Wood Size

[mapleman3]

I'll be darned if I can find the thread that had info on what size you should split your wood.. I'm doing a truck load of tree length and want to get the sizing right for my 3x8 I remember (4 yrs ago) I split pretty small maybe 4" or so.... now with the bigger evap can I go a bit bigger or should I still split pretty small... all mostly oak and hardwood. What size do you guys with similar rigs do????



wish Oil would go down so I wouldn't do this but.......
I'm hoping to have around 10 cord ready for the season. already did 8 cord for the home.
blew up the splitter once, I think the filter clogged up blew the filter , so changed that and put a new valve with the auto return thats nice not having to wait till it returns and shut the valve of manually.. took extra time.

[Dennis H.]

Smaller the better, more surface area to produce more heat.

I am not sure but at some point going smaller only means you will be chucking in wood non-stop.

[mapleman3]

yeah thats what I want to avoid, too small=too much work splitting and too much time firing

[Jeff E]

I have been using the rule of thumb often heard for evaporator wood...
'Wrist sized' wood. When I start out I look at my wrist, and as the hours go by, I think about some of my larger friends wrists!!!
It works out fine, but I never end up with a piece bigger than 3"x4".

The other advantage of smaller splitting is more complete drying of the wood.

It is all a balance of wood btu's, moisture in the wood, and air.
The more moisture, the more air needed, the more btu's eaten up evaporating the moisture.

If the wood is very dry and split small, the air supply can be moderated and still keep the boil high.

[cncaboose]

According to the "Boiling 101: Tips and Tricks to Make Better Syrup" booklet, a 3x8 should use wood from 2-4 inches in diameter. I have tried to do that the last 2 years and been happy with that size. None of my wood is split at all since it all comes out of a young woods that I am thinning. Sometimes I will use larger pieces but never more than 1 at a time in the firebox. I like having some down to 1" for fast startup and for a quick die down at the end of boiling too.

[Maplewalnut]

I had really good success last year and maintained an even boil with the aforementioned 'wrist size' for hardwood but I went a little bigger for pine and hemlock. The soft wood catches fast and furious but hardwood maintains the boil. Think of it as a little nitro boost!

Mike

[maple flats]

I split mine about 2-4" size, just over wrist size. It works good in my 3x8. I think you can even go a little bigger if you have forced draft. I will find out this season because I now have a concrete instead of woof floor and don't have to worry about hot sparks on the wood.

[Fred Henderson]

I do 3"-4"X20" in my 3X8

[mapleman3]

Ok so that seems to be the going size.... I will be doing just that! yep it's more splitting time but better to do it than not!!

There has been a lot of blow downs in our area as a "microburst" came through about a week or so ago a little north of me. so theres some free wood around.

a few of our Sugarers in the area may have been affected from it! hope all is well with them.

[MaplePancakeMan]

I would think that a variation in the wood sizes would prove to be beneficial, say 1/4th of the fire larger pieces and 3/4ths the smaller sizes. This would give you sustainability and the rocket boosts that the little ones give you.


We have had lots of wind here knocked down a whole stand of locust. Good firewood at least. Last weekend was the worst.

[TapME]

I make my soft wood bigger than the hard wood. Just got free pine and spruce cut offs by the pallet. will be getting at least 7. Their seems to be about a half cord on a pallet. Wrist size for hard and no larger than 6'' for soft.