that is the OXYGEN supply. There are burners especially designed for burning small pieces, pellets, and they are more BTU efficient than a simple wood stove or OWB.

The faster you burn your wood the hotter it gets in the burner, and the air/gas speed up the chimney increases.....
My simple wood stove probably lets more than 90% of the heat out through the chimney, but if I close the air supply on the bottom, I might get 5-10% more heat from my wood BTU's. 

Most wood burners and wood stoves suck on efficiency....
Here is a nice article with some sense about efficiency and burner design...
http://www.gardengrapevine.com/WoodBurnerBasics.html


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## DJ4wd (Apr 4, 2010)

I believe that rounds burn longer, not hotter. So at night I put in the biggest round I can.


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## Woodcutteranon (Apr 4, 2010)

Round vs. split is an economy unto itself. You save a lot of labor by not splitting but the cost, at least to me, is lugging rounds around the woodshed and tossing them into my OWB eventually wears on my knees and back. Split wood is much easier to lug but the trade off is all the splitting and extra handling. To me, I don't worry about the difference in the way they burn. In the old days, if the round fit thru the door of my Hardy H2, I wouldn't split it. As I am getting older, and wiser, I have started splitting more wood since I enjoy the work out and this saves my back come January. Also my wife likes the wood split since its easier for her to lug.


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## Rudedog (Apr 4, 2010)

DJ4wd said:


> I believe that rounds burn longer, not hotter. So at night I put in the biggest round I can.



Me too. I feel they burn slower also. I also feel that I am right sometimes at home. My wife says I'm not, so I'm not a good person to ask.


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## indiansprings (Apr 4, 2010)

I wish I could convince customers that rounds are better.lol Most customers we have want as few as rounds as possible. Most want strickly split wood, don't ask me why? They must think the splits season better, don't roll in their fireplaces or stoves or burn hotter, but most always they specify split only and nothing under three inches or so.


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## J.W Younger (Apr 4, 2010)

You're never going to please every customer.For my own use most is split for faster seasoning and being able to 1 hand.


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## AKKAMAAN (Apr 4, 2010)

It is not the wood it self that burns....it is the combustible gases, that evaporate when the wood heats up, that together with oxygen, that makes the combustion...

The total outside area of the wood, defines how fast these gases can evaporate from the wood.....

so by splitting the wood we multiply that area many times....thats why a big round burns slower than 4 smaller with same BTU value....

The faster we burn the BTU's the hotter stove we get....but i wont last so long...


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## Bcat22 (Apr 4, 2010)

all i know is this.... when i burn split wood, i fill my OWB twice a day, and i use almost a full sized truck load every week. 

when i burn rounds, i fill the stove the same, but i get full 24 hour plus burn times and a load lasts 2 weeks. 

best i can figure is that the split wood burns faster, as others have stated, so more heat goes up the stack. for my money, i like a slower burn where less heat is lost.


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## laynes69 (Apr 4, 2010)

I used to burn nothing but rounds at night in the old furnace. It was the only way to go overnight. Now with the new furnace, I prefer splits over rounds. I get more heat and long burns with splits with the design being 100% different. Plus the wood seasons quicker.


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## AKKAMAAN (Apr 4, 2010)

laynes69 said:


> I used to burn nothing but rounds at night in the old furnace. It was the only way to go overnight. Now with the new furnace, I prefer splits over rounds. I get more heat and long burns with splits with the design being 100% different. Plus the wood seasons quicker.



What type of burner do you use now?
Do you have a link to it??


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## laynes69 (Apr 4, 2010)

Its a 1950 hotblast wood furnace. The same identical thing as the caddy. 

http://www.psg-distribution.com/product.aspx?CategoId=16&Id=335


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## banshee67 (Apr 4, 2010)

indiansprings said:


> don't roll in their fireplaces or stoves



i never even thought about that part, i hate trying to build a nice stack and have logs that are rolling off my mountain because they are small rounds with no flat sides, very good point


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