Century S244 Installation and Operation Manual
22
4.4.6.5 North-South Fires Versus East-West Fires
In fireboxes that are roughly square, wood can be loaded so that looking through the glass
door you see the ends of the logs (north-south) or the sides of the logs (east-west).
East-west loads that are built compactly break down slowly when heated, but the amount
of wood you can load is limited because if you put in too many pieces, one may fall against
the glass. East-west loads are excellent for long, low output fires for relatively mild
weather.
North-south loads break down more quickly, but much more wood can be loaded at a time.
This makes north-south loading good for high output, long lasting fires for cold weather.