How much wood

[wdenton]

I just put my wood stove in last year (Fireview).
I am in Michigan and last year I burned around 8 face cords from Dec -
So this year I am figuring I will burn around 12 this year

does this sound correct.

Also how much do you burn a year.

This is our only source of heat in an old 2 story farm house.

 

[latitude45]

I burn around 12 face cord in our 60s brick 2,500 sqft single level house.. Its our only source as well.. But you can never go wrong having more wood around..

 

[pen]

Lots of factors here. I'm of the school that says to err on the side of caution. I'd plan on having at least 15 face on hand. If there is left over, it will only be better seasoned for next year.

pen

 

[Creekyphil]

If you burned 8 face cords after christmas, I would say 12 is a reasonable est.

If, on the other hand, you burned 8 face cords after Dec 1st, you might get away with <10.

 

[nate379]

No idea what a face cord is but I burned about 3 cords last year.

 

[fabsroman]

No idea what a face cord is but I burned about 3 cords last year.

Yeah, it took me a little while to figure out what a face cord is. Essentially, it is your preferred log length, which is ususally 18", by 4feet by 8 feet. Normally, there are three face cords in an actual cord. Me, I am going with 22" logs since my furnace accepts 24" logs, so I am very close to a full cord with just 2 face cords. Thing is, 22" rounds and 22" splits can be pretty heavy.

 

[nate379]

Gotcha. I cut my wood to 16" so a cord is 3 rows 4ft high 8ft long

 

[snowleopard]

After careful observation on this site, I have concluded that face wood doesn't grow west of the Mississippi

Okay, stop being so dol-garned snarky, and jest answer the question.

Lots of factors there, including the size of the house, orientation to the sun, windows, insulation, how good your chimney setup is, your climate, what you're burning for wood, and lots more. You get a feel for it over time. A pretty safe rule of thumb is to have a third to a half more of (truly) seasoned wood on hand than you think you need. Four to five cords will probably see you through a winter with a very comfortable margin of safety, and if you have some left over, you can always burn it next winter.

 

[Flatbedford]

I think that having 4 "dictionary" cords on hand is safe. It all depends on how early you start burning and when you finish. My first year with the Fireview it was about 3 2/3 cord and last year was just over 4, but we were still burning in April and I had about 1 cord of relatively low BTU Norway Maple so my consumption was higher. When burning 24/7 my Fireview consumes about 1/3 cord every 10 days or so. Shoulder season I could get 2 weeks or more from that.

 

[KodiakII]

The standard for a face cord is usually 12"or 16. but I don't think anything is chiseled in stone (gov. weights and measures dept.). Being such an ambiguous term you could end up on the short end of things quite easily.

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't do "non-dictionary chords" . . . for me it's all in cords -- a measurement I can readily tell folks and they know exactly how much wood I have.

I figure 5-6 cords . . .

 

[mayhem]

If I only went through 3 cords of wood a year it would be awesome!

 

[fossil]

It's not rocket science...all the numbers we deal with when it comes to wood quantities are approximations to one extent or another. One cord will not likely ever contain exactly the same amount of wood as another, simply because of splitting and stacking variables. I don't deal in face cords here where I live, but I've just come to think of a face cord as ~1/3 cord. Works for me. Rick

 

[wood spliter]

I use between 4 and 5 cords. 24/7 I go home at lunch and add wood. I start October and go till April. We don't burn allot before November or after March.

 

[blujacket]

Only burn 2 cords here.

 

[weatherguy]

First year I started late and burned close to 3 cords, last year I burned over 4 cords, Im trying to get ahead and have 5 per year from now on, like everyone says, if you dont use it this year its all the better for the next year.

 

[rdust]

I burned in the neighborhood of 5 cords(15 face) last year burning from October-April. Around three cords were soft maple the rest ash.

 

[NH_Wood]

Right around 5 cord - ~ 90% white ash. Cheers!

 

[PapaDave]

Trying to hold off burning until I really need to and stop sooner than usual,......but I doubt that'll happen. Actually, I know that ain't happening, cause we've already had about 3 small morning fires when the house temp got below 60 in the morning. I remember a couple of years ago, if the house got down around 65, I was burnin' some wood! Not so much anymore.
We usually use almost 5 cord in a 1240 sq. ft ranch (no basement) with less than ideal insulation in most of the house. This is going from the end of Sept. until mid- May.
The stove is an older air-tight step top steel hunk o' metal.
Does pretty well until the temp gets below 0.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I'm right near the Mason Dixon Line, on the PA side, and I burn 5 to 6 cord each winter. I burn all winter long, every day.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I just put my wood stove in last year (Fireview).
I am in Michigan and last year I burned around 8 face cords from Dec -
So this year I am figuring I will burn around 12 this year

does this sound correct.

Also how much do you burn a year.

This is our only source of heat in an old 2 story farm house.

Welcome to the forum wdenton.

Not sure where you live in MI but we have something in common in that we also have a Fireview. Before the Fireview we used to burn 6 cord or more (full cord). After getting the Fireview, we now burn 3 cord. But as to how much more you will burn this year, that somewhat depends upon where you are located. For example, if you live, say, in Bruce's Crossing you would burn a lot more. If you lived near the Indiana/Ohio border then not so much. We live in Central MI and burn 3 cord per year with last year being just a tad over 3 cord. One other year a tad under 3 cord. We've had the Fireview for 4 winters now.

But, the early part of the heating season, October and November, you won't go through very much wood at all compared with later when the cold really hits.

 

[wdenton]

Backwoods
thanks for the welcome

I see you are also from Michigan.

I am in the Fenton (Flint)area

Where are you from?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We live west of Chesaning so we are not too far apart.

 

[EJL923]

If I could give advice to a new burner on how much wood to get for their first year, i would tell them 5 cords. I agree with everyone who says to err on the side of caution, but a lot of people dont want to store a whole lot of wood or even have the money to err on the safe side. Yoy may burn more than 5, you may burn less, but i bet it will get you just about all the way through winter. Take that data, and make sure you have enough for the next burning season.

I found that it is very hard to get ahead with your wood supply, mostly because of three factors. Some dont have the room to store it, some dont have the money to buy it right away, or some dont have the land to cut it. This is my third season, and i am just about up to next years supply. Took me three years to do that.

 

[Uper]

We burned around 15 face cords last year. We have a small burn box and I tried to keep the fire burning straight through, but probably had it going about 85% of the winter. I think if you add about 3 - 4 cords to your total you would be okay. If it's your only heat source, I would err on the side of comfort!