Wood Usage

[HotCoals]

But if a cord of 128 CF is 4 rows of splits, each row 4' x 8' x 12" is one row still a face cord? Could I deliver 4' x 8' x 6" and call it a face cord?

KaptJaq

I would guess so..but nobody does that around here..lol.

 

[Ashful]

I don't understand that at all and never heard that before.
A face cord is 1/3 of a cord around here. 4x8x16" unless length is special ordered.

No, it's not. You live in NY. Even the NY state web site uses a 1/2 cord face cord (4' x 8' x 24") as their example of a face cord, on the page I had quoted above. Bottom line, a "face cord" is defined as 4' x 8' x whatever length your splits happen to be.

A cord is a measure of volume. A face cord is a measure of area.

You may also see wood advertised by a "face cord" with the length of the pieces. A 24 inch face cord is 24 inches wide by four feet high by eight feet long.

(broken link removed to http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/WM/WMwood.html)

 

[HotCoals]

No, it's not. You live in NY. Even the NY state web site uses a 1/2 cord face cord (4' x 8' x 24") as their example of a face cord, on the page I had quoted above. Bottom line, a "face cord" is defined as 4' x 8' x whatever length your splits happen to be. A cord is a measure of volume. A face cord is a measure of area.

Well that's not the way we talk about a FC around here..and i deal with diff wood sellers.
But I agree a face cord can be any length x4x8. But I always see it around at 16".
Also I guess if it was cut 24 x4x8 it would be a 1/2 cord..never seen it though.

 

[Ashful]

Well that's not the way we talk about around here..and i deal with diff wood sellers.
But I agree a face cord can be any length x4x8. But I always see it around at 16".

Yep... I agree that 16" or 18" is the assumed length, in most cases, but it's not a legal definition of volume. When I burn one of my "face cords", I'm burning 50% more than anyone cutting at 16", so using face cords (per the OP) to measure your wood usage is ambiguous.

 

[HotCoals]

Yep... I agree that 16" or 18" is the assumed length, in most cases, but it's not a legal definition of volume. When I burn one of my "face cords", I'm burning 50% more than anyone cutting at 16", so using face cords (per the OP) to measure your wood usage is ambiguous.

It can be confusing no doubt.
Prolly better just to talk in fraction of cords.

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

I never seem to have enough c/s/s. I have the wood, just not enough time to get it processed in time. I have been able to supplement with slab wood from a local sawmill.

 

[Holiday]

Using fractions of cords if not talking about a whole cord would make the most sense in my opinion, the unit of measure is the same for everyone that way and there's no confusion.

 

[begreen]

I don't get this "face cord" thing. My face cords are 1/2 cord, your face cords might be 1/3 cord. I only burned 11 of my face cords last year, but that would be 16.5 of your face cords. Either way, it's 5.5 cords, and I ran out of wood Mar.6.

I have always read that a face cord or a rick is 1/3d of a full cord or one row stacked 4'x8'x16".

 

[begreen]

I never seem to have enough c/s/s. I have the wood, just not enough time to get it processed in time. I have been able to supplement with slab wood from a local sawmill.

It's hard to do with a full time job and being a single parent. Cut yourself some slack.

 

[Ashful]

Using fractions of cords if not talking about a whole cord would make the most sense in my opinion, the unit of measure is the same for everyone that way and there's no confusion.

Maybe we should measure in cc's... or even minims.

Tablespoons, anyone?

 

[fbelec]

Wow...that's a lot of wood. I think we went through about 8 or 9 (not fully seasoned) face cords last year burning a lot of box elder. Now I'm wondering what this year will bring burning pine. So far we've gone through about 3/4 of a face cord (we have a rack that's just shy of 4x8 so it's easy to measure) but we used more than we needed this past weeekend keeping it up in the 80's in here to help dry out some damp wood from a leak (completely non-stove related). We're hoping to keep to 7-8 face cords usage per season. I guess I'll score one for a small house, lol.

Ouch, I see you buy it. Do you have to have it delivered? If so...double ouch. Have you found anyone with actual seasoned wood? I know there's a guy in the Clarence area advertising seasoned/dry or your $$ back (or was, last season anyway), but I think he was at like $110 a FC picked up.

i burn pine for the not so cold times or shoulder seasons. two years ago i ran pine for almost the whole season. i used hardwood for the overnight bitter times but pine during the day and normal cold. i usually burn 4 cord of hardwood a year. that season with pine was 5.5 cord of pine and .5 cord of hardwood. just to give you a idea of how much.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Well that's not the way we talk about a FC around here..and i deal with diff wood sellers.
But I agree a face cord can be any length x4x8. But I always see it around at 16".
Also I guess if it was cut 24 x4x8 it would be a 1/2 cord..never seen it though.

I usually see more like 18" lengths around here. The one guy we bought from had some that wouldn't even fit in the stove, even if we turned them cross ways! Saw a few complaints about him on CL, but for the price, we were happy with what we got. So we had to toss a few to the side and hit them with the saw later, and we had to resplit a few (too big of chunks), but I think we paid $60 a FC delivered and after stacking it seemed pretty much right on for quantity. He said he sells mostly to people with OWB so they don't care if the pieces are a bit longer. Even with our stash o pine, we're thinking of picking up a couple of FC from him next spring to throw in a couple racks so we'll have some hardwood on hand later, for those few times we're in the teens/single digits.

 

[eclecticcottage]

i burn pine for the not so cold times or shoulder seasons. two years ago i ran pine for almost the whole season. i used hardwood for the overnight bitter times but pine during the day and normal cold. i usually burn 4 cord of hardwood a year. that season with pine was 5.5 cord of pine and .5 cord of hardwood. just to give you a idea of how much.

Good to know, thanks! It is hard for us to compare since this will be the first season of all seasoned wood and just about no hardwood. Last year we had a lot of box elder and willow with some pine, but we also had left over hardwood (about 1 cord) that wasn't completely seasoned (css 1 year) and a couple packs of ecobricks. Really hard to get a handle on usage that way!

 

[Ashful]

I think we paid $60 a FC delivered and after stacking it seemed pretty much right on for quantity.

FC = Face Cord

FC = Full Cord

 

[eclecticcottage]

FC = Face Cord

FC = Full Cord

A cord is a cord, a Fc is a face cord. Who talks about Full Cords anyway??

 

[ddahlgren]

First thing I would suggestion is look for all the air infiltration. I use 3M heat shrink film and makes a big difference. Second is I do not need to heat the house to where it feels like August either. Own some long johns and be happy with 68 in the house and 62 in bedrooms. I am happy with 65 and 60 and have an electric blanket on the bed. Save the best wood for the coldest weather and longest burn then. I have learned a bunch of tricks to get the most for the least and it takes some effort but not all consuming effort.75 bucks worth of air infiltration mitigation efforts will cut consumption like crazy.

 

[HotCoals]

A cord is a cord, a Fc is a face cord. Who talks about Full Cords anyway??

Yep.
You ever see anybody around here selling by the cord..I never do.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Yep.
You ever see anybody around here selling by the cord..I never do.

Maybe once in a blue moon...but just about never.

 

[Ashful]

Yep.
You ever see anybody around here selling by the cord..I never do.

That is just bizarre. According to your dept. of weights and measures, all firewood sales in NY must be by volume, and must include a listed measurement of stack height, width, and length. I can just imagine the Craigslist ads.

Here, fractional cord sale is the law. According to our department of weights and measures: "All firewood sales in Pennsylvania must be sold by the cord or fraction of a cord. A cord is the legal description of amount of wood purchased. A cord is measured by stacking the wood 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet in length or a total of 128 cubic feet."

 

[HotCoals]

That is just bizarre.

Here, it's the law. According to our department of weights and measures: "All firewood sales in Pennsylvania must be sold by the cord or fraction of a cord. A cord is the legal description of amount of wood purchased. A cord is measured by stacking the wood 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet in length or a total of 128 cubic feet."

We go by the same deal.
What I'm saying is the wood that is for sale is almost always stacked 4x8x16 or so.
People around here sell it by the face cord. Which is around 1/3 of a cord.
Some by the truck load which is another strange deal.

 

[HotCoals]

That is just bizarre. According to your dept. of weights and measures, all firewood sales in NY must be by volume, and must include a listed measurement of stack height, width, and length. I can just imagine the Craigslist ads.

Here, fractional cord sale is the law. According to our department of weights and measures: "All firewood sales in Pennsylvania must be sold by the cord or fraction of a cord. A cord is the legal description of amount of wood purchased. A cord is measured by stacking the wood 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet in length or a total of 128 cubic feet."

Listen..
people around here when they buy wood they don't say I want 3 and 1/3 cord of wood when they talk to a seller..they say I want 10 face cords..it's the way it is all around here.

 

[Seanm]

Just having fun with you folks out east I see above people saying this is the way it is around here... fair enough its a region to region thing. Its cool to see how people do things in different areas. Around here if you have to buy your wood you always buy it by the cord or half cord. When Im on hearth and see people talking how they have 6 face cords I chuckle and wonder why they aren't just saying they have 3 cord of wood. Ive often wondered if its a genuine thing based on their experiences or if it just sounds better to them because the number is higher!

 

[Wildo]

I buy my wood by the pound

 

[PDXpyro]

Yep, this whole "face cord" thing is strange to us here in NW Oregon. Couple days ago, I counted 140+ firewood ads on CL in a single day, and probably not one of them used the term. Just isn't done here -- you either get cords or fractions thereof, along with the usual smattering of dudes offering ambiguous "loads" or whatnot.

 

[Wildo]

5,000 lbs. per FC, 35,000 lbs. +/- @ a time. Half cords, and full cords up 'round heah. Only once have I been asked to sell a "face" cord. I said $ 140, they said for Fc length? I said its half a cord{24"}. they said no its a third{16"}. I said oh $250 then cuz now I have to cut {8"} off every piece.