Okay, here's a simple question you can anwer very quickly to help me plan. How many cords/face cords do you burn per week/month/season. You choose the variables. Yeah, I know, every stove is different, every house is different, some like it hot, and so on. But just for giggles, I'd like to see the stats. Keep it simple!
How Much Wood Woulda...
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!! And not as cold as the men in the North or East. Burn 24-7I appreciate your reply. Hoping to get a bunch, then maybe I can plan a little. Even at work, where six or seven guys burn, there is great difference between answers...
I'm getting 7 weeks out of one cord of maple in my Russo stove. Been burning 24/7 since before Thanksgiving.
brooktrout said:
A face cord is only 1/4 cord of wood, less than a regular truck bed full. I can fit a 1/2 cord in mine, but she squats a bit.
Not unbelievable at all. To me that seems a little on the low end of consumption, given the weather is cold. Most of the fall, and now winter, I have used probably a cord. Now that isn't a lot of wood this year at all for me. I have been burning since November. If the temps outside hang out in the 40's like it has been, 6 to 10 pieces of wood will last me 24 hours. Getting a fire going at 10PM, letting it die in the overnight hours. Building one in the am, and letting it die again. Right now it is 5 degrees out, and I have went through 12 pieces since 2pm, and will probably use another 5 before I get home from work at 8am. If you plan to burn 24/7 as a primary heat source, a safe bet would be 4-5 cords for your area. If that is too much at the end of the heating season, you have more for next year, and wood is like money, can't have too much...
Lignums- thanks for the reply. I think my problem is the stove. It is a 1987 Buckstove, obviously non-cat. It is a large unit, 550 lbs. But it eats wood like crazy. I started a fire four hours ago, and not including small splits to get it going, have fed six 5"-6" pieces into it. I've had this unit going for a few weeks, but burning mostly on wknds. I must be doing something wrong- even an 80's era airtight stove shouldn't be this innefficient, should it?
brooktrout said:
I was thinking that too, but I cut my wood a little shorter, so as to have the ability to load the wood in any direction I want. My apologies on the wrong information, I was using my own stacking, not the standard. And even so, 1/3 is not a whole lot of wood. Your burner is just a big beastly stove, nothing wrong with it, just that it eats wood like we breath air.
By the way- my son is six years old too, and He LOVES helping me stack- I don't even have to ask. Lets have a kid stack-off!
My son gets into it up until I get into it and stop paying 'so-close' attention, then he sneaks around and picks up my smaller saw and pretends to be cutting wood. I act like I don't see him for a while, but then he usually comes back around and helps out till the jobs done. If one of the neighbors come over to chat, he usually quips, "my daddy says no breaks till the job's done", looking up and smiling. "Sometimes", I usually tell him, but is amazing how well he can keep up when he keeps his mind on what he is doing.
The only problem with stackin with my son is that he gets ocd with the neatness of the stack- the peices must fit like a puzzle for him. I try to explain to him about the air needing to circulate, but he likes things neat and tidy.
Heating 24/7 since end of October, second half of November and most of December below normal temps this year, I'm approaching 2 cords though mostly middle BTU wood like elm, red maple, and lots of hemlock, some poplar and pine all burned in a Woodstock Keystone soapstone cat stove. House is 70-73 just about always 
Tonight a big split of black locust, and then packed full with smaller splits of locust and red oak to get through temps of 3F and wind chills to -10.
Tonight a big split of black locust, and then packed full with smaller splits of locust and red oak to get through temps of 3F and wind chills to -10.I asked this question back in July when I first got my stove. I was told a cord a month and it looks to be pretty accurate. My wood probably isn't the best and I'm new, so I probably do better next year.
brooktrout said:
That is so me...
I'm burning roughly a cord a month, last year I burned around 4.5 cords for the season.
Last year I went through 3 full cord of mixed oak and maple burning 24/7. This year so far I'm approaching 1.5 cords. Heating 1800 sq ft including basement.
We burn about three cord a season with non epa smoke dragon ( not much smoke) only source of heat, this morning when I got up for work at 5 it was -8 house was toasty warm stove down to bed of coals from last load at 10 last night
karl said:
Sorry- I did a search and couldn't find much. I knew I was asking waht was probably an oft-asked question, but I did try searchng first. So far, it seems like I am burning about 1/10th face cord per day.
That must be a tiny stove. 1/10 of a face cord is not much more than one filling up of the Summit.
128 cubic feet / 3 = 42.6 cubic feet/ a face cord.
42.6 /3 cubic foot fire box = 14.2 full loads in the stove.
128 cubic feet / 3 = 42.6 cubic feet/ a face cord.
42.6 /3 cubic foot fire box = 14.2 full loads in the stove.
Hi, I heat 2100 sq. ft., 24/7. I've been burning since mid October and have burned 1 1/2 so far, about 1/3 less than last year. Much better than the old stove.
My firebox measures 24" by 20" by 15". By my calculations, that's a 4 cubic foot box. Is that correct? Also, maybe I'm not doing this right- are you guys loading the stove up full everytime? I've been putting one or two 6" dia splits in at a time, usually once an hour. Do I have this wood burning thing all wrong? I've never had a stove before, only had this one a few weeks.karl said:
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I have a quadra-fire 5700, and a house that was built in 1820 something. the house is very drafty and very cut up. The floors are always cold, stone foundation ( no grout)with some of the house on slab on grade. I am figuring I am going to go through 6 cord this year if the weather holds. I have been burning 24/7 since mid October. I figure I have gone through 3 cord so far this season.
Okay, finally someone I can relate to. Mine's 1855, about 1300 sqft. I've renovated quite a bit, about 70% (new windows, sheathing, insulation, siding, etc.) But, as you well know, with old houses and their peculiar layouts, heating efficiently is always a battle. That's why I am trying wood this year. Doesn't help that my stove is 20yrs old, either.Jefflee1 said:
Brooktrout.
As you probably know the best thing is to insulate your house.. Yes I ahve done some. I have plastic and duct tape on my single pane 1900 windows ( yes I am a redneck )
I bought my stove 2 yrs ago this is my second season with it. Last year i went through 3 cord, but I wasn't burning 24/7.
before that I have a "all nighter" wood stove a friend gave me. I could only get 4 hrs burn time out of it no matter what I did. A new stove wouldd make a huge diffrence.
I am also looking at of the Pacific Energy T5 or T6 to put in my dinning room/kitchen. for times like the last couple day where I can get the living room up to 80 if I want but the dinning room and kitchen is around 60, even with a fan between the rooms.
Every sales person I talked to said the 5700 was WAY to big for my needs, One sales person said he "wouldn't even sell em that stove if I wanted it" but I have to damit, I wouldn't have gotten anything smaller for my main stove. I filled it last night at midnight, keep nice and warm all night, about 30% open. when I woke this morning at 7 or so, I opened it up all the way since I only had coals left, but there were a lot of them. I am burning all hard wood, maple. oak, hickory, 2 years old..
As you probably know the best thing is to insulate your house.. Yes I ahve done some. I have plastic and duct tape on my single pane 1900 windows ( yes I am a redneck )
I bought my stove 2 yrs ago this is my second season with it. Last year i went through 3 cord, but I wasn't burning 24/7.
before that I have a "all nighter" wood stove a friend gave me. I could only get 4 hrs burn time out of it no matter what I did. A new stove wouldd make a huge diffrence.
I am also looking at of the Pacific Energy T5 or T6 to put in my dinning room/kitchen. for times like the last couple day where I can get the living room up to 80 if I want but the dinning room and kitchen is around 60, even with a fan between the rooms.
Every sales person I talked to said the 5700 was WAY to big for my needs, One sales person said he "wouldn't even sell em that stove if I wanted it" but I have to damit, I wouldn't have gotten anything smaller for my main stove. I filled it last night at midnight, keep nice and warm all night, about 30% open. when I woke this morning at 7 or so, I opened it up all the way since I only had coals left, but there were a lot of them. I am burning all hard wood, maple. oak, hickory, 2 years old..
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