QuadraFire 4300 Step Top Split Size?

[RedNeckGeek]

Just had a QudraFire 4300 step top wood stove installed and hope to offset most of my propane bill next winter with it. Clearing the lot here left me with four or five Greyhound bus sized piles of mainly oak with trunk sizes ranging between six and twelve inches. It's been on the ground since the summer of '11 and is pretty dry, and I'm slowly pulling trees out of the piles and chunking them up. QuadraFire recommends an eighteen inch length for firewood in this stove, but since I've never had to rely on wood heating before, I don't have a very good feel for how big in diameter the splits should be. I'm saving anything over an inch so I'll have some kindling, but at what size should I start running it through the splitter? And to what size should it be split? I understand larger sizes will burn longer, and it is my intent to run the stove 24x7 for heat. I could use a little coaching on how much wood of what size to use when first starting the fire vs. how much of what size to use once it's burning well. That'll help me decide how to proportion the sizes of the splits.

I'm also building wood racks from pallets, using five foot uprights with a bridge piece at the top made from 2x4s to keep the wood on the pallet. I wonder if I should be sorting the wood by size as I load the pallets, or try for a mix of small and large on the same pallet. My intent is to fork one or two pallets at a time into the garage so they're easily accessible and out of the weather.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CalG]

That is a good stove, and should control any fire regardless of wood size by way of air flow into the box.

So you need to think of "weight of wood" rather than burn times. leave burn times to be settled by the amount of wood you can get in the stove and the amount of heat you need to get out of it.

I like smaller wood! It's easier to fill the box full. so I try to split small, but because splitting is heavy work, the pieces still end up heavy ;-)

for me, anything over 3 inch diameter gets split.

And

You can never have too much dry kindling!

Spring and fall, a short fire in the morning and the evening is all that's needed, and small stuff is way less trouble to get going.

But, 1 inch rounds are poor fire starting stuff. better a two inch split to expose the dry wood, and not the bark.

If you really do get a system of 24/7, with a constant fire, mixing size is not so important. but as you work up a tree with tops etc, you will end up with all sizes. Just mix them in, and throw them in the fire box as they fit. It's not rocket surgery. ;-)

I've heated exclusively with wood for over 25 years, and still liking it! Downstairs stoves used to take 28 inch logs, these years, 24 inch and split small seems to burn better ;-) Might have something to do with my birthday.....I've had too many ;-)

 

[94BULLITT]

If your pallets are 42x48'' and 5' they are going to be heavy.

Usually you don't won't wood larger than what you pick up by then end with one hand or about the diameter of a quart jar. I let a big on slide here and there.

I try to keep some kindling inside in a separate pile and the rest of my wood varies in size. Some small pieces are also nice to have to jam between the bigger pieces to get a nice full load.

If have a Quadrafire 5700 and it is very easy to build a fire in so your 4300 should be easy too.

 

[Boiler74]

Best thing you could do is get over to Hearth.com and read, read, read. Lots of good information about dry wood, split size, and how to run a stove.

And get some super cedar fire starters. They are awesome. With dry wood you only need a quarter of one to start a fire.

Josh

 

[94BULLITT]

Did you get a blower for the stove? You need one to get heat from the stove.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The Quad does have a blower; the stove sits in a 30' x 40' great room with a 17' ceiling peak, so I figured it would need all the help it could get. There's also a 68" ceiling fan about 10' out from the stove. It's been doing a great job this summer keeping the room cool, and I'm hoping it will work as well in the opposite direction this winter.

It's been overcast the last couple of days so I've been out working the wood pile. This morning I got out the splitter and went after some of the bigger rounds that I've been setting aside. I like the idea of easy handling wood (thanks!) so I kept the splits under 3" across and it wasn't that much extra work. I had a 4'x4' pallet about a third full of wood already and when I got it to half tried to lift it with the forks on the tractor. No problem. So I kept loading it up, checking again at three fourths full. Still no problem. When it got full the FEL could still lift it, but because there was s slight side slope the tractor was heavily loaded on one side. I set the pallet down and used the box blade to even out the ground and things were fine after that. But I don't think I'd want to put much more wood on a pallet than that. Here's a picture showing some of the wood pile and the tractor lifting the pallet:



That's the only 4x4 pallet I've built up, and only have three more that are about 2x3. They're easier to lift and I like not having to duck under the front cross member when I'm loading the back bay on the 4x4, so I'll probably focus on finding 2x4 or so pallets. The shop I've been getting my tile and stone from has tons of pallets and are only too happy to see a few disappear in the back of my truck when I drop by to say hi.

Here's a shot showing two of the smaller racks and the big one sitting off the end of the wood pile. Only about half that pile is showing in the picture, so it looks like I'm gonna need a bunch more pallets. I'm not putting much effort into the bracing on the pallets because I'm hoping to have an awning to stash them under before the rains come again, and just need some way to make the wood easier to move around. So far all I've needed are scrap 2x4s and a few long drywall screws for each one, and they take maybe fifteen minutes to slap together. Not very sturdy, and I'm sure if I bump into something with one or try to go too fast over rough ground they'll fall apart, but for now I think for figuring out the sizing and loading they'll be fine. Another great from TBM veterans!



Thanks for the pointer hearth.com. Did a fair amount of browsing there before I bought the stove, so it's probably time to start digging into their group wisdom on firewood and stove operation as well. Another nice site is woodheat.org, and once it cools off I'm hoping to try their newspaper fire starting technique before springing for the super cedars. I'm measuring between 7 and 20 MC in the splits so far, and being the cheap skate I am I'm hoping the newspaper will do the trick.

I'm getting a fair number of slivers and chips from splitting that I'm hoping will make good kindling, and now I'm wondering where to store those as well. I'm thinking a metal garbage can with a tight lid might survive OK just outside the glass sliding door next to the stove, but I'm also keeping an eye for a steel Knaak type box. But rather than reinvent the wheel, what do you folks do to keep your kindling dry and handy? Also, the wood is dry enough that the bark is falling off when it splits, and I'm wondering if that would be any good for kindling. If not is there anything else it's good for before I toss it on the burn pile for next winter?

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[dmccarty]

I'm also building wood racks from pallets, using five foot uprights with a bridge piece at the top made from 2x4s to keep the wood on the pallet. I wonder if I should be sorting the wood by size as I load the pallets, or try for a mix of small and large on the same pallet. My intent is to fork one or two pallets at a time into the garage so they're easily accessible and out of the weather.

Thanks in advance!

Scot

Unless you want mice in the garage and eventually in the house do not move the pallets into the garage. Our back porch roof has about a 3-5 foot overhang which was perfect for storing pallets of firewood to use. Unfortunately, mice were living in the wood piled on the pallet and eventually got into the house. They would wait on the back porch attracted by the small of dog food on the other side of the door and/or the heat. Someone would open the door and they would scurry into the house. It took months to trap all of the mice that got into the house and they made a huge mess. The mice would store dog food in the clothes washer and dryer and I never was able to clean all of the food out of the appliances. The washer died and I have it on the back porch waiting for me to strip out the motor and wash basket. When I moved the washer I could hear dog food falling out of places where the mice had hidden the food.

No way in heck would I move a pallet load of fire wood into the house. Now, if you restack the wood, meaning taking the wood off the stack where it has been drying and put it on a pallet that is free of mice, THEN move that to the garage, that would work. But don't take a pallet that has a stack of wood that has been outside for months seasoning and move near the house much less into the house. At my place it only takes a month or so before the mice nest in the wood stacks.

Later,
Dan

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Unless you want mice in the garage and eventually in the house do not move the pallets into the garage.

I've been invaded before when the mice came down the vent for the range hood. The one way flapper valve is just above the fan, so when they dropped down the pipe there was no way for them to get back out. For several nights running I was awakened by the rat-tat-tat of sharp teeth on sheet metal as one tried to chew its way out. The only way to stop it was to take the covers off the pipe, pull it off, and kill the mouse. One that did manage to somehow get past the valve came shooting out at my face when I rotated the fan by hand looking for it. It was a little high and inside, but the flashlight in my hand was good enough to put it into the bleachers for good. That was all it took for me to go up on the roof, pull off the hood on the end of the pipe, and install a hardware cloth cover to end the problem. A couple of times a year I still find their calling cards around the stucco pillars on the front porch. Apparently it is vented at the bottom and they squeeze in and make their way up to the attic. I got some peppermint oil and mixed it to make a strong solution with water and spray that around the pillar bases a couple times a year, and that seems to keep them out. I've also had problems with them nesting behind the headlights of the car, so there's no sense importing them en mass in the wood stacks. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[94BULLITT]

The Quad does have a blower; the stove sits in a 30' x 40' great room with a 17' ceiling peak, so I figured it would need all the help it could get. There's also a 68" ceiling fan about 10' out from the stove. It's been doing a great job this summer keeping the room cool, and I'm hoping it will work as well in the opposite direction this winter.

It's been overcast the last couple of days so I've been out working the wood pile. This morning I got out the splitter and went after some of the bigger rounds that I've been setting aside. I like the idea of easy handling wood (thanks!) so I kept the splits under 3" across and it wasn't that much extra work. I had a 4'x4' pallet about a third full of wood already and when I got it to half tried to lift it with the forks on the tractor. No problem. So I kept loading it up, checking again at three fourths full. Still no problem. When it got full the FEL could still lift it, but because there was s slight side slope the tractor was heavily loaded on one side. I set the pallet down and used the box blade to even out the ground and things were fine after that. But I don't think I'd want to put much more wood on a pallet than that. Here's a picture showing some of the wood pile and the tractor lifting the pallet:

View attachment 382114

That's the only 4x4 pallet I've built up, and only have three more that are about 2x3. They're easier to lift and I like not having to duck under the front cross member when I'm loading the back bay on the 4x4, so I'll probably focus on finding 2x4 or so pallets. The shop I've been getting my tile and stone from has tons of pallets and are only too happy to see a few disappear in the back of my truck when I drop by to say hi.

Here's a shot showing two of the smaller racks and the big one sitting off the end of the wood pile. Only about half that pile is showing in the picture, so it looks like I'm gonna need a bunch more pallets. I'm not putting much effort into the bracing on the pallets because I'm hoping to have an awning to stash them under before the rains come again, and just need some way to make the wood easier to move around. So far all I've needed are scrap 2x4s and a few long drywall screws for each one, and they take maybe fifteen minutes to slap together. Not very sturdy, and I'm sure if I bump into something with one or try to go too fast over rough ground they'll fall apart, but for now I think for figuring out the sizing and loading they'll be fine. Another great from TBM veterans!

View attachment 382115

Thanks for the pointer hearth.com. Did a fair amount of browsing there before I bought the stove, so it's probably time to start digging into their group wisdom on firewood and stove operation as well. Another nice site is woodheat.org, and once it cools off I'm hoping to try their newspaper fire starting technique before springing for the super cedars. I'm measuring between 7 and 20 MC in the splits so far, and being the cheap skate I am I'm hoping the newspaper will do the trick.

I'm getting a fair number of slivers and chips from splitting that I'm hoping will make good kindling, and now I'm wondering where to store those as well. I'm thinking a metal garbage can with a tight lid might survive OK just outside the glass sliding door next to the stove, but I'm also keeping an eye for a steel Knaak type box. But rather than reinvent the wheel, what do you folks do to keep your kindling dry and handy? Also, the wood is dry enough that the bark is falling off when it splits, and I'm wondering if that would be any good for kindling. If not is there anything else it's good for before I toss it on the burn pile for next winter?

Thanks again for all the help!

Scot

That is good you got the blower. My dealer did not inform me that I needed a blower and installed the stove one evening and the next morning it was 50* in the house. If your ceiling fan will turn slow it should help with the heat.

I was thinking if you had one of your pallets full of green wood it would be heavy. Be careful stacking the wood that high. A piece could fall back on the tractor. If you prefer a 2'x4' pallet you can get a 42''x48'' or 4'x4' and cut it down to make a 2'x4'. The part you cut off can be used for kindling. When my pallets get rotten the turn into kindling. I use a reciprocating saw with a bimetal blade to cut them up.

I prefer to stack my wood on 42''x48'' pallets. I have some that are a little bigger. I don't like 3x3 pallets because I have to move the forks in.

Here is how I stack my wood on pallets. This year I just started using netwrap around them. It helps hold them together and keep the leaves out. I think I am getting around 1/3 cord on them.



If you don't wrap them and take it slow the wood stays on.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Here it is Christmas and I'm almost through my first half cord of wood. It's been warmer than usual here but I've been burning almost every day since just before Thanksgiving and I'm using a lot less wood than I thought I would. I ended up with 18" long splits with diameters less than 3", but have only burned limbs so far. I collected the chips formed by the splitter and am storing them in an old Knaack box, and they work great as kindling. I'm using the "top down" starting method with three newspaper knots, and the only time I had to add more paper was when the wood was in the 4"-5" diameter range and not split. One fire with the stove half full of wood is enough to warm the house in the morning, and if the sun is out that's enough for the day. Otherwise I'll put more wood in at around dinner time, and it'll catch from the coals left over. Sometimes there will be enough coals to start another fire the next morning, but if not I'll clean out the ashes and just build another fire with kindling and newspapers. It only takes a few minutes. The 4300 puts out a lot of heat, and the blower really helps get it out into the room. The ceiling fan evenly distributes the warmed air and it's very comfortable sitting on the couch in front of the TV, about 15' from the stove. I try to keep the temperature at 75, but the room has seen 80 a few times when I put too much wood in the stove and wasn't quick enough damping it down. The only issues I've had is all the noise the baffles in the top of the stove make as they heat up and cool down, and the blower housing rattles when the stove gets hot and the RPMs are at max. Small price to pay for the much higher level of comfort this winter. Almost looking forward to lower temps just to see more pretty flames leaping behind the window.

I made up a wood dolly from left over square tubing and some expanded metal, then put two solid rubber Harbor Freight wheels on the back to move it. It's about 24"x24"x60", and when full it's just about all I can move. One load lasts about a week. The first two pallets have been stored in the garage, each with a pack of Decon stuck into the splits. So far no mice have hitch hiked in, but I've also spiked the pallets with more Decon that are outside under a large tarp. I ended up with a little over ten cords on twenty something pallets, each with a few turns of Saran Wrap like packing plastic at the top to help stabilize the splits. I found that the wood was much more stable on a 40"x48" pallet, and ended up with two rows going up 60". Only lost one load, and that was on very uneven ground when I wasn't paying close enough attention, and had yet to start using the wrap at the top.

The only other detail that took a little while to work out was what to do with the ashes. I purchased an ash box through Amazon, and two scoops will clean out about two days worth of ashes.

Amazon.com - Minuteman International AB-01 No Mess Ash Box - Fireplace Accessories

It gets dumped in the camp fire pit, and from the looks of things I won't have to shovel that out until Spring. It's just off the patio and only a dozen steps from the stove, so what I thought was gonna be a PITA turns out to be a non-event.

Overall I'm pretty happy to be heating with wood for the first time this winter. Bucking and splitting was good exercise, the pallet storage ideas I found here have worked out well, and the Quadrafire has been keeping the house more comfortable than I could afford to do with the central propane heater. Even better, I haven't had to deal with the dust from the furnace blower and my allergies have been almost non-existent. Standing in front of that hot stove after coming in from outside is a pure joy, and so is watching the flames build through the large glass front. My only regret is that I waited this long to replace the propane fireplace appliance with the Quad. It's probably the biggest thing I did all year to improve the quality of life around here.