# How many cords of wood?



## Cyngbaeld

If you are relying on a wood stove for backup, but don't normally use one day to day, do you know how many cords you would need for winter in your local? I'm thinking one would be more than enough here.


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## Cabin Fever

If you figure that you need one cord, then right now you should have three cords in the yard. One to use now, one that has seasoned for a year, and one that is green. At least that's what we do, we only use firewood that has been seasoned for a minimum of two years.

In our area, four to eight full cords of firewood is need to heat a home through the winter - depending on heater efficiency, wood species and dryness, size of home, and insulation thickness.

This is some of our firewood at the start of last year's heating season. Two 50-foot long rows, that are 4-foot wide and 4 to 5 feet high and the start of a third row about 16 feet long.


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## MichaelK!

We've only been using wood heat at our cabin intermittently in the winter on weekends we're there, and the cord I stacked disappeared fast. Whatever estimate you make, double it! Protected firewood doesn't go bad, it gets better with age. It will not hurt to have more than you need.


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## Ernie

I used four last year, but heat management was an issue. It was often hotter than we could stand in the living room and we had to open the front door. With better heat management, I expect to use about 3 this year.


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## elkhound

all you can get stacked.but remeber woodpiles are habitat for snakes.here i have copperheads and rattlers so my woodshed is out in the woods away form the home.


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## ldc

Cyn., you are roughly in my zone, just a tad cooler. How big is yr place? That will determine in large part how much wood you'll need. Also, how much back up? Just guessing, but I'd try to have 2 cords around, and/or do it the way Cabin Fever suggested; where you always have some wood drying for the next winter. In the 70's in New Jersey, in an uninsulated 12 rm Victorian, we used 13 cords/year, and there was ice on the inside of the windows in the rooms far from the stove!!! ldc


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## homesteadingman

In Maine in my fairly small house; anywhere between 8-10 cord,possibly a feww more if its a bad winter.


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## Mutti

We use 10 full cord seasoned oak in our outdoor furnace a winter....and always have 2-3face cord split smaller for the few occasions the electric is out and we have to use our back-up Ashley wood heater. Used to use about the same amt. wood in Ashley before we went to the outdoor furnace but it didn't heat the upstairs like the baseboard does now. And lots more mess/smoke in the house. Wood keeps so if you've got leftovers it's fine!! At least when you find snakes in the winter they are slugglish! I'll scream but not run as fast!! Just 'cause we are in so. MO doesn't mean we don't get extended periods of bitter cold.


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## Riverrat

We use on average 3-4 cord of wood here in NB per winter. This is for our furnace and kitchen stove.This is hardwood, mainly maple, with some birch and beech.


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## Brokeneck

We only use about 2 cord here a year and that # is pretty low because no one is home during the day to stoke up the wood burner. Weekends the usage almost triples, Grid down I would guess we would use around 7 cord or a lil more just considering we would even use wood in the summer months for cooking.


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## Eyes Wide Open

Ernie said:


> I used four last year, but heat management was an issue. It was often hotter than we could stand in the living room and we had to open the front door. With better heat management, I expect to use about 3 this year.


What are you going to do for better heat management? Specifics, please.

Our wood stove is new to us so we haven't gone a full winter with it yet. We're estimating 3-4 cords. Our house is very well insulated, and we don't expect the temperature to be 80 degrees all day or anything. We were doing 2 burns a day (late morning and again in the evening) instead of the more typical 3.


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## 7thswan

I guess it depends on your area, we don't ever speek of Full cords here, folks speek in terms of face cords. Four cords would be about right for us. We have a woodburner, and have the wood cookstove. The cookstove use of wood varys greatly with the type of wood. It has to be able to be split small, so ease of splitting matters. We get alot of Beautiful Ash that has been killed by the Emerald Ash borer. Probably my favorite but Cherry burns and splits nicely. Oak is best in the woodburner.


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## 7thswan

here is a poem I posted awhile back.

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut only good, they say,
If for long 'tis laid away.
But Ash new or Ash old
Is fit for Queen with crown of old.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast,
Blaze up bright and do not last.
It is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mold
E'en the very flames are cold.
But Ash green or ash brown
Is fit for queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will scent your room 
With an insence like perfume.
Oaken logs,if dry and old,
keep away the winter's cold.
But ash wet or ash dry
a King shall warm his slippers by.
...unknown English Poet.


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## timfromohio

Depends on how long you'd need it for - if backup is the occasional ambiance fire or couple of days without power you might get by on a cord of good, dry wood. We burn at least 3 up in NEOhio and wood heat accounts for ~85% of our heat. 

Also, by cord I'm referring to a full cord (4'x4'x8'), not a "face cord" which many people still refer to as a cord.


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## Veronica

During winter, we use the wood stove every night, and occasionally during the day - particularly on very cold days. We go through about 3+ cords depending on the winter.


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## mightybooboo

Im thinking three.20 F is our winters at worst,lots of freezing though.

Need that new chainsaw NOW,got the splitter,hand model for an old couple.Slow but works.


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## SquashNut

Normally we use 3 cords, but this year we used 4. Winter was longer and as we are getting older we tolerate a cool room less.
That doesn't count that we let the fire go out at night and use a heater in bedroom at night. We tryed extra blankets and no heater at night and got bad muscle cramps. 
be sure to add a hot water bottle for every one to your preps and if not a hot water bottle some thing else that can be used for one.


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## Cyngbaeld

ldc said:


> Cyn., you are roughly in my zone, just a tad cooler. How big is yr place? That will determine in large part how much wood you'll need. Also, how much back up? Just guessing, but I'd try to have 2 cords around, and/or do it the way Cabin Fever suggested; where you always have some wood drying for the next winter. In the 70's in New Jersey, in an uninsulated 12 rm Victorian, we used 13 cords/year, and there was ice on the inside of the windows in the rooms far from the stove!!! ldc


I normally heat with a couple of electric space heaters. Last yr was pretty cold for us and I think we had them on a total of 4 weeks. Generally I need to heat when there is a storm blowing thru then turn them off for several weeks.


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## Mr.Hogwallop

I burn a mix of wood and coal. The local gravel yard just started stocking and selling smokeless coal so, I'm happy. It burns much nicer than soft coal.


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## Belfrybat

My house has electric central heat, which is nice, but very expensive to run. I used about a cord last year in the fireplace to heat the center of the house during the day. About half that was pallets, so had to feed the fire often. This year I am trying to get 2 cords put by -- one of cordwood and one of pallets.


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## mightybooboo

Saw pine today at 120/cord,hardwood runs about 220 here....now is the season to buy.


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## InvalidID

Pine for 120 a cord? Man you couldn't give me pine around here, though maple is going for about 200 a cord right now.

I'm lucky enough to have a lot of maple and alder here. I can go for a walk in the forest and collect at least 6-7 cord a year of stuff that's dead. More often than not it's nearly seasoned when I get it.
The alder is mostly flash heat, but it works to get a fire started and it's really good if the house is cold and I want to heat it fast.

So to the OP, it really does depend on what kind of trees we're talking here. Pine, or softer hard woods like alder will require a LOT more wood to get you through a winter. Also a lot more cleaning. If you can get some quality hardwoods it helps a LOT.


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## Cyngbaeld

Mesquite and oak.


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## wyld thang

we put up 4 cords of mostly oak mixed with maple and ash each year. Plus some fir. If we did only fir it would need 8 cords(softwood). How much we burn depends on how cold it gets, we had a pretty mild winter. We dont' actively burn all day though, get it going in teh morning, then shut it down till late afternoon, get it going again till bedtime, then shut it down. Don't like the house over 65 either--if we wanted it warmer that would take more wood.

With wood it's pretty much make a guess on how much then triple it.


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## manygoatsnmore

I used about 2 cords of mixed wood all winter - Super Good Cents manufactured home and a Vermont Castings Resolute stove.


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## halfpint

How much you use will depend on many factors:
The size of your home and how well insulated it is
How warm you like your home
The type of wood
How harsh/mild the winter is

I'm in a climate much like yours, and we burn 1-2 cords of oak each year, so normally try to keep about 3 cords. Also, some people will call a 'face cord' a cord of wood. A cord of wood is 4' x 4' x 8' - about three rows of wood stacked 8 feet wide and 4 feet high. A face cord is about 1/3 of that.

Dawn
Dawn


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