When Talking Consumption, What Do You All Mean By ’A Cord’?

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G

ginobass

New Member
Jul 10, 2008
10
WNY
Hey All,

I see threads about how much wood people are burning, and most references are to 'cords'.

Are we talking 'full' cord - 4' x 4' x 8' - or we talking what I've always understood as a 'face' cord - usually 1/3 full cord, or 16" x 4' x 8'?

Just looking to clarify, since there's a big diff between the two for sure!!
 
99.99% of the time you'll find that a cord is a true, 128 cubic foot cord here - not a face cord.
 
Up in Central NY, when folks say "cord" they mean face cord. On Long Island I found most folks meant full cord. I think most of the regular posters on this forum would be using the correct terms..cord meaning full cord and they would use "face cord" if they meant 4x8x?. They will do it correct because if they get caught using the wrong terms they KNOW they are gonna hear about it ;)
 
Yup, what they said.

A cord is a cord... some folks talk about chords and I hear those can be had for a song, but if you don't want to lose face around here then when you say cord you had best mean 128 cuft.
 
...also, that is stacked wood and obviously this can vary depending on how dense the wood is stacked and the size of the splits.
 
yeah, i've heard it before "well, when we say it's a cord we are talking about a face cord" my FIL said that. bottom line is that you can call a donkey a horse, but you'd be wrong. a cord is a cord ESPECIALLY on this forum. (let's not confuse it by talking about modifiers like pulp cord, etc)
 
I personally only burn the stove-face-holzen-cord. :coolsmirk:
 
...Or, if you head on over to the Wood Shed it is called a "manly cord" and a "girly cord". ;-)
 
One side of the cord is the face, and you can guess what the other side is.
 
cycloxer said:
...also, that is stacked wood and obviously this can vary depending on how dense the wood is stacked and the size of the splits.
Click to expand...
What was that old saying about stacking wood for cord measuring?...

"If you're a seller, stack it so a cat can run through the gaps. If you're a buyer, stack it so that a mouse can't."

or something like that.
 
I CONSIDER A CORD TO BE A STACK 4X4X8 FOOT (OR EQUIVALENT) AND A FACE CORD TO BE A THIRD OF THAT GIVEN THAT THREE ROWS OF 16 INCH LONG, FOUR FOOT HIGH, 8 FOOT LONG ROWS WILL AMOUNT TO A CORD.
 
No need to SHOUT.
 
i trust on this site a cord is 4'x4'x8'. pete
 
4x4x8 is the only cord I know of. I think we have beat this one to death! :lol:
 
Pretty soon somebody is going to quote a regulation from whatever state they live in stating that a cord is 128 cubic feet and it is illegal to sell wood by any other measurement. Then 5 guys from the same state will post links to craig's list with people selling face cords, pickup truck loads claimed to be full cords, bush cords, chords, and quarts of wood. A cord ought to mean 128 cubic feet and usually does here, but not everywhere is as civilized as this forum.
 
I cut my rounds 18 to 20 inches long so when I split and stack I get more like 4'X8'X40”.
Do most cut their rounds to 24” so they get 128 CF??
My stacks are closer to 106.6 CF. Averaging 19” lengths and leaving a 2” space between rows.
Even though this is not 128 CF, I would consider it to be a full cord.
 
BigV said:
I cut my rounds 18 to 20 inches long so when I split and stack I get more like 4'X8'X40”.
Do most cut their rounds to 24” so they get 128 CF??
My stacks are closer to 106.6 CF. Averaging 19” lengths and leaving a 2” space between rows.
Even though this is not 128 CF, I would consider it to be a full cord.
Click to expand...

good point! many wood dealers also give you 16-18 inch.... all i do is measure 4x4x8 if the wood fits in , its a cord anything over = better for me.. anything less= i am calling back
 
Wood Duck said:
Pretty soon somebody is going to quote a regulation from whatever state they live in stating that a cord is 128 cubic feet and it is illegal to sell wood by any other measurement. Then 5 guys from the same state will post links to craig's list with people selling face cords, pickup truck loads claimed to be full cords, bush cords, chords, and quarts of wood. A cord ought to mean 128 cubic feet and usually does here, but not everywhere is as civilized as this forum.
Click to expand...

Now that was good stuff right there. I agree with everything said.
 
It really is not that complicated. It matters not what length it's bucked to, nor does it matter how high and long you stack it. If the dimensions of a well ranked stack calculates out to 128 cu ft, then you have a cord. If you cannot do the math, there are online calculators that will do it for you provided your stack has somewhat parallel edges to it.

Here is one that works even if you don't live in Maine.
http://www.maine.gov/ag/firewood.html
 
Carbon_Liberator said:
So if I load up the back of my truck with a pile of wood that should be about a "cord", right?

;-)
Click to expand...

Entirely depends on your truck eh? Certainly not in my truck. Around here there are lots of folks in trucks smaller than mine who seem to think that is about right though and that somehow saying "Nobody else has complained" has some merit and/or meaning in the discussion.
 
So a face cord of 4' long logs would be a full cord? If she weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood and we burn her?
 
Franks said:
So a face cord of 4' long logs would be a full cord? If she weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood and we burn her?
Click to expand...

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science???


So,,,, if a load of wood weighs as much as a duck,,,,,,, it must therefore be a,,, Cord!
 
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