# How long should a cord of wood last?



## pro cutter 33 (Jan 2, 2010)

Been selling firewood now for about four years with no problems knock on wood.Last year sold a cord of wood to a customer hickory and cherry lasted him about three weeks couldnt believe he went through that much but he heated hes whole house with it he was happy with everything so didnt question nothing.This year picked up a new customer heating her house with a insert that heats 2500 sq ft. 3 weeks ago took her a cord of oak & ash she called day before yesturday wanted another cord said she was almost out.Took it to her and sure enough she had one good row left.Is this normal to be going through this much wood?here in w kentucky its in the lower tweenties she uses it all day & night.Dont get me wrong Im not complaining about selling her so much by no means I just hope she dont have problems else where.Any suggestings appreciated.


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## forestryworks (Jan 2, 2010)

depends on the wood, temps, stove, etc. lots of variables.


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## gtstang462002 (Jan 2, 2010)

Depending on the winter and type of wood I can go through 7-13 chords and about 25 gallons of no.2 heating oil.


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## gwiley (Jan 2, 2010)

Depending on the weather we will go through 1/2 a cord every 2 weeks (I estimate based on being able to carry 1/2-3/4 cord of deadwood in my 1 ton pickup). We heat 3700sf + hot water exclusively with wood (OWB).


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## Wood Doctor (Jan 2, 2010)

gwiley said:


> Depending on the weather we will go through 1/2 a cord every 2 weeks (I estimate based on being able to carry 1/2-3/4 cord of deadwood in my 1 ton pickup). We heat 3700sf + hot water exclusively with wood (OWB).


+1. From December through February, three weeks or so and that cord is gone. Depends somewhat, however, on what is being burned and the cold waves. This year has been a gorilla.


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## alderman (Jan 2, 2010)

We've got it good out here. I don't think I've ever gone through more than 2 cord in a Winter. We do have electric heat but use the wood stove for most of our heating needs. Dogone electric bill runs me $70 a month.


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## mga (Jan 2, 2010)

alot of it depends on how hot she's running her stove.

maybe you could offer to take a look at how she's burning.

going thru a PAID cord of wood per month...hell, i'd just pay for natural gas.


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## gwiley (Jan 2, 2010)

mga said:


> alot of it depends on how hot she's running her stove.
> 
> maybe you could offer to take a look at how she's burning.
> 
> going thru a PAID cord of wood per month...hell, i'd just pay for natural gas.



Really? Not me. The fact is that with wood heat the house is kept MUCH warmer than with LP, we did the math and figured that even if we bought all of our wood and kept the palce at 74degF we would come out ahead vs. LP keeping it at 68degF ($5,000/season).


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## Wood Doctor (Jan 2, 2010)

gwiley said:


> Really? Not me. The fact is that with wood heat the house is kept MUCH warmer than with LP, we did the math and figured that even if we bought all of our wood and kept the palce at 74 F we would come out ahead vs. LP keeping it at 68 F ($5,000/season).


+1. Take a look at this table I prepared:





This table shows the cost per hour of burning alternative fuels at various prices. Wood does very well, even against natural gas. The trouble with NG is that local utility service charges and infrastructure fees may bump the actual price 20% to 40% higher than the figures shown in the table.

For example, small commercial NG customers around here are paying an unbelievable $600 a year in service charges and fees before they even turn on the heat.


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## gwiley (Jan 2, 2010)

Your table is very nice - I think we pay a $50 hazmat fee plus other fees to have LP delivered.


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## pro cutter 33 (Jan 2, 2010)

thankx for all the info


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## grandpatractor (Jan 2, 2010)

In normal winter weather i can burn up a cord in a week. With this -28 degrees last night and not above zero today I will burn up a cord in 2 days. 
But then I am heating about 5,000 square foot house and a 48x48 shop. 
House is 72 degrees and shop is 62 degrees.


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## KsWoodsMan (Jan 2, 2010)

pro cutter 33 said:


> Been selling firewood now for about four years with no problems knock on wood.Last year sold a cord of wood to a customer hickory and cherry lasted him about three weeks couldnt believe he went through that much but he heated hes whole house with it he was happy with everything so didnt question nothing.This year picked up a new customer heating her house with a insert that heats 2500 sq ft. 3 weeks ago took her a cord of oak & ash she called day before yesturday wanted another cord said she was almost out.Took it to her and sure enough she had one good row left.Is this normal to be going through this much wood?here in w kentucky its in the lower tweenties she uses it all day & night.Dont get me wrong Im not complaining about selling her so much by no means I just hope she dont have problems else where.Any suggestings appreciated.



This doesn't sound to far off if they are heating fulltime with it.

1000 square foot kept above 72° most of the time will usually require , on average , 1/2 to 3/4 of a cord a month for us. It takes a little more when the temps during the day don't go above 20° outside. This year seems colder than usual and the season started earlier than usual so our total will probably be more this year.


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## 05mxdiesel (Jan 2, 2010)

I burn a cord every three weeks in a longwood dual fuel furnace and a older blaze king. I wish I could use less wood but having a new born and a 4 year old, I feel that it is necessary. I am ready to ditch the worn out longwood and upgrade to a big jack to keep the temps more consistent and use less wood. I started burning a little too early this year and I am going to run out of dry wood by the end of february.


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## howellhandmade (Jan 2, 2010)

That doesn't seem out of line. I heat with two wood stoves, running one 24/7 and the other mostly just in the evenings. I've got a steel rack that holds 1/6 cord inside the back door. The rack needs to be filled every 2-4 days, depending on how much we're home and how cold it is.

Jack


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## olyman (Jan 2, 2010)

For example, small commercial NG customers around here are paying an unbelievable $600 a year in service charges and fees before they even turn on the heat.[/QUOTE]

same thing here--what a rip!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## olyman (Jan 2, 2010)

05mxdiesel said:


> I burn a cord every three weeks in a longwood dual fuel furnace and a older blaze king. I wish I could use less wood but having a new born and a 4 year old, I feel that it is necessary. I am ready to ditch the worn out longwood and upgrade to a big jack to keep the temps more consistent and use less wood. I started burning a little too early this year and I am going to run out of dry wood by the end of february.



ouch---


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## olyman (Jan 2, 2010)

anndddd--prior to the last two days---, minus 8 and minus 20 this morning--i wasnt burning much--serious--but this below zero trash----sheesh----even have to kick on the gas every so often--wont keep up--various other factors---


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