Firewood buyer needs advice....

[Superdon]

Ordered the wood Monday and it arrived Tuesday. The chap delivering was great.

 

As my store is not ready I've had to stack it in our covered alleyway, which means I'll have to stack again at some point. 

 

The wood looks great. Very clean. I'll probably have to post some pics tomtry and help me know what wood is what. But am pleased with the amount and appears well dry (also waiting for a cheap moisture monitor from eBay).

 

I have a decent chopping block and a cheap nasty hand axe which I use camping. Some of the logs may need splitting again.

 

If I upgrade my "axe" what's best to go for? It'll mainly be splitting logs, making kindling but ideally want something I can choose with from time to time and maybe take camping if needed. I don't really want to have to buy two or three tools, so looking for one that'll cover everything (albeit not as well as individual tools)

 

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by Superdon

[richardwale]

Did they not tell you what the wood was when you ordered it?

[Superdon]

They said just a mix of British sourced hardwoods. Here's some pics...

 

[SbTVF]

They said just a mix of British sourced hardwoods. Here's some pics...  

 

Would say

 

Sycamore

Sycamore

Oak

Ash

Sycamore

Oak or elm maybe. Looks quite stringy.

Not sure on last one from the photo.

 

Splitting axe wise you want a fiskars x21 or the next size below for kindling making.

 

If the biggest bits fit in your fire don’t split them, it’ll burn longer than the two halves on their own.

 

Use any bark or little bits for kindling though, it’s all good!

 

[richardwale]

I'd say beech

[richardwale]

Look good dry firewood though

[nepia]

4 hours ago, Superdon said:

If I upgrade my "axe" what's best to go for? It'll mainly be splitting logs, making kindling but ideally want something I can choose with from time to time and maybe take camping if needed. I don't really want to have to buy two or three tools, so looking for one that'll cover everything (albeit not as well as individual tools)

 

 

If you're going to be splitting pre-sawn wide logs with it AND making kindling I'd go for the Fiskars X17:  100mm shorter than the 21 so can be used with one hand.

[Alycidon]

On 1/21/2018 at 08:47, aesmith said:

Ask the stove supplier for a local recommendation.  I've been told that wet wood is by far the commonest cause of problems with new stoves, so the supplier has every incentive to steer you towards a decent supplier.    At the same time, get your wood store sorted out so that you can take a delivery of a couple of cubes to stack ready for next year.   I'd consider kiln dried only as a stop gap.

 

FYI our 4kW stove is used pretty much every evening in winter and on cold days the rest of the year, and we use a bit less than 2 cu m per year.

Oh it certainly is,  that and oversized logs.

[Alycidon]

On 1/24/2018 at 13:06, SbTVF said:

 

If the biggest bits fit in your fire don’t split them, it’ll burn longer than the two halves on their own.

 

Use any bark or little bits for kindling though, it’s all good!

 

DO split them down further,  oversize lumps in a stove will cause a lack of turbulance within the stove and the stove going out.     With a wedge shaped log aim for no more than 200mm at the wide end.  And if you bought that 1412 you have been talking about elsewhere then make sure you have nothing longer than 250mm.  Always load the stove crossways  with the ends of the log facing the sides of the stove, aim to load 2 or 3 logs at a time for optimum flame pattern and performance.  

 

A 

[SbTVF]

DO split them down further,  oversize lumps in a stove will cause a lack of turbulance within the stove and the stove going out.     With a wedge shaped log aim for no more than 200mm at the wide end.  And if you bought that 1412 you have been talking about elsewhere then make sure you have nothing longer than 250mm.  Always load the stove crossways  with the ends of the log facing the sides of the stove, aim to load 2 or 3 logs at a time for optimum flame pattern and performance.  
 
A 

You learn something new every day! Never had any issues with big pieces in my Charnwood c4 though I have to say.