Jay you are correct bigger chunks smolder better in these conventional boilers and I’ll explain why. Simple…less surface area on the wood. But here’s the kicker. If you were to analyze the flue combustion and temperature you would see the splits more than likely produced more btus and better combustion but heat went out the flue. This is it in a nutshell. That’s why gasifiers burn more efficient. More surface area to not only combust better but also preheat wood better, hotter well mixed controlled burn, and better heat recovery due to cleaner burn allowing more efficient heat exchanger to be used. This is why g-fires use up to 50% less wood…a Garn does for sure over these conventional owbs. I have zero creosote. I honestly think if a guy was to take one of these owbs, hook up a 1000-2000 gallon heat storage tank, and run these boiler full tilt, I think you would see a much better burn and more usable btus transferred to water. These boiler are a complete wood combustion disaster as they sit.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Garny, Yes compared to a gasification machine they are pre historic but at the time thats all they had so its easy to compare a gasser to a dino unit like this! I will "fingers crossed" get a 760HDX as my next unit so I can get into that style wood and hopefully cut down on wood usage for sure! A lot of my wood is free sawmill cut offs so its not a big deal but to cut down about 50% savings is a win for me for sure. Ill have to process the wood more but its all good!

@AATreeService

2 жыл бұрын

@@HomesteadJay I’d suggest maybe something other than a central boiler. Lots of customer service issues with them

Iam with ya 100% buddy!! Most of my wood I burn is non-split! I usually cut them to the length I can physically handle then split the rest I can't!! I've always said big stove big wood....hence one reason I bought my outdoor boiler so I won't have to cut and split kindling wood hahahaha!! Keep up the good work buddy!! Stay safe!!

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly! I say big coals = big wood! Glad we are on the same page!

Great info Jay! I prefer not to split if I don't have to and it is working great for me too. I do split in half if it is too big and heavy to carry. And I also burn green wood. As you know, I am a newbie and I just bought a ton of green logs. Can't wait a year or two for it to season so I burn with some of the seasoned stuff I have laying around. And it's working for me. CL6048.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Ovi! Glad all is working out! There is a learning curve for sure! You will be on track in no time!

thank u jay that was great

One of your best videos yet jay. If it fits through the door/opening, I burn it. Def gonna start stocking up more and up the dry time for the rounds!

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yes just gotta make sure good coal bed and more time for them to season!

I put whatever can fit in my OWB. Wood Master unit. Burns nice!

@HomesteadJay

Жыл бұрын

Oh yes burn it all!

I still don't have a wood burner but what great content. Thanks

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate that Joe!

Excellent Video Jay, I have been curious the different burn time for split vs full round! They both have their uses and I plan to keep an assortment like you have! Keep up the great videos, I have many more hours of watching to get caught up! Long live the classics!

@HomesteadJay

Жыл бұрын

Hey there! Happy to have you here on the channel! Wood heating season is right around the corner! Please subscribe as we have a WHOLE lot of wood boiler videos coming!

Great experiment, thank you.

@HomesteadJay

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks for running that test.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

I thought it was pretty neat!

Good jop this was really cool video you help me out i am doing this have a good merry Christmas too you guys god bless too you guys love your video buddy

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas!

Great photo by the way beatiful family

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

I put any and everything in my burner. Most is dead trees standing that I cut down or on the grown that the wind took over that’s green and full of water. If it fits through the door I burn it. Some are filled with water they are heavy and wet. It all burns and is BTU’s. I have put rounds in the burner that touch door jam to door jam. This outside burner is not like a stove in the house. I have the central boiler 5038 and it’s a size smaller than Jays. I split 6 trees at Christmas and I was burning them same day. Seasoned wood natural burns better but you have to burn what you have when you can get it. It’s not worth paying for wood 🪵 but it’s these burners in my opinion.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yes id never buy conventional firewood for this unit as that would be a waste! Thanks for sharing! I try not to burn fresh cut but I do burn wood thats only seasoned about 6 months sometimes which again like you machine it will devour it all!

Another great video, Jay! Since your wood is free from your own property, what does it cost you in time, fuel, equipment each year to process enough to store for the next season? Would it be cheaper/easier to buy several $15 dollar pickup truck loads of sawmill scraps to feed the beast? Keep the videos coming!

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Mike, This spring I will be getting a full log truck load of sawmill cut offs and I am going to calculate how much time/fuel/energy needed to convert it into boiler wood. I enjoy cutting and working the forest on my land so its priceless to me!

Full rounds burn slower and so they took more energy out of coal bed, split wood burned fast and they didn't got that much support from coal. That's why visually feels like split wood will burn faster. 100% sure that after burning full rounds there was less coal remaining.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Tough with this to keep the same "coal" bed but I tried! Either way id rather get 8 hours out of the same amount of wood versus 5. If you have a 6 inch coal bed it handles this style of wood no problem!

Tiber wolf is one killer saw

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Love it! Eats anything I throw at it!

There is a mention of coal bed size when finished burning. What I think would be a more accurate measurement would be to take, say, 20 logs for each scenario. It would be hard to control the weather for that long. But doing this experiment over a longer period of time would take the coal bed size into account over a longer period. I think the results would be closer at the end. Either way, good video, Jay!

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Derek! I was thinking of something like this but yeah it would be neat to see how it performs with like 4 logs each in the 3 different forms to see how it would do! We need to do our collab! Let me know if you want to start that!

hi there we have gone back and forth on wood in other videos . the full round needs the support of the coal bed to burn . there are lots of factors in this . anyway if it was as easier simple as this you should be able to just put one big round in the boiler every 8 hours . that means just 3 logs a day . kind of think that wont work .the BTUs in a piece of wood you can't change only the % of heat you get from it . its the efficiency of your boiler in getting the heat from it to your water in the boiler . i really like your videos they make you think thank you have a Merry Christmas john

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Jon! Merry Christmas! Thank you for the feedback! The coal bed is the most important factor in these machines! Big coal bed = big wood. Small coal bed = split wood. Thats how I run it and seems to work good! Thanks for tuning in!

@fricknjeep

2 жыл бұрын

@@HomesteadJay hi i think that is a good way read the boiler bed and fill as needed . Merry Christmas to all there john

Interesting stuff. :)

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed!

Each of the 3 same sized pieces contain the same amount of BTUs. The split wood burned faster, and released the BTUs faster, and raised the temperature faster. The whole rounds took longer to burn and released the BTUs slower, but raised the temperature slower. Altogether, you burn more efficiently with the whole rounds because you spend less time processing the wood!

@HomesteadJay

Жыл бұрын

Exactly there are pros and cons to both! Nice to have a mix indeed! Mix of split and non split

Most wood I burn has to be split due to size. But I do split into large chunks for longer burn

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah split wood is easier for sure but the large rounds with a good coal bed is mint!

Nicely done so funny I just messaged u about this video lol

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Took me a while to get it filmed! People still dont get it lol

Great info. I was wondering what temp differential are you running ....on vs off?

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

172-182 is what I keep it at usually. Real cold I’ll go 175-185

Rounds are the way to go if you have the room to store them and at least 2 1/2 years to dry. I like your way a variety of rounds and splits

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I stockpile the rounds and mix in the splits! Variety is good!

There are a lot of thumb typing expert out there but seeing is believing. Thanks. Now if one of y’all out there that has one of those gasification unit would do a comparison like this that would nice

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah the gassers need split wood due to the gasification process it needs the full split to operate the best. The full rounds in those machines will just burn the coals out from what im told

Hey Jay why is the steal plate bent out on the back of your door at the bottom. I have never seen it like that and wasn’t sure if it was on purpose for some reason.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Now that is the golden question! Will address in future video!

Agreed! I cut both, and lay about 4 or 5 pieces of split wood on the bottom then layer my rounds on top. But it’s like the ole saying, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

For sure! Sorry for the late reply! Thank you for tuning in! Hope you had a great holiday week!

Looks like you proved that a mixture of rounds and splits would work about the best. If that large round had some splits in with it the coal bed wouldn’t have been depleted at the end. Plus the recovery rate would have been much quicker.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah the coal bed is a big factor. Basically if you have a large coal bed = big rounds. Small coal bed you need more split wood to build the coal bed so you can burn large rounds. Thats why I have an assortment!

Jay, my pump keeps sucking up air. I found that when the fire gets roaring the heat from the coals boils the water on the underside and when the air comes around the jacket the pump sucks it up. What am I doing wrong? Thanks

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Check your water level you shouldn’t have that problem.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Also check the vent cap on top make sure it’s still “loose” allowing the machine to vent. Let me know an update once you check these

@thatsreality1162

2 жыл бұрын

@@HomesteadJay water level is good and vent cap is loose, hmmm.

@AATreeService

2 жыл бұрын

@@thatsreality1162 you should be pulling water off the bottom of the stove and returning to the top

Well at least you used some good wood for that experiment ! U can’t beat Shagbark hickory! Smells great burns hot and long ! I burn a lot of shagbark shellbark and bitter nut hickory !

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

I loved this wood! I wish I could go back to the lot and get more of it! This is premium stuff for sure!

@scottbaican9566

2 жыл бұрын

@@HomesteadJay ya ! I got about 3 cords ! 1 seasoned and 2 drying for next year

Good day Sir 👍😉 Please do have a FULL RESTED TIME during the Christmas holiday ( I'M SERIOUS MAAAN 😇👌) WE ALL NEED YOU SIR IN TIP TOP SHAPE 😇👌 You do not have a lots of snow mon ami 😉👍 Great family picture on your CELL ( YOU ARE THE LUCKIEST MAN ON EARTH SIR AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT SIR 🤣👌😉 ) OUSTANDING VIDEO REVIEW AND PLEASE HAVE FUN SIR 😉👌🤣👍 CHEERS 👍👌😉 SIde NOTE: I DRINK TWO COFFEE THIS MORNING ( I WILL NEVER EVER DO THAT AGAIN !!! ) 🤣👌😉

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Dave! I shall rest for sure! Thank you for the kind remarks! Merry Christmas to you and your family as well! Keep drinking that coffee LOL

@RCAFpolarexpress

2 жыл бұрын

@@HomesteadJay 🤣🤣🤣 I my name is David and I'm HIGHLY ADDICTED TO COFFEE 🤣🥴😉👌👍🍻

Guess I been doing it wrong for 10 years. I’ll burn rounds before splits if I can. Why make more work for yourself?

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

If you have a good solid coal bed the rounds will last longer! That’s why I have a variety of wood in my sheds! Some split. Some full. Some “stove wood”

The whole tree will burn

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yes of course !

A lot of your commenters sell wood so faster burn more sells

@jorrick66

2 жыл бұрын

I don’t sell wood. My argument was never about wood size, it was about moisture content. Green wood doesn’t burn as efficient as seasoned wood. I think everybody can agree on that. Big rounds tend to be green, or at least greener than split wood. Rounds don’t season very fast or efficient. I don’t have 3 years to sit and let wood season. If you have an older boiler, I agree, burn the biggest stuff you can. As long as it’s seasoned. I run a gasification boiler like Jay mentioned in the beginning. They’re completely different animals than these older machines. They work off of a coal bed more so than the actual burning wood for heat. Splits make coals efficiently, rounds do not. All about the style of unit you have.

@HomesteadJay

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah a lot of people who sell firewood sell conventional stove wood split and seasoned. Which you can burn in this machine but it likes the large rounds