Percentage of a Cord of Wood per tree?

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kevinwburke

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Nov 5, 2009
53
Central Mass
Is there a way to calculate what percentage of a cord you will get from a tree? In other words, if you have a tree that is 3 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall....how much wood will that yield? Wasn't sure of there was a thread here that deals with this "newbie" questions. Great forum here for us beginners.
 
There was a thread here a few months back that had a table that estimate the amount of cord a tree will produce based on its diameter at chest height
 
See page one:
(broken link removed to http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1554/build/g1554.pdf?redirected=true)
 
Thanks Jags - that is the chart I was thinking of
 
Wow...that is simpler than I imagined. I am surprised that there is no height of the tree in the calculation but I assume the diameter is a good indication of the height of the tree?

Thanks for your help.
 
kevinwburke said:
Wow...that is simpler than I imagined. I am surprised that there is no height of the tree in the calculation but I assume the diameter is a good indication of the height of the tree?

Thanks for your help.

Well...this is obviously a rough estimate. The variety of the tree can make quite a diff. A totem pole pine at 28" DBH and a 28" yard White Oak, is gonna yield two different things for firewood.
 
It also depends muchly on how many limbs it has. Cut in the center of the woods and the trees do not have many bottom limbs at all. Out in the open they get limby.
 
If you are getting logs delivered you can calculate the volume of the log then come up with a cord figure.

If a log was 20"dia. butt end 16" dia top end and 12ft long.

Volume of a cylinder: pi X r^2 X L
Average dia 20+16/2=18" so radius 9"

3.14 X 9^2 X 144in=36624.34cu in
1728cu in per cu ft= 21.19cu ft
128 cu ft per cord = .1655 cord account for ~15% airspace when stacking =.19 cord
 
afblue said:
If you are getting logs delivered you can calculate the volume of the log then come up with a cord figure.

If a log was 20"dia. butt end 16" dia top end and 12ft long.

Volume of a cylinder: pi X r^2 X L
Average dia 20+16/2=18" so radius 9"

3.14 X 9^2 X 144in=36624.34cu in
1728cu in per cu ft= 21.19cu ft
128 cu ft per cord = .1655 cord account for ~15% airspace when stacking =.19 cord

All the scroungers, (myself included) have a headache from this!
 
Werm said:
afblue said:
If you are getting logs delivered you can calculate the volume of the log then come up with a cord figure.

If a log was 20"dia. butt end 16" dia top end and 12ft long.

Volume of a cylinder: pi X r^2 X L
Average dia 20+16/2=18" so radius 9"

3.14 X 9^2 X 144in=36624.34cu in
1728cu in per cu ft= 21.19cu ft
128 cu ft per cord = .1655 cord account for ~15% airspace when stacking =.19 cord

All the scroungers, (myself included) have a headache from this!

Hey beggars cant be choosers!!! Scrounge it, split and stack, repeat process till your wife yells at you because you have wood coming out your ears.
 
Werm said:
All the scroungers, (myself included) have a headache from this!

Scrounger math is simple. Gather as much as you can while the gathering is good. There will be time for splittin stackin and countin later.
 
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