Processing Firewood - Split vs. Chunked?

Hey all, in the next two months I will be investing a lot of time to reduce the fire load at my homestead. The deep drought continues, and I have many buildings at risk. The Stihl and I will spend a lot of time together. There will be a lot of biochar burns, if possible, and if I can do it safely. So it goes.

But to the point: I will be processing a lot of wood, standing/leaning spruce plus some hardwood, all of which is usable firewood. I have a hot chainsaw, but my splitter is an 8lb. splitting maul powered by yours truly.

I have been experimenting with short cuts with the chainsaw, chunking the smaller wood into 6-8" rounds. And they burn very differently than the standard 16" split. Slow and steady.

I'm cutting the bigger stuff gets cut into 12" sections. At this size I swing once or twice with the splitting maul, regardless of knots -- and it seems to burn low and slow.

Am I nuts? It seems that short cuts and minimal splitting may be more effective for slow, steady heating. Thoughts?

I think you are right about the burning characteristics of short chunks compared to long splits.

In my experience, people make regular 16" split pieces for two reasons. Stability in a stack and to fit the biggest pieces in a firebox. If you plan to dry it in a big jumble and toss it in a biochar pit those considerations don't really apply.

Jeremy VanGelder wrote:In my experience, people make regular 16" split pieces for two reasons. Stability in a stack and to fit the biggest pieces in a firebox. If you plan to dry it in a big jumble and toss it in a biochar pit those considerations don't really apply.

That's true.

A bonus feature is that a lean-to stacked with 16" splits is pretty to look at. Satisfying somehow.

Glenn Herbert wrote:I think you are right about the burning characteristics of short chunks compared to long splits.

Part of my reason for experimenting with this is to create low-effort feedstock for a couple of portable "dumb" hunter-type stoves I use on my property in winter. (I refuse to use propane heaters unless I absolutely have to.) In this case, slowing down the burn is highly desirable. Long splits tend to smoke when I throttle back (uneven heating), but chunks seem to burn slow and yet clean.  

I chunk the knot rings out of white pines for firewood.  I do notice that they tend to “bridge” in the woodstove and need a bit more poking to maintain a clean burn vs your traditional piece of firewood.  Might not be an issue in cold climates where you can burn a hotter fire.