Thanks Billy, my wife and I just bought our home last year. We heat entirely with wood now. I had never used a chainsaw before I bought my home. Now I harvest and burn wood I do ALL my self. I have learned so much from your video's about sharpening and felling. Now I see that I am burning correctly as well@!.. I buck my wood exactly as you described, 1 inch short of my stove width, so stacking for night burn is easy breezy. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge. Much appreciated from a noob.

I’m forever mesmerized by the wood stove and can’t get enough of it! I feel it’s alive and so interesting to watch! Wood stove is huge part of our lives !

@featheredcoyote5477

6 ай бұрын

Couldn't of said it better myself! We heat 100% with a Fisher woodstove for the last 7 yrs. Never gets old.

@peter4363

6 ай бұрын

I am up and down all day ‘messing’ about with it, freaking love it. Partner puts central heating on, my game is to make it so hot it turns the freaking thing off.

@mickeydoodle6014

6 ай бұрын

100% it has been a warmer fall/winter and I have only been burning for just over a month. Last year I burned for 6 months and it was glorious. It’s especially nostalgic, because my dad burn firewood my whole childhood, and he and I are the ones that build a custom mountain stone fireplace with my grandfathers Alaskan wood stove in my house. Its the centerpiece to my whole house.

@will7its

6 ай бұрын

Its like sunshine, it makes you feel better. Its vitamin d helps you sleep and gives you energy too.

I'm glad I'm not the only one playing the "long burn" game in the winter. Wife thinks I'm a bit nuts.....but she likes to wake up to a warm house, doesn't she!!!

In the winter my wood stove is like a 4th child. 😆 My wife’s always up before me and it’s all about making sure she has good coals to make it easy for her to get the stove roaring again.

I take great pride in my long-burn building capabilities. We get 8 hours easy, when needed...but me and the dogs are up at 3 to check on it most mornings anyway. That way, the wife and kids are toasty warm when we all get up at 5-6 am. I love the 6-8 round chunks for that all-night burn! (especially oak and cherry)

@dsenterprises01

6 ай бұрын

О❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

@dsenterprises01

6 ай бұрын

Ре

@ryanallen1023

6 ай бұрын

I hear ya billy! Gotta get an end door stove! Wish I could send a pic of my burner, central MN!

@scottkearney6647

6 ай бұрын

That’s a great teaching moment thank you so much. Buckin you have a wonderful bunch of wood stove knowledge to help us burn our stoves efficiently. More please

Stoking a wood stove is an art perfected over many years of learning. You and I have built enough fires to know when someone knows how to do it and when they don’t. You just passed with a grade A. 👍👍

Hey Buckin, we have a Harold's no.24 stove built in 1904 in Taunton, Mass. It is now in the Midcoast of Maine (has lived most of its life in parts of Maine). Beautiful old stove, worth looking at. Has a huge fire box, a stove pipe damper and three vent flues on the front. About as simple as it gets. Can burn just about anything in it. The beauty is in the filigree exterior casting with the moon and two angels as a center piece. Chrome foot rests and accents. It sits on a traditional piece of black slate. Really neat to think of all the generations of Mainers that have used this stove to heat their home wial making a life for themselves. The woodstove really does seem to be the heart of the home.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

love these stories friend

@rockkhound943

6 ай бұрын

Sounds amazing

I'm right there with ya. A man's ritual with his wood stove. It is amazing that we can many times remember when we burn, we remember when and where we cut and split it. It's a dance, a chess match, and most of all, satisfaction. Log on Brother!

My dad built a wood stove 40 something years ago and it would roast you. He made it where you could bank it up at night and there’d still be enough coals to get it back going the next morning, quickly. Venting is everything. Much love from chilly North Carolina, USA 🤙🤙

@bubbaray575

6 ай бұрын

I agree about the venting, it's nice to hear from a fellow Tar Heel.

@ibbylancaster8981

6 ай бұрын

@@bubbaray575 Carolina born and bred and when I die I’ll be Carolina dead🤙🤙😂🤣 Dad was a machinist among other things and did a lot of research before he built it. We’d bank it up at night and adjust the vents to the point it sounded like a steam engine huffing and puffing. It outlived him and is in the same spot that he set it so many years ago. I’m going to build a copy of it when I build my house in the next year or so.

Thank you for the great video Buckin'. I cut my personal wood at 14"-15" to fit the Chappy wood/coal stove my father bought in 1977. To me, this video parallels your video with you and your Dad a couple of weeks ago. My father lost his battle with Vietnam in 2001 with alcohol abuse. I didn't have an easy time as a kid, but I did have many good times, learned much about hunting and the outdoors and ultimately learned forgiveness - albeit at the end of his life. Now in my 50's, I think of him when I load that old stove, which burns great and heats our home.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

thats a great memory

Miss you Buckin! I cut wood short like you too, and you’re right about the science of fire and oxygen starvation to keep our narrow fireboxes -and living spaces- warm. My Buckin’ Special keeps my family warm! Thank you for all you’ve done for this home. Happy holidays to you and your’s! Cheers from Northern California!

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

great ta see ya brother

66 years old and still playing with fire here too! Love going for the longest burn I can too.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

lololololo

Thanks for telling us guy's, "longer isn't better." And that's no joke. It is the simple things that brings us joy, Like humor, wood stoves, powersaws and Buckin' of course. Keep cranking them out. I love it. Brings a smile every time I watch.

You’re not the only one Buckin! Happy holidays.

Almost at 500k buckin . I’m a long time subscriber I love the content keep up the great work. Love wins stay kind

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

right on brother thx

Hi B I never realised the round would burn longer. Thanks. I feel so lucky cause A couple of years back I put a lopi in the bedroom!

I like bucking mine to 12”. My stove is wide side to side, but shallow from to back, so I can stack the wood in the firebox whichever way I want. Plus my young boys have an easier time splitting that length too.

So interesting to see how you guys run wood fires, and how they are designed for that matter, up North. In Aus/NZ the firebox draws air from above the door, down the face of the door across the firebox, then up the back wall, over that baffle and out. Theory is it keeps the glass clean which is highly debatable. Difference is, we load our logs long ways so as to not disturb the air flow. Loading sideways doesn’t ever burn as efficiently. We still load em up overnight like that, just differently. Wishing you and your family love and kindness for Xmas!

@peter4363

6 ай бұрын

You mean your logs are front to back, opposite to buckin’s? His are side to side. Regarding the air, it depends which type of stove you have, i have air in the bottom and top and 1 at the back, i close the bottom one off full time. I find the top vents control the efficiency better. I am in UK, google image search little thurlow multi fuel stove and mine will come up.

You're not the only stove freak, brother. Lots of us!

I've been in my same house for 32 years now and this is my first winter burning wood. Put a stove smack dab in the middle of the house and I love it. Always had a stove in the garage so I'm not a newbie but I've learned so much from your channel. Thank you thank you thank. Don't change a thing.

The wood stove is my favorite part of winter! Nothing burns better than a load of well seasoned oak, low and slow all night and leaves nice hot coils in the morning.

Here in the UK stove logs are usualy cut to 10 inch. we have relatively small stoves that are made to efficiency ratings so the usual stove has a relatively small firebox. Have a nice christmas Buckin'

Yessir buddy…the woodstove is a ritual here no doubt. I try to do our last fill between 8:00-8:30pm. This year it’s become a game to see much I can tightly stuff in it. Our stove is not super efficient but once you clean the ash out at 4:30am you are left with enough coals to just drop pieces on and let her cook. That works well for us here. God bless brother !!

You are totally on the money Billy ray!!! My box is 28"x 21"( I cut to 16"-18") and I fill it up and get it RIPPIN burnin then once its all caught I close it down. Now the biggest game changer was getting the seals replaced around the doors and glass!! Then and only then could I get proper control on my burn and last through the night. otherwise it blazing hot and burnt out to quick.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

exactly brother merry Christmas

Ran a Waterford 103 dual door for 18 years using 16-18” sideways pieces in. This year bought a heartstone 60 running 12” straight pieces in. It’s a learning curve .

Why go through all the trouble splitting wood and not get all you can from the wood burner? Study it and learn it. Thanks for the tips, Buckin.

You're an awesome freak, that's why we love ya!

You’re not alone. I e got three different stoves, and I treat them all a little differently. Two of them are large stoves, but one is just like yours. On small stoves like that, though impractical, it would almost be nicer, I think, to have the rounds even shorter, like 8”, so you could put them in width-wise, so they don’t roll out when you open the door. 12” is nice regardless of the stove. Splits easier and easier to handle.

Love the natural light you have let in your home with the larger windows!

I love these videos! Looks like someone needs to clean his glass door!🤪

I love the the art of setting up the first and last burn of the day. Using bits of fat wood to start the fire in the morning and the perfect round with knots in it for the all-nighter. I try to save certain pieces for the coldest weather.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

you got it

Yeah Buckin, it's a little art a little science. Love my old school Mamma Bear. She'll take a max 22inch log. When it's really cold I load her up full. The woodstove's the heart of the home. 👍

I have always found that running the wood inline front to back as opposed to sideways allows better air flow and the stove burns better for me. This is likely because it is a different stove though.

@xxlxpman

6 ай бұрын

I have a small Englander reburn stove. I load it like you do for best performance. Although I cut 10 to 12 inch wood. I have to make a lot more cuts than if I cut it 20 in. Oh well!!

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

it depends where the air comes in , sounds like yer air come in the front as mine does , and yes it wood burn quicker that way ,, better air flow .

Buckin' believe me when I tell you that you are not the only woodstove nut around. I actually find this stuff very interesting.

Ive been cutting for a wash stove for years. 16-24 inches. Now I and running a good stove in the homestead . Im having a hard time retraining myself to cut 12 inch wood. It is an art to run a wood stove the right way. Mine will go all night with hardwood .

I think you are the smartest man on earth! Great Job Buckin!

Anyone with a wood stove plays the game! We just got a new replacement stove and I can get almost 12 hours out of it, and that’s keeping the whole house at 68 degrees! I LOVE MY NEW WOOD STOVE!

Absolutely love this topic, lots of variables, so love my pacific energy summit, made way over your way!!!

My neighbor asked me the same question about 15 yrs ago lol😂 I took him in the house and showed him the exact same thing.When you’ve done it forever you definitely find more efficient ways to run a wood burner.

Your 100% right Buckin. Another plus of cutting the rounds shorter, is the wood is easier to split.

I cut 12's, and burn North-South so I never vave to reach on, and nothing ever rolls out. Only down size is 4 rows to the cord instead of 3, so 33% more pieces. Love the philosophy Billy.

You're not the only one. You're not a freak either. I love getting the fire as I want it to be, and finding the logs in the pile to save for last thing, or the weekend. I even have a pile set aside for special occasions... My wife and I each have our ways of running the stove and cooker at home, sometimes we fiddle with the others fire but we've come to respect the differences and boy can she get the stove choochin'. Slightly shorter logs have another benefit: especially if you burn harder woods, the short length helps dry the log through the end grain. Much better to burn slightly shorter logs that are more dry than longer ones still damp in the middle.

I was the same way when I burned wood. I could put 18" pieces in but I cut all mine at 16" I was always messing around with how I loaded my wood stove. I really did enjoy burning wood. I did switch to burning anthracite coal tho and I love being able to go up to 2 days without touching the stove. Much better control and heat output from coal.

Great way to explain it the way people can understand it. You are awesome brother.

It's all about a great burn indoor outdoor, ect read the flame feed the Need ! Love the content Buckin 👌 Keep up the great work Good Speed 🙌

Thanks, been trying to put longer wood in to save saw cuts. Now I realize it’s costing me in the burn.

You're so right Buckin its an art form building a fire in a woodstove! You can try and explain it to someone but until they've experienced it they dont relate.... Thanks for your explanations of simple things. These are some of your best content. Simple joy from simple things in life. We forget how good we have it.

Hi Buckin, thank you for the pointers in this video! I shared it with my youngest son who has a multi-fuel furnace. Oil & coal are so costly, but God blessed us with trees on our land. I've been able to keep him in firewood for the last 2 winters, thanks to the Buckin Library!👍🪵🪓

Great to see how you love your Fire and understand it 👌. Showed that movie my Mrs and she loved and learned a lot from it.Lovely greetings 💪💚🪓

Those night rounds are the thing:) I like the branch wood too..grows under strain and tight grain. My favorite rounds for the single digit nights are black locust limbs👌😗

Love it!! I like cutting shorter pieces too. Makes splitting them much easier. Great video!

There's nothing better than a nice coal bed for easy AM starting. We have a 2 stage as well (non catalytic)... Last year I upgraded the 4" fresh air intake to 6", and added an electronic HVAC damper with a remote switch. Massive gain in burn time due to increased flow/control - I now get 8+ hr all nighters as well. The manufacturer makes a 4" cable controlled intake, but that was useless due to the 18' run through the basement - took that off, was a waste of $$.

What a great video - so helpful. And yes, I'm exactly the same way. I've been burning wood for heat since I was about 12 I think. I just turned 65 and still at it. I thought I was a pretty good sawyer/bucker/feller, etc til KZread came along. I have learned so much from you (and a few others). Things I didn't know and things I didn't know that I didn't know - if that makes sense lol. Tending the stove is certainly an art. So many dynamic factors to consider with each fill. I love the challenge and am by no means an expert. Always learning and willing to learn. Thanks for all your help!! Keep em coming! - Tim

This is the video I have waited for my whole life! Thank you and God bless Billy Ray for addressing the elephant in the room.

Someone gets me! This whole video is my night time routine…. No one gets it around me! My wife… my kids… my band mates (heat my garage with an old Montgomery ward wood stove) they all think I’m silly but still reap the benefits of meticulous loading. Loading matters friends, it really does

Billy- this has been my first year with a fire place/woodstove and my own 40 acres here in NW Illinois. Still figuring it but but your sure helping. Thank you!

G'day Buckin, firewood here is cut into foot blocks twelve inches then split that's the national standard length it also makes for easier stacking on pallets in bags, longer lengths for open fires can be sixteen to eighteen inches but not common. I've heard you tubers over your way refer to those pieces of wood as logs cut rounds as logs and logs as logs ? I'm also a bit obsessed with wood placement in the firebox I advise people to burn two types of wood Blonde during the day which throws out more heat and burns to ash and red coloured overnight which tends to form coals rinse and repeat 👍.

A man who knows how to get the most out of his short wood! Good stuff bro!!! Never thought about using rounds for the long burn

Thats why I love my Vermont casting top load, I can stack it to the top maple on the bottom a knotty red oak on top I can get 7 sometimes 8 hours thaks for the tips Buckin!!!

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

all a guy needs really,, perfect

I always asked why your firewood was so short. And your are not a freak. I wasn't paying attention to the capacity of space inside your stove. Great video. Have a great Christmas!

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

hey Vincent,, merry christmas

The science of the round. 100%.. I thought it was just me, lol. 😀❤👍

Greetings from Norway. I resly love this channel 👍👍❤️

I'm right there with you on placement of the wood, got a nice wood heater in the hunting cabin and if you don't set the wood right before you crawl in the bed lol you know I the middle of the night being woken up by the cold.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

ha ha ha

These cold times are where our hard work cutting and splitting through the warmer months pays off bigtime. I load mine up the same way: stack it full, let it burn full throttle for a few minutes, then crank her down and let it slow burn through the night. I find having a bit of ash bed in the bottom helps hold heat through the morning, too. love, andrewski✊

Thanks for the laughs when the rip roaring started (puff the magic dragon) I laughed... Everyone a merry Christmas to all and yes help others helps ourselves...👍

Buckin nice little video. 1 thing I've learned over the years is that it's rare to have the same size wood stove. I have 1 that I can take up to 20 inches My Dad has one that will take 20 inches also but his main wood stove 18 inches, and our shop I can go 30 inches. So I've learned to vary on how long to cut them. I do sell once in awhile to 5 different people and they can take up to 16 inches. Also the 1 kind of wood I like to put in at night is Mahogany, which KILLS a chain. I cut 1 that was 4 foot long 20 inches wide and 14 inches deep made 3 cuts and 4 chains later. I had sparks off and on while cutting kinda cool to see.

I have an outdoor boiler an it takes a five foot log. I try to keep all my wood at around 2 feet. I've noticed that if I build a pile three wide and cross the next three the other way we can put nine pieces in and burn all night. If we toss it in all length wise the temp is down and hardly any coals. This year I'm burning corn until it freezes up a bit. Have grain stoves inc furnace and love it.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

does one way heat quicker too?

When I need to get the house warmed up I lay my firewood across. When I'm banking up for the night I lay it lengthways so it burns slower. End grain resists burning fast better than cross grain if your air control is in the door.

You are definitely not alone Buckin I have spent hours tinkering with my wood stove different ways of laying the wood in different combinations of wood types different draft settings on my stove I’m fascinated by it too my friend

You’re not alone Buckin

Awesome segment love fire more than most!!!

Been planting and cutting trees for thirty plus years,splitting and seasoning and then burning in the wood burning stove, learn something each and every time I light the thing. The deepest Zen I know. As long as you plant much more than you use You leave some for the next generation

Great video. I was taught many years ago if you have nice pretty flames to look at then most of the heat is going up and out. You want a bed of good hot coals. Love ya brother

Good information for people running offset smokers too. There's a balance between not having smoldering and not going through splits too fast. Closing gaps and opening them up for more or less air flow is also how you can control temperature a bit.

I have an outdoor boiler. And a forced air inside my shop. Both are very different in the way they consume the fuel. The boiler starts and stops automatically depending on demand. So i normally cram it full lengthwise to achieve a longer burntime. But the forced air needs a little space to draw air and burn evenly. So i see where you're coming from. Always love your videos

Merry Christmas! Enjoyed the video….

Awesome video, thank you sir

Great video I’ve got the blaze king which has a huge fire box but I still cut my wood smaller also just easier to pack the stove and nicer to handle from the wood pile to the house , I work out in camp so when I come home and open that door I see the wood stove which is so satisfying it’s the best heat ever . Awesome video thanks buckin.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

right on brother

I just subscribed and wow Buckin!!! What a breath of fresh air in this stale world we are living in..I can't believe I haven't found you're channel sooner. I'm a wood burner for many years and there's just nothin like it as far as gratification from you're own hard work!! You're an inspiration and I'm glad I stumbled upon youre channel God bless you and you're family Merry Christmas and 500k subscribers is definitely on its way friend👍👍👍😎😎😎

You cut the length that works best for you. I cut mine at 24 inches. Because I use a wood splitter a good bit. And the splitter will do 26 inches. The reason that I cut mine so long is that I have one of those outdoor woodstoves. Thanks for sharing Buckin.

In bed watching and I wanna get up a go diggin at the stove haha

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

hahahahaa

Love it friend

I’m with you Buckin I have a smaller wood stove as well I get it roaring then shut it down the damper and the air intake both shut down and it will go all night 👍🏻

You build a fire exactly the same way I do! Glad to know I'm doing it right ;-)

Yep same here! Just a bit longer in my stove, because the box is bigger is all, but yes smaller makes a better burn fir sure!! Love my Ole Fisher double door❤❤

Nice informative video as always buckin. I have a mixture of wood sizes that i keep aswell as shapes and moisture levels. I keep some really thin short bits fat short bits for during day and slightly longer and gnarly bits for night time i have a 20" opening stove but only cut wood to beteeen 14-16 happy Christmas brother 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍 ps your not the only one who plays with stove allot.

Hi Buckin, we have a similar issue over here in Ireland. I cut my wood 10-12 inches for personal use at home, but my brothers stove only accepts 8-10 inch wood. I also have noticed that the rounds burn longer than the splits 😊. Happy Christmas to you and your family.

I love it! Trial and error becomes wood burning common sense. Has anyone installed one of those smaller size wood stoves with a little oven off to the side? Was thinkin of putting one in at the old hunting camp.

Yep, there is an art to stoking the stove for the kinda heat you want and every stove runs a bit differently. I have a partial gassafiying stove sorta like you have. Has the tubes in the to with little air holes in it. I burn 12” and 16” lengths. Stacking wood in face wise is fast burning high heat makes a good bed of coals in a few hours then I stack width wise like you burn for night time. My flue is a tad on the short side so I have to run a hard fire for the first hour to get the flu tile up to temp so the stove can run like the heat engine it’s supposed to. These newer EPA approved stoves that we have in the states don’t start and run as easy as the older stoves but they are efficient if you can get them up to operating temp.

You are so Right in making smaller Firewood. I used to make mine 15inches till I got smart. Now I make them 12 inches and get 4 in it to burn all day long and night. Great for telling me how to do it awhile ago in a Great Video my Friend. Ron from the Woodyard in Duanesburg NY.

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

good man

Love playing the stove. Every stove plays a different game. Here north of you in Vanderhoof bc mine burns Longer loaded front to back by twice if loaded side to side. Love it brother.

I burn in a small 35 year old cast iron dovre wood stove. No after burners so I know all about fiddling around with trying to lengthen burn time. You’re right, stack tight. Also that round is an interesting thing I’m going to have to try, not this year as my wood is already split.

Good info , wood stove can be a challenge that's forsure. Ty buckin

That beautiful aroma of wood smoke made it all the way to Southeastern Pennsylvania! Love you all...❤❤❤ Lieutenant Bradley

My new woodstove with secondary burner retains alot of heat and coal overnight compared to my old 40yr old woodstove I had 😊

Buckin,you're not the only freak when talking woodstoves. You should see the glased looks I get when I explain the science and artistry of getting the ideal starting set up in the fire box, the right way to stack the wood in the fire when going, and the benefit of a well sized round log to overnight burn. My fire will do this because it's got good damper control and can do 8hrs on a full charge of old man pine. Thank goodness for you Billy,I thought I was certifiably OCD about this. Now I know Im in good company. Cheers from HB NZ

@BuckinBillyRaySmith

6 ай бұрын

lololo😊

Hi ya In Australia with hard woods Sugargum,Box,Redgum and so on cut to 11to 12” long and put them in the other way to you. The air flows better and when shut down can get 7,8,9 hrs from it Cheers 🍻

Yeah brother this is Jeff from Vantucky Washington. Yes I know exactly what ur talkin bout gettin ur stove dialed in. I cut the same length 13ish”s there is a small learning curve. Every time I change kinds of wood this year I am lucky enough to burn oak. I’ve seasoned myself over a year and a half or two and it’s great because you get excellent heat and once you cook the wood down to be able to shut it down with no smoke with constant, good heat all night long.

Hahaha, my wife would totally agree with you. She says I have way too many woodstove rules! 😂

Love the brick work