I would like to know if there is a consensus here among those who have been running their Tarms and EKOs (and now other brands, too) for more than just one season. I mean those who have learned to split and stack and dry their wood thoroughly before burning and have found their routine that works without any more tinkering.
I remember quite a few folks reporting problems with bridging, or not being able to maintain gassification, or possibly burning too fast and losing too much heat up the flue with exhaust temps much too high.
So with completely dry wood ( I think moisture content was the most common problem people were having ) what is the optimum size to split to? By dry I mean split, stacked and rain-covered for a second season.
Different sizes for different densities?
I've been working on some wood for burning in my Tarm 2 years from this coming winter. I notice that I'm splitting smaller than I used to split for my old woodstove. If I can see a 4X4 inside the stick (looking at the end of it) I will split it. I used to have a sawmill so this sort of hallucination is normal for me. Only rarely on a crotch will I not be able to touch my thumb-to-thumb and finger-to-finger around a split with room to spare. Split this small I know the wood will dry faster but ultimately I expect it would reach the same moisture content as larger splits.
So is there an ideal size?
And for those who can modulate their draft fan speed, does a slower fan speed work better with different size splits?
I remember quite a few folks reporting problems with bridging, or not being able to maintain gassification, or possibly burning too fast and losing too much heat up the flue with exhaust temps much too high.
So with completely dry wood ( I think moisture content was the most common problem people were having ) what is the optimum size to split to? By dry I mean split, stacked and rain-covered for a second season.
Different sizes for different densities?
I've been working on some wood for burning in my Tarm 2 years from this coming winter. I notice that I'm splitting smaller than I used to split for my old woodstove. If I can see a 4X4 inside the stick (looking at the end of it) I will split it. I used to have a sawmill so this sort of hallucination is normal for me. Only rarely on a crotch will I not be able to touch my thumb-to-thumb and finger-to-finger around a split with room to spare. Split this small I know the wood will dry faster but ultimately I expect it would reach the same moisture content as larger splits.
So is there an ideal size?
And for those who can modulate their draft fan speed, does a slower fan speed work better with different size splits?
..sorry, I couldn't resist!
