24/7 burners required.

[Chas0218]

1. Location
Central Southern Tier NY (Watkins Glen N.Y. area)
2. Weather conditions
Highs in the 30s lows in the Teens for most of the 24/7 burning time.
3. Insulation of the house
1500 sq.ft. New in the last year, well sealed and insulated.
4. Dryness of the wood
CSS 6 months -1 year all Ash 20% M.C.
5. Efficiency of the stove
Summers heat SSW02 70ish%?
6. House size
3000 sq.ft. 2 story stove on 1st floor 1 end of house with mostly open floor plan for both floors
Usage:
The last couple years are about the same so far, I manage to use about 1 cord/month starting in Nov. Late Oct. Last year I went through aprox. 6.5 cords (19 Face cords) last season. I usually start burning 24/7 in the middle of Nov. around Thanksgiving. The average temp in our house is around 70* obviously higher when in the middle of a burn and lower at the ends. So far I've calculated 3.17 cords and have enough to burn 2 more cord. Last year I burned all the way to May and hoping that isn't the case this year. I would love to have a 5 cord average but doubt that will happen.

 

[Chas0218]

I think I could make a pretty good argument that, other than the extremes (hello, Minnesota), 95% - 99% of full-time burners max out around 4 cords per stove per year. Most folks loading 2x - 3x per day into a 2.5 - 3.0 cubic foot stove, over the course of 6 months + shoulder seasons, are going to be limited by how much wood they can reasonably put thru that stove than anything else.

There are obvious exceptions, those running 4 cubic foot stoves, and the few of us running multiple stoves. But I watch these threads come up every year, and the overwhelming response is always 3 - 4 cords per stove per year.

I managed 6.5 last year running 3 fires a day at 3 cu.f.t I also burned from Oct. up to May. At that point I was burngin higher M.C. wood and wasn't worth the headache.

If I did the math and used 3 cu.ft. it would be 42.6 fires to burn exactly 1 cord of wood. Divide that by 30 (average days of a month) that is 1.42 fires a day. If you do 3 fires at 3 cu.ft. for 30 days that equates out to 270 cu.ft. of wood burned in an average month which is 2.1 cords.

BUT

stoves aren't measured with fire blocks so you would need to figure the usable volume of a stove.

 

[Chas0218]

Ok so with my 3.2 cu.ft. firebox the usable volume is 2.6 minus .2 cu.ft. for air gaps in wood and I get 144 cu.f.t of wood burning 2 times per a day for 30 days so about 1&1/8 cords of wood. So with a stove similar to mine you could burn up to 1&5/8 cords if burning 3 fires per a day per 1 month.

I will say it's possible to burn more but unlikely. So there you have it math and all.

 

[georgepds]

NE Ma , on the coast.. burn 2 chords a year, been doing it since 1984. During the shoulder season I use the heat pumps. Before I had them, I used propane backup. The propane has not turned on at all for the last couple of years

Back when I had a smoke dragon it was about 4 chords

The house is 1500 ft^2, and is a fishbowl ( about 30 windows). 1990 level of insulation and tightness (~6" fiberglass bats)

 

[BIGChrisNH]

In southern New Hampshire 5 cords would do me well for a season burning 24/7 during a typical winter

 

[Zack R]

4-5 cords of pine a season (Mid Sept through early May). Not 24x7 that whole time but it does heat the whole house, the only time I use the furnace is when I'm out of town.

We are colder than the US average here.

 

[Ashful]

I managed 6.5 last year running 3 fires a day at 3 cu.f.t

You, like I, are the aforementioned “exception”.

Ok so with my 3.2 cu.ft. firebox the usable volume is 2.6 minus .2 cu.ft. for air gaps in wood and I get 144 cu.f.t of wood burning 2 times per a day for 30 days so about 1&1/8 cords of wood.

My stoves are rated 2.65 cu.ft., but somehow I pack them to the gills and only average 2 cu.ft. of stacked cordwood per load. Go figure. I suspect 99.9999% of firebox ratings are complete BS, including space into which one could never actually load wood, such as including volume above the door header.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Central Virginia

House is underground on three sides with exposed roof and front side facing due south. 2200 square feet with 10 foot cielings. Open floor plan. One large main room with stove, two large bedrooms/baths off to each side. Very well insulated.

Jotul F600 in main room.

Firewood is a mix of everything from pine to oak, all between 12 and 20% moisture.

We go through 2-4 cords/year depending on temps.

House is on average about 75 degrees.

 

[ray milosh]

We heat/cook/bake/heat water with about 1 to 1.5 cords a year in a fairly well insulated and partially solar heated 800 ft2 house in central NC.
The stove is a Waterford Stanley. It's certainly not all that efficient..

 

[rwhite]

North central Idaho. Burn a mix of pine, red and white fir. Usually 3 cords year burning 24/7 from Oct-Apr. I'll burn occasionally during the shoulder season but usually use propane so the house doesn't get so hot. With shoulder season on the house and heating my 20x30 shop when I'm working I usually go through 200 gal of propane a year. I keep 5 cords cut because I can store that much inside. If I get the wood in and split by the end of June it is dry enough to burn if needed but I'm more or less a year ahead

 

[boxerdogheidi]

Eastern Ontario. 1600 square foot uninsulated 1840 farm house. Home all day. 25 face cord mixed hardwood in 2 stoves.

 

[mcdougy]

Eastern Ontario. 1600 square foot uninsulated 1840 farm house. Home all day. 25 cord mixed hardwood in 2 stoves.

OMG.....that's non stop work.....

 

[Ashful]

Eastern Ontario. 1600 square foot uninsulated 1840 farm house. Home all day. 25 face cord mixed hardwood in 2 stoves.

OMG.....that's non stop work.....

Nah, his face cord cord is made of parque blocks, it's only 4" deep. That 25 face cord is 2 cords.

... or it might as well be, face cord is a unit of area, not volume. I think that people who use face cords just like to make it sound like they have (whether selling or using) more wood than they really do. Similarly, I can measure a gallon of milk by how many square feet of floor it would cover, when poured out, but that’s not of much use to anyone.

 

[saewoody]

I have consistently burned about 5 cords a year for the last 5-6 years. Good insulation, 2 story house, about probably less than 2400 sq ft.


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[Woodsplitter67]

Im in south jersey
Wood is my primary heat
House is well insulated 2x6 exterior walls
Open floor plan house at 70 degrees
Right now im just about 2 cords..
For the season about 3 to 3.25 cords
Wood being used oak, some cherry,little walnut
Using a cat stove

 

[Ashful]

I average a full cord every 3 weeks. If I keep the stoves going until the end, I can do about 10 cords per year. But when yard work season starts up in spring, I often want my wood wagon for moving mulch, and get a little too busy and lazy, so I often cut the wood burning season short at less than the full ten.

Edit: just saw post 2

1. Location
southeast PA

2. Weather conditions
Winter? 5000 HDD/year

3. Insulation of the house
Mixed.

4000 sq ft uninsulated stone
+ 800 sq ft balloon frame with polystyrene beads
+ 2000 sq ft blown in cellulose
+ 1500 sq ft spray foam

4. Dryness of the wood
3-4 years stacked outdoors, covered summer prior to use

5. Efficiency of the stove
Blaze King > 83%

6. House size
8100 sq ft, but not all is on wood

7. Etc.
Also using 1000 gal oil + $250 - $450/mo electric

 

[charger4406]

I use +- 10 cords for both stoves, would be closer to 14, but I also use a tank of oil and the heat pump,
so about $700 electrical bill yearly as well. Spring and fall are way to busy around here to load stoves,
except to take the chill off at night.

 

[edyit]

1. Location
Adirondacks in Northern NY
2. Insulation of the house
1963 Sears Home Kit with lots of added insulation
3. Efficiency of the stove
Madison 50-shssw01 72% - 78%
4. House size
~1500 sqr ft Ranch style
Usage:
~4 cords of mixed hardwood a year

I can measure a gallon of milk by how many square feet of floor it would cover

is that on carpet or bare floors?