Lang patio firebox question

I have a 24"x24"24" firebox and use ~18" (max) long splits. I would think with anything much smaller, you would need to have some cutting implements handy or a good consitent source of wood that provides you a suitable length.

I believe the Jambo Backyard model is 24 X24

No complaints about the firebox size. I burn hot/small fires, no need to pack the firebox full. Most of the time I'm burning 9-10" splits. I have the means to process my wood the way I want, even if I didn't have the means I wouldn't let the "size" of commercially processed firewood dictate the cooker that I can/could/would buy.

Waterboy12 said:

No complaints about the firebox size. I burn hot/small fires, no need to pack the firebox full. Most of the time I'm burning 9-10" splits. I have the means to process my wood the way I want, even if I didn't have the means I wouldn't let the "size" of commercially processed firewood dictate the cooker that I can/could/would buy.

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Very well put, I'll second that.

Well, not to get too technical, but: a^2 + b^2 = c^2

289 + 289 = 578 ... the square root of 578 is ~24 ... so on the diagonal you could put a 24 inch piece of wood in there. Even with the grate - you could get a pretty long stick into the box.

Probably more than you wanted to know. :wink:

When I first got my Lang I would ask my wood mongers for small splits. Now I get larger ones and process them down with a 5 ton electric log splitter and a miter saw.

You also need to take Into account that once you get a Lang up to temp, especially the smaller variety(36/48) it holds temp very we'll. It holds temp so we'll that trying to run in the 225* range can be more of a challenge than running at 300*. You'll start running into the issue of having a small enough fire to run those low temps. Before I learned how to build a fire in my Lang, I had full size 18" splits on hand. I soon learned that an 18" splits is a lot larger than what's needed.....just something else to think about.

One more thing. Around here fireplace splits are 18-20 inches in length, where as splits for cooking or wood burning stoves are 12-16 inches.

Once heated up it's easy to maintain temps. How far from Nahunta, Ga. are you? Maybe you could make a road trip and pick it up yourself.

J'ville Grill said:

When I first got my Lang I would ask my wood mongers for small splits. Now I get larger ones and process them down with a 5 ton electric log splitter and a miter saw.

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You got a log splitter?!?

I have experimented thanks to advice on this forum on my Lang 36 Patio. My best results thus far are running thin splits that I then cut in half with a Worx Jawsaw. I'm burning 7-8" small splits of white oak or cherry. I placed a small piece of expanded metal on the firebox grate (it covers the entire grate), then bent the back 1/3rd of the expanded metal upwards. I did this to prevent building the fire too close to the cooking chamber as recommended. I then put a shovel full of Royal Oak lump on the expanded metal on the very right side of the firebox and light it with a torch with the cooker wide open. After 5-10 minutes with the lump starting to get cherry red, I put a couple of splits on there. I then put another split or two in the firebox on the left side to preheat. At that point I close the main chamber door and leave it in the slightly open position, while leaving the firebox door partially open. Once the cooker starts drafting and approaches 225 degrees, I close the main chamber door and the firebox door. It will normally ramp up to around 250-275 degrees and I keep both dampers wide open, feeding splits to maintain the temperature desired.

I tried longer splits and the results were not as good. I get more even chamber temps, less smoke and a much cleaner fire. You don't need a huge fire to keep the patio models at temperature. You may tend the fire a bit more with smaller half splits, but I'll take that. It also allows me to rotate through different wood more quickly.

jonmhenderson said:

Pretty much all the splits around here are 16. Thanks for all the info guys! I just really don't want to have to buy a chainsaw and wood splitter. So, Waterboy, are you saying that once all that 1/4 inch steel gets hot, it stays hot? That's a good thing and would definitely be a selling point. I must say though, the $550 shipping quote was quite the shocker.

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Mine was delivered to N.E. arkansas for 365.00 by aaa cooper truck line thru jz logistics(Jesse Balentine)904-527-3902 ext.222. I have been using bags of wood from academy sports( the big bags). I split them in two, they are perfect size but expensive. None of my wood is seasoned yet that I have cut myself.

unixadm said:

You got a log splitter?!?

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I confess I'm a city boy .

Nashville isn't that bad a drive down to Shirley Fabrication!!! From what I've seen of their work I think that would definately be worth the drive!!

jonmhenderson said:

I live near Nashville and that's a ways from south Ga. I think I'm going to see if my guy will build me one with a 24 X 24 firebox.

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+1 for a Shirley Fab smoker.

It's just my 2 cents, but I would see what the price for your guy would be, and then give Paul at Shirley Fab a call and see what he can work out with you. Paul has a great product and is extremely reasonable with prices.

64Driver said:

+1 for a Shirley Fab smoker.

It's just my 2 cents, but I would see what the price for your guy would be, and then give Paul at Shirley Fab a call and see what he can work out with you. Paul has a great product and is extremely reasonable with prices.

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I must agree! Im lovin mine!