So a local nursery by me has been selling mixed hardwood in these large tote bags. The lady over the phone states they are taller than her and she is 5'3. According to her, 2 of these bags is roughly equivalent to a cord. What would y'all say.
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Is this a cord?
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Prof
Minister of Fire
I can't see how two of these would be a cord. Estimating how much is there would be difficult at best given that the wood is just thrown in the bags.
A standard pallet is 4x4 a cord is 8 feet long by 4' deep by 4' high. If the bags were filled exactly square then you would be getting over and approximate cord. The taller bags probably would make up the difference in loss volume of bulging round bags and square packing. If you want to do the math, the area of a circle is the width of the pallet /2 squared multiplied by PI (3.14159) so if the pallet is 4' wide divide by 2. 2 feet squared = 4 feet Multiplied by 3.14159 = 12.56 feet. There are two "rounded" pallets so double it for footprint of 25.13 square feet. A rectangular footprint would be 4 foot by 8 foot or 32 feet. So with no bulging of the bags, the foot print is 78% of a rectangular footprint. So each stack needs to be taller. When I do the math 5' makes up the difference.
The problem is a cord is strictly a volume measurement and does not take stacking density into account. A bag like those shown have a lot of air void space, probably great for drying but if stacking in a conventional stack there could be a lot of volume lost. This is inherent with buying wood by overall volume. I have no hard studies but I have seen speculation of a loose stack stacked tight could vary by 30%.
So if you are behind on wood, you may want a stack with lots of air voids especially if you could put a roof over them as they will dry quicker versus a tight stack which would take a lot longer to dry.
The problem is a cord is strictly a volume measurement and does not take stacking density into account. A bag like those shown have a lot of air void space, probably great for drying but if stacking in a conventional stack there could be a lot of volume lost. This is inherent with buying wood by overall volume. I have no hard studies but I have seen speculation of a loose stack stacked tight could vary by 30%.
So if you are behind on wood, you may want a stack with lots of air voids especially if you could put a roof over them as they will dry quicker versus a tight stack which would take a lot longer to dry.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
I am selling wood on pallets.. each pallet is .5 cords, mine is stacked different.. mines actually stacked on the pallet and is 4x4x4ft. I would say that is close enouge to a cord to purchase especially if the price is decent. what are they selling it for.. whats the MC of the wood.. If its close enough Id go there and check it out..
That's great information. It's mixed hardwood seasoned for a year and change. I'm being told MC is 20% roughly or below. 125 a pallet. 110 to deliver. So 360 for a cord delivered, 610 for 2 cords delivered.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
I'd love to but I don't have a pickup truck. They are giving me a 10 dollar discount since I'm ordering before 0ctober. I'm going to call back in a few days to see if I can negotiate it down a bit more if I order 3 cords
Order,.stack properly and let us know it it's half a cord per bag...
Hard wood (but not oak) seasoned like this for a year may be 25 pct, but not likely 20 pct (measured on a freshly split surface) imo.
So I'd also get a moisture meter to check their claim. After all you're paying for it.
Hard wood (but not oak) seasoned like this for a year may be 25 pct, but not likely 20 pct (measured on a freshly split surface) imo.
So I'd also get a moisture meter to check their claim. After all you're paying for it.
Yeah, was planning to upload a photo of it stacked once I get it situated. I've still got quite a few rounds to split that a local tree service guy dropped off for free which won't be ready for this winter.
woodey
Feeling the Heat
I guess it depends on how you define a cord. Here in my neck of the woods 4'x8'x16" is what everyone refers to as a cord.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
That's true...I could see those easily being a "face cord" (1/3 cord)
Actually, after thinking about it a bit...I think this is most likely...if the stack is 5.5' tall, and 42 x 42" diameter (and its more round than square) I come up with .4 cord...and then take about 25% off that for being tossed, not stacked...comes out to about 1/3 of a full cord neatly stacked.
Definitely take a moisture reading on the center of a split that you just re-split...bet they are not actually dry. (20% or under)
Prof
Minister of Fire
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
Id go there and check the MC on a pice to see where it is. Split 1 open and on the freshly split face put in the pins of the moisture meter.. Dont check by the end grain.. thats a false reading..
A cord is 4x4x8 anything else isn't a cord no matter what you call it
woodey
Feeling the Heat
I know that, what I was implying was that it is a local thing to refer to a cord as I stated above. If you look at local classifieds here all cords are listed as $50.00-70 per cord.
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that is $150. per full cord . 4x8x16" = apx 48 cf . 42.6 is about 1/3of a full cord ( full cord volume =128cf ) depending on your locality 1/3 of a cord is called a face cord or a Rick and there are some other terms. Depending on how it is measured/stacked there could be up to 30% of air space which would reduce that 48cf to apx 33.6 cf. Buyer beware
Most people in my area refer to a face cord as a “cord”. It’s something I had to get used to when I joined this site. That when someone said “cord” they meant what to me was a “full cord”.
Green wood is 135$ for a full cord in my area.
To me the bags look like they hold about a face cord each.
Green wood is 135$ for a full cord in my area.
To me the bags look like they hold about a face cord each.
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