Getting older, cut shorter?

[dave_dj1]

So I have been cutting all my wood for my OWB to 24", I split it fairly large but today as I was splitting some for next year I'm thinking maybe cutting it down to 15" or so (stove will take 33, my splitter will take 30") It would mean more cutting but easier to handle pieces. How do you all cut and split for your OWB?

 

[cantoo]

I cut at 32" for my OWB. I split ash small so my wife can load easier. Okay it's for me too. I split the poplar large because it weighs nothing when it's dry. It's half the length cutting it 32" instead of 16", stacks easier in my crates, easier to load and stack inside the OWB. I suggest you try cutting some of your wood to your max splitter length but split it smaller. Only takes a little more time to split but it also dries quicker. My OWB with take a 54" piece but my splitter will only do 36". I do cut my limbwood to about 48" but it takes longer to dry out.

 

[Andyshine77]

Well I would cut them to the length, and split them to the size I can handle without killing myself. My dad still chops and carries a bit of wood ever year, he's 85, so he goes slow and splits them small, and if he asks me to cut 16" or less I do.

 

[Philbert]

try cutting some of your wood to your max splitter length but split it smaller.

Do smaller splits burn faster?

Thanks

Philbert

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Less length equals more handling, more cutting, and more unstable piles. Yes the pieces are lighter but it slows down processing. It does dry faster cut shorter though, which may make the extra effort worth it.

 

[Andyshine77]

Do smaller splits burn faster?

Thanks

Philbert

They do.

 

[Pagie]

Whats an OWB?

 

[Andyshine77]

Whats an OWB?

Outdoor wood boiler.

 

[babybart]

Do smaller splits burn faster?

I don't have an OWB but I did a test for my wood stove. On a cold stove I packed it with big splits then removed and weighed the wood. I did the same with small splits and found that I could fit significantly more weight with small splits. Burned those weighed loads and the heavier load of small splits burned longer. The smaller splits dry faster, easier for the Mrs. to handle and longer burn times.

 

[Andyshine77]

I don't have an OWB but I did a test for my wood stove. On a cold stove I packed it with big splits then removed and weighed the wood. I did the same with small splits and found that I could fit significantly more weight with small splits. Burned those weighed loads and the heavier load of small splits burned longer. The smaller splits dry faster, easier for the Mrs. to handle and longer burn times.

If you can fit more in with little air gap, than you will have a longer burn, but individually a smaller log burns faster, as there is a larger surface area to mass ratio. I like starting fires with Oak skids, they burn real hot, real fast.

 

[babybart]

If you can fit more in with little air gap, than you will have a longer burn, but individually a smaller log burns faster, as there is a larger surface area to mass ratio. I like starting fires with Oak skids, they burn real hot, real fast.

Got what your saying. I thought Philbert meant a load of small splits in my non-caffeinated mind. Small white pine splits for me as my starter, any kind of ember in my stove and whoosh!

 

[jrider]

If you can fit more in with little air gap, than you will have a longer burn, but individually a smaller log burns faster, as there is a larger surface area to mass ratio. I like starting fires with Oak skids, they burn real hot, real fast.

But if the smaller splits season quicker (which we know they do) less heat is wasted on boiler moisture out of the wood so more heat is gained. You can close off air more and increase your overall burn times

 

[jrider]

I burn nothing but scraps and uglies in my owb generated from making wood to sell

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Dave: I'm guessing we are about the same age, and I've noticed my body changing this past year, something I really did not expect for another ten years or so.
I don't work as long on wood as I have in the past, so I do it more often. If I'm sore one day, I'll push myself out the door for an hour, and more often than not work through it, feeling better with exercise. It may mean just doing clean up for the next cutting session. Regardless, the dogs love the wood lot. I noodle much more frequently than in the past, figuring down time from a strain isn't worth the risk.
I have copd, which has been acting up, and I attribute it to fine airborne dust when cutting and splitting as I do on a log bench. This past week I've worn a full face 3M mask when cutting. It is a negative pressure mask, and not ideal with a beard, but it is sealing and working.
As for your situation, jrider makes some very good points about seasoned wood producing more heat and a cleaner burn.
We burn scraps and uglies in a wood stove after they have been split down and bundled on a pallet for a year. It takes time to process a punky log and throw it in the junk bin, to rehandle and bundle later, but that's how we deal with scrap. I think there is four cord, 16 pallets of it from last year, to brunches year. Not very efficient but I'm not going to push it over the bank and create a mess in the woods either.
Important to be a good steward of your body and your land, and that may take some additional effort, and changes with age.
Deliveries for me have been enjoyable in that I hand unload off a flatbed. The enjoyable part is talking with customers while unloading. The reality is that it takes too long; there is a lot of climbing around to strap the load, to uncover and unload; and often standing on the edges while working. So, I've ordered a dump trailer, which will be a huge change for me next season. Mostly because of this topic, age.
Do what you have to do, just keep enjoying it.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

Mostly because of this topic, age.
Do what you have to do, just keep enjoying it.

 

[dave_dj1]

All of my wood is at least one year old, some older. I only cut dead and down trees.
I guess I try to do too much at once. Once the burn starts I only load it at 7:00 am and 7:00 pm so not too bad. I make it as easy as I can, I have a tractor with forks and a grapple and a logging winch and a splitter with a log lift. It's still a lot of work!
Sand Hill, I turned 61 in July, I too have COPD and heart disease but I like to keep moving, I just need to learn that I can not do what I used to, or at least at that rate...LOL

 

[Circle B MN]

I burn nothing but scraps and uglies in my owb generated from making wood to sell

I do the same here..but anything not scrap is 16" for the stove and OWB both. Have yet to find reason to do it otherwise. In my years here in MN with my OWB I have yet to fill the fire box full front to back and I get solid 24 hour burns.

 

[morewood]

Older is somewhat a mindset. Saying that, I turn 48 next week and hope I'm ahead of the curve. I already have a grapple, winch, and a PTO driven Timber wolf splitter, with a log lift. I just bought a dump trailer large enough to put the tractor in. Saying all that, I split everything 18". Easy to handle, easy to load, dries quicker. This year I have accrued a massive amount of logs. Enough that I am planning to rent a dyna sc-16 wood processor to get it done with less back ache. My body is worth every penny to protect it and the time I put in to maintain it.....yours is too!!

Shea

I have started stacking it in my old M105 1.5 ton military trailers. Stacked 9' by 6' by 5'. I estimate a bit short of 1.5 cord. But it dries out well with gaps between the five rows and the bows keeping a gap between the wood and tarp placed over it all. I can bring up a trailer as I need it.

 

[nathan4104]

Interesting to read the theories and practices others do with their OWB’s. I don’t have one but end up care taking a few places with them from time to time.
I just cut a guys wood for his, only cut the 8’ log twice.... so pieces are 32-40”(eyeball measuring) that boiler will take longer than 48.... no one up here splits boiler wood either. No one likes burning hardwood. They all want a mix of green and dry softwood. Green wood burns ‘longer’ they say.
I do agree with the smaller splits theory.... that’s the way my wood cook stove works best. When burning birch and pine at -40 ya need to figure out how to make it last! And easier on the body!

 

[Deleted member 117362]

Interesting to read the theories and practices others do with their OWB’s. I don’t have one but end up care taking a few places with them from time to time.
I just cut a guys wood for his, only cut the 8’ log twice.... so pieces are 32-40”(eyeball measuring) that boiler will take longer than 48.... no one up here splits boiler wood either. No one likes burning hardwood. They all want a mix of green and dry softwood. Green wood burns ‘longer’ they say.
I do agree with the smaller splits theory.... that’s the way my wood cook stove works best. When burning birch and pine at -40 ya need to figure out how to make it last! And easier on the body!

Believe that green wood provides less heat per pound. Takes energy to burn off moisture. Also that wood moisture is hard on steel when it mixes with caustic ash. Plus, smoke upsets locals and brings restrictions on there use. Not my OWB so they can do as they like, l will make mine burn cleaner with less smoke to upset neighbor, he does the same.