firewood size

[r.man]

What size do firewood producers aim for when selling to the public. I realize that bagged wood probably needs to be fairly small but I have noticed that most bulk wood is in the small to tiny range compared to when I was growing up. I suppose processors produce a fair amount of slivers and small wood as a byproduct of multi way splitter heads but the main size they produce is also what I would call small.

[Corley5]

Depends on what the client wants.  Fireplace wood is generally split smaller.  Wood for stoves generally to no larger than 6" diameter.  Wood for furnaces 8-10" diameter max and outdoor boiler wood may not be split at all or anything over 12" is.  All my wood is custom processed as orders come in.  I don't stockpile anything other than a few firewood bundles.

[clww]

As Corley posted, it's what the customer asks for, or you probably won't have a repeat buyer.
I mainly sell mine to folks using a fireplace, so most is 18"-20". I have one long-time buyer that wants his no longer than 12", what I call "blocks". I've never had a request for any firewood longer than 24", but at The Beach I've never seen an OWB.

[r.man]

Corly do you assume your customer wants that size or do you ask them, say by showing examples of differently split wood? clww, sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant the diameter or volume of each split piece rather than the length. I suppose diameter isn't a proper term unless it is unsplit.

[clww]

No worries. ;)
I'll usually split any smaller pieces (limbs) that are less than 5" in diameter. If I have a piece that is 12" in diameter, I'll get 10 to 12 pieces from it. The stuff I sell to the public I usually make smaller than what I burn at home. My thought has always been to split it small enough so that it weighs an amount that a 75 year old lady can still pick it up to put on her fire.
I have had requests for large pieces, as well as small stuff for a wood cook stove.

[beenthere]

I suppose diameter isn't a proper term unless it is unsplit.

The term "thickness" might work good here. Max thickness and/or minimum thickness maybe tie it down some more.

A neighbor splits wood to sell, and one of his buyers was mumbling about the many "rounds" that were in the stack. Seems he didn't like unsplit "rounds" at all, not even the small limb wood. He mumbled that after getting a quote of $150 for a full cord. The neighbor responded to his mumble that the wood was now $175 a cord.  ;D

[Corley5]

I ask how they want it processed.  If they're returning customers I know what they had the last time and ask if they still have the same wood burning equipment and if their last wood was how they wanted it.  Never assume anything.  You know what assuming something does ???

[r.man]

Thanks for the info.

[Al_Smith]

As a general rule in this area the wood is cut at around 16" long making it easy to stack a face cord .Of which 3 make a full cord of course .It's usually 4-6 inch size in diameter or cross size depending on how you look at it .

[r.man]

Side note on length. Saw that half of one of my friends piles had tipped over when the frost went out and I was thinking that the European way of cutting 1 meter long, drying and then cutting to the final length would make piling easier as well as halving the number of blocks that are handled to that point.

[Al_Smith]

Then you'd have to fiddle with it twice .If your bud stacked it with cross tie ins  on palletts it wouldn't have tipped over .

I know a lot of people build stacks on the ground .Then you get muddy funky wood and the bottom will rot if it sets long enough ,nasty .You track it in the house ,the wife gets bent out of shape etc etc etc .

[Corley5]

Cutting a whole bunch of 3' pieces in half would be a royal PITA  ;D

[r.man]

That's what I thought as well but I wonder if it would be offset by the fact that it piles well and you only handle half the number of pieces in the first moves. Lots of times I would like to handle two or three blocks at a time but it is too awkward. And the cutting would have been done anyway it is just deferred to later the same way that some people split larger stuff just before they burn it. One of the present threads that is active shows the fellow dropping rounds off his processor into his basement chute to be split later. Less handling and some labour deferred to a quieter time. Just because we have always done something one way doesn't make it the best, just the most familiar.

[Al_Smith]

It may sound silly but back in the early 80's I had a lady who wanted 12" or less .They had one of those free standing fire places that looked like a funnel turned up side down or Tom Terrifics hat if you can remember back that far .I just cut down a face cord of 16"s in half and she was tickled pink .Yes in fact it was a royal PITA .

[r.man]

But Al, if she was a regular customer wouldn't it be better to cut, split and dry 24s and then cut them in two just before delivery? I think this is the Europeans thinking about the meter long wood.

[Al_Smith]

Now that cutting rounds and splitting later deal usually doesn't go so well .By the time they get the lead out of their  britches and get-er-done most times the wood has rotted from the inside out .

[Al_Smith]

I seldom if ever had anyone wanting 24's .That lady was the only one who wanted 12's ever .I was cutting for probabley 40-50 customers during that time so I couldn't just have a zillion random lengths laying about in stacks .

I mean a person can do as they please but my idea is to get-er-done in one fell swoop .I'd prefer to sit by the fire come cold weather and bask in the afternoon sun while enjoying a beverage  under the big umbrella  in the back yard during the long afternoons of summer . The sooner those get here the happier I'll be . ;) Fact I've had just about as much cold weather as I can stand .If I wanted to act like polar bear I'd live in Alaska .

[r.man]

Treetech was the member dropping rounds right into his basement and splitting the large ones with an electric splitter as he used it. Looked like a good setup and would eliminate the rotting problem but I know what you mean. I have seen logs, rounds and split wood settle into the ground on lots of properties I've been on. People think they will use it and then don't bother. I do know two older retired guys that move firewood rounds from a loggers landing to their homes in the winter and then split in the spring/summer months later but these are steady older guys that have been doing it this way for years.

[jwilly3879]

In my area wood for stoves is usually 16" long and I try to split it so I can pick up a piece with one hand on the end. It makes it easier for the lady of the house to load the stove. As we split it, the odd shaped pieces get tossed to the side so they don't mess up the stacks.

[Al_Smith]

I split it probabley a tad smaller than most so Mrs Smith doesn't have as much problem loading the stove .The old sweety does pretty good at it especialy considered she lost part of an arm in an industrial accident .

Bless her heart she's a tough old broad and if she had two hands I do believe she could pick up a refridgerater .--yes maam, no maam . :D

[r.man]

Jwilly, when I bring my processed wood into the yard to be piled I throw all the odds and sods near the stove to be burnt first. The only exceptions are normal length oddballs that can be put on the top of a pile if there is one available.

[LeeB]

I certainly don't cut to sell, so I can't comment to that. My only "customer" is Lindy. She sometimes has a little trouble handling the bigger pieces, so I try to split a mix of sizes for her ranging from about 3 inches to 6"x8" and lengths at about 12-14". Most pieces are about 4-5". The smaller pieces are good to get the fire started and also work well to keep a light fire going on warmer days. I also try to use different species to regulate heat output. I also split rounds down to about 3". We do burn rounds down to 1 1/2", but I don't really like round wood.

[Al_Smith]

There is some merit to shoving larger rounds through the door .For one thing since they don't burn as fast they produce less heat per given amount of time .Real handy towards the end of the heating season when the temperature is hard to control  but you still need some heat .