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[the trailmaster]

My friend is trying to use all 4 foot wood in his boiler.  The trouble, it so heavy that the wood , oak, maple, and beach, must be split small so he and his wife can handle.   I suggest 2 foot and split into chunks.  A lot easier    any thoughts   both over 70 years

[slimjim]

2 foot wood and keep it to the front of the boiler a bit.

[dukethebeagle]

i tried burning 3 foot.useless.your far better to burn 20 inch wood because what
is near the door will burn the hottest.on 3 foot etc the bach 18 to 2 foot just smokes and don`t
create alot of heat.far better off to burn all your wood at full burn and reload then have
an old smoker.

[MattyNH]

 My boiler can hold a 4 foot piece of wood as well....First couple of years of owning my boiler.. my wood would be 3 foot or larger....Id fill it twice a day..Well the following yr id decided to do 2 foot wood..Come to find out I get the same burning time as the larger wood length..Ever since, all my wood is 2 foot in length..Burning larger length i was wasting wood...

[ffbare]

  I'm new to this I'm glad to be able to read this on here, all my wood is 3 to 4 feet, I was going keep them long, easier to stack less cutting. After seeing these posts Im going to do some serious cutting this weekend. Thanks for this posting

[dirtdigger]

My kids decided to have long and large wood, much less cutting and splitting, I cut my portion shorter and split it a lot smaller as well, made for easier handling for myself or my wife, turns out all my short and split stuff was always gone when it came for the us older farts to load the furnace.     So about came a decree, if you cut it and split it, or don't think its necessary, the wood you were in charge of cutting and handling was off limits to anyone else, after the first year, now everything is cut in that 16-20 inch length, and split small enough for anyone to handle.  It makes for easier handling and being able to stuff the furnace full easier for long times between loading and there's harmony back in the ranks, every once in a while a large chunk gets through and is left for either when the furnace is empty and there's help around to load them, or the splitter gets hooked up the skid steer and someone has at it to make it more of a manageable size.

[yotehunter66]

Depends on the diameter of what I'm cutting. Larger pieces I will cut two 24" or so. Anything say around 6-8" I will cut to about 30" or so. Never had an issue with incomplete burns as long as I have a good coal bed going. Probably more noticable during the warmer weather when it is idling a lot.

[lindnova]

I try to cut 24" +/- 6".  I use the very long pieces (36") for cold nights when I need it packed tight.  24" pieces toward the front work better and wastes less wood.

[Chas]

I too was cutting the smaller stuff long, 24+ inches, and the larger ones around 16 to 20 inches. But I have found that it stacks much easier and neater if it's all the same length. I'm trying to stay around 22" now, and I know everything will still fit in the splitter.

[userdk]

Whatever fits in the door should burn, but I suppose it would depend on who's loading the stove, whether the smaller wood size is worth the extra work.

[Scratch]

I like my stuff cut about 2' long.  And I like to burn the big ones... All nighters I call em.  If people are helping me split, I always tell them that if they are wondering if it should be split again or not... Then don't split it.  I'd rather have it bigger than smaller.

As long as I can lift it and fit it in the stove, it's GTG.

[BoilerHouse]

Mine is 20 to 22 inches and split.  Just find that it seems to dry and burn better for me.

[dukethebeagle]

i find that yeah,bigger round blocks do last longer, but it takes a heck of alot of heat to get those suckers burning
if our stove is natural draft,its hard to get those big ones to produce high heat.
long lasting does not mean a super hot fire
 just my opinion

[ffbare]

  I'm learning that now duke! 

[atvalaska]

all my wood ..thus  far..... is 36" long .... I have not /nor do I plan to ...split anything, but I do use trees from 2" to 16"........... and when I'm burning I run a  mix of sizes >  my boiler has a fan on each end   the "flaming Tasmanian devil fire"  turns trees to dust