[Greenbuilding] wood split or not, make a difference?

[Reuben Deumling]

On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 9:02 AM, Sacie Lambertson <
sacie.lambertson at gmail.com> wrote:

> Still wondering about split versus non-split and if there is a difference
> in the heat produced.  Wood is wood is it not?  Maybe the burn temps are
> entirely dependent on the species, not the fact it is split or not?


My understanding and experience with a small-ish wood stove is that I can
get higher temperatures, achieve them more quickly, and keep them from
dropping in the firebox when I add more wood if I split them much smaller
than I used to think necessary or appropriate. As I live in the city, cheek
by jowl with my neighbors who have no love lost on or experience with wood
heat I am keen to keep the air quality as high as possible. But it turns out
that a fire with minimal visible smoke is also generally one that burns more
efficiently. More of the heat goes into the room than up the chimney. I've
learned that I can make do with less wood per season if I burn short hot
fires and let it go out completely, rather than keeping coals in there by
shutting the vent.

woodheat.org also has discussions of this, though I can't find it just now.

Reuben Deumling
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20101228/c39dbb31/attachment.html>