What size to split?

[jrclen]

I split everything down to about 3". Just once down the middle on the small rounds. I think it helps it dry and burns better in the fireplace. An ODWB might be a different story. I agree with Jeeper that the big rounds in the fire don't throw much heat. They will last all night though and make starting in the morning easier.

 

[ericjeeper]

when sitting by a campfire..

which is better a nice burning fire to watch? Less smoke and more heat when chilly. Or sit by some big chunks of logs a smouldering away and smoking up the place? Who cooks a marshmallow on a chunk of smoking log?

 

[max2cam]

I normally split everything that will stand up on end, down to maybe 6" or so. But if I'm tired, sweaty, cranky, or the wood is knotty and hard to split I'll go up in size.

Another thing I sometimes do with jack pine is haul in larger pieces and stack it and let it dry BEFORE splitting it because jack pine splits much easier dry than green. Plus by then it's winter and I can "custom" split it to size for special purposes: kindling, morning hot fire, mild day, or rock bake oven.

 

[bowtechmadman]

I only split over 14" or so...
As far as creosote my 3' stack on my OWB isn't too hard to clean. I keep a seperate stack of smaller wood for when the wife feeds the woodeater (not very often mind ya).

 

[computeruser]

Like everyone else said.

As a fireplace-only wood burner, I usually go a bit smaller than the woodstove crowd. Rounds larger than 5" usually get split, since it makes drying go faster and because rounds are harder to stack/manipulate/burn in my fireplace than things with at least one flat side.