Hi Guys, People talk about face cord and real cord what do most of you use to find out how much wood you use during the winter
cord of wood
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
Not sure what that means, but here, 1 cord is usually assumed to mean 128 cu.ft. of wood. It may not stack to 48x48x96 inches, cut at 20" lengths, but it damn well better be 128 cu.ft.
I never heard of "face cords," till I came here.
I used 5.5 full cords last year, and ran out of wood in the first week of March, but maybe two cords of that was poplar or soft Maple. Hoping to use less this year with 100% walnut and ash in the queue, but being the first full year with both stoves running, may burn even more.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
swagler85
Minister of Fire
Face cords are a way many people use to sell wood for less money to someone that doesn't know any better
teutonicking
Feeling the Heat
Like everyone said, a cord is 4' x 4' x 8'. But one thing I have learned is that very few folks have 24" (or two foot long splits). The norm is much closer to 18 inch long wood. So if you have 18" long wood splits, you would need 2 and 2/3 racks that are 8 feet long and 4 feet high to equal one cord.
A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, and the 128 cubic feet includes both the wood and the space in between the pieces of wood. The typical way to describe a cord is a tightly stacked stack of split firewood, the stack measuring 4 feet tall, 8 ft long and 4 feet wide. Of course that amount of wood would be a cord no matter how it is stacked, but 4x4x8 ft is the way a cord is often described to make it easy to picture in your imagination.
So, the "face" of a standard cord is 4 ft tall and 8 ft long. If you make a stack of 16 inch splits that is 4 ft tall and 8 ft long, the "face" of your stack looks like a cord, but it is only 1/3 as wide as a standard cord. This 4 ft x 8 ft x 16 inch stack is called a face cord. It is 1/3 the amount of wood found in a regular, dictionary cord.
A typical wood stove user burns about 3 or 4 full cords during the winter. If you have a wood furnace and big house you might burn 6 or 8 but that is unusual I think. If you burn only for fun, only weekends, etc. you might burn only 2 cords per winter. I'd go with 4 cords as an estimate of how much you'll burn in a winter.
So, the "face" of a standard cord is 4 ft tall and 8 ft long. If you make a stack of 16 inch splits that is 4 ft tall and 8 ft long, the "face" of your stack looks like a cord, but it is only 1/3 as wide as a standard cord. This 4 ft x 8 ft x 16 inch stack is called a face cord. It is 1/3 the amount of wood found in a regular, dictionary cord.
A typical wood stove user burns about 3 or 4 full cords during the winter. If you have a wood furnace and big house you might burn 6 or 8 but that is unusual I think. If you burn only for fun, only weekends, etc. you might burn only 2 cords per winter. I'd go with 4 cords as an estimate of how much you'll burn in a winter.
Cross Cut Saw
Feeling the Heat
I burn 4+ real cords.
The term of choice for wood dealers here is "loose thrown cord" which is how they screw you out of 28 cubic feet of wood in Maine.
The term of choice for wood dealers here is "loose thrown cord" which is how they screw you out of 28 cubic feet of wood in Maine.
Herein lies the problem.
Some "face cords" are 16" splits, and some are 20", and some are 24". Some are 18", and some are a hodgepodge of lengths.
If I pay $55 for a "face" that's 16", it's not too bad a deal. If I pay $55 for a "face" that's 24", I've gotten a steal of a deal (won't happen around here).
That's the problem with a non-standardized measurement.
So I have 4 rows of 10'x6'x18" and 4 rows of 7'x6'x18" how much wood do I have here. Thanks for the help.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
4 x 10 x 6 x 1.5 / 128 = 2.8 cords
4 x 7 x 6 x 1.5 / 128 = 2.0 cords
You have 4.8 cords of wood.
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
No, you'd have one and one eighth cords.
my calculations are giving me around 147 cu. ft. of wood, which is just over a cord......definitely not 4 cord though...
4' x 8' x 4.6' (54") = 147.2 cu.ft.
4' x 8' x 4.6' (54") = 147.2 cu.ft.
swagler85
Minister of Fire
Scotty there was two different measurements posted above. One was about a cord the other was 4
teutonicking
Feeling the Heat
That's what I was saying above. You would have a little more than a cord. You would only need 2 and 2/3 stacks like that to have one cord.
That is good to know at least I know if the 3 stacks are gone I burned 1 cord of wood. That is to be on the save side because there are a few gaps between the wood
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
I layed out exactly 1 cord of wood that is ready to burn. This is how I will determine how much wood I use this upcoming year. If and when I finish that full cord, I have 2 face cords ready to go. I hope to keep track of what I burn, like keeping a journal....
Now I can keep track on what I burn every season. I use to have it in a big pile. It is stacked now and because of the guys here I know how much I have.
HDRock
Minister of Fire
You can always go to the top of the page in wood shed ,click on cord calculators and go here http://www.maine.gov/ag/firewood.html easy peezy
Experience will tell you how much.
I use about 5 cord/year with an old airtight stove. Some here with newer stoves use a similar amount.
Some however, use about 3.
It's actually a big mystery until you've gotten a couple seasons under your belt.
How big the house is, how well it's insulated, do you burn 24/7 or just nights and weekends, do you like it 68 or 75 in the house are all factors. There are more, but that should give you an idea how tough it is to answer the question.
Knowing what you have is the only way to know how much you've used, and how much to get ready for next year.
I use about 5 cord/year with an old airtight stove. Some here with newer stoves use a similar amount.
Some however, use about 3.
It's actually a big mystery until you've gotten a couple seasons under your belt.
How big the house is, how well it's insulated, do you burn 24/7 or just nights and weekends, do you like it 68 or 75 in the house are all factors. There are more, but that should give you an idea how tough it is to answer the question.
Knowing what you have is the only way to know how much you've used, and how much to get ready for next year.
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