What to do with splits that are too long?

[Roxburyeric]

I scored a couple free cords of split red oak from a friend, but it is all 20" to 26" long as he cuts for his fireplace and I need it 18" or shorter for my Jotul 550 insert. The web site and manual do say the 550 will take up to a 24" split but realistically an 18" piece is the right size to fit in without having to worry about stuffing it in too tight. This will be my first year burning so I don't know what to do. Should I half it all or cut to a length of say 16" and have a big pile of small splits? This is next years wood as I already have 5 cords for this year. Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[fossil]

Dunno anything about your wood processing tool suite. When I come across a round or a split that's longer than I want it, I toss it aside. When I have a number of those, I fire up the chainsaw, lay a too-long split or round sideways across the beam of my splitter, and run the wedge up to clamp it in place. Then I saw off the offending end, and toss the resulting "pancake" into my bin of splitter trash to use for fuel. Yes, I then have two machines running at the same time, but usually not for more than a few minutes. Others use cut-off saws, or they just brace the wood with a foot and chainsaw it to length, or any number of other methods. Rick

 

[woodburn]

If the 550 takes up to 24" logs, I would cut what you have to about 20". This should leave plenty of play for loading. My manual says my stove takes up to 21" logs- I measured the inside of the box and it's exactly 21". I cut all my wood to 18" and that works perfectly for me. Like Rick said, just save the short cutoff pieces to toss in.

 

[kd460]

The small chunks that you cut off are perfect for those nights when it's not that cold and you just want to do a warm up and not a full night burn. KD