More wood in a pickup bed, split or unsplit?

[Austin1]

Absolutely positively there will be more wood per unit volume when the wood is unsplit. Nobody ever packs it as tight as Mother Nature my dad always said. I did the experiment with my big truck back in the day. I know there was more when unsplit because I had the truck weighed with split and with unsplit wood on it several times. I kept the weigh slips in the glove box in case I was pulled over by the weight cops. They loved to hassle us firewood and log haulers.

If I remember correctly I was hauling around 21K for mixed hardwoods unsplit and split it was just under 19K. I was legal for weight with split wood, but with blocks I was over so I always fretted when hauling unsplit wood that I would get weighed.

The truck bed was 16' long and I could stack 10 rows of 18" firewood to the tail perfectly. Also the sides were exactly 4' high and so I knew exactly the height of the rack. I hauled many, many loads of unsplit blocks and after splitting I could get at least 11 face cords out of the same load, and sometimes it was as high as 12-13. Big blocks from monster trees can be packed really tight on the truck. Split them up and the volume grows a lot. Small rounds do not puff up as much because the number of pieces does not climb like the big chunks did.

Do the experiment yourself. Take an unsplit load to a grain mill, gravel pit or a trucking company and pay a few $$$ to get a weight. Then fill the truck with the same species of wood split. Get a weight and you will answer the question beyond all doubt. Play fair and be sure to fill the nooks and crannies of the truck equally well for both loads. My truck was a flat bed stake rack so that was not an issue for me. It was a big box.

well said I find the same thing I stop on the Hi Way self way scales. I also use smaller and shorter rounds to fill up the space around the wheel wells. With a topper on a truck or side or side stakes I could bring back a full cord once split and stacked. I should note I am talking dead dry pine very light. I did load up some Green Poplar once that was heavy! and it was just a level box in my buddy's F250 actually made it squat somewhat.

 

[Austin1]

Just like the title asks.

This is a tad better then 2/3 cord of Douglas Fir

Could I fit more in this shortbox if I split it? The truck's a full load, I hate sucking dust on logging roads, each trip counts.

Just bought a splitter, if that counts

That's a nice load of fir! I can get Fir here but the drive is to far to make it worth wile, I will stick to my lodge Polls. I like Fir much more than Birch it is the premium wood of the North.
For me It's Pine I like it much more than Black Spruce or Poplar and Aspen.
I Elk hunt in a area that has some Monster Firs as wide as the hood on my truck I have been parking under the same tree for the last 20+ years lol. They are in a protected zone free from Logging or oil exploration if only they could talk would be kinda neat to here about the buffalo walking past. Any 24'' tree here is a big one lot's of trees but they are not that big.
P.S you didn't cut that yourself did you? the boy's under the truck look like they did all the work?

 

[beagledog]

You can't pack wood tighter than mother nature packs it in a round. Yeah, you have air space around parts of the surface of the round but split that round into a bunch of pieces and you just increased the total surface area of the round big time.

 

[rbtree]

A solid cord would be one piece of wood 4x4x4. If it is split into wedges and stacked it becomes a stack 4x4x8.

Not quite....A solid cord is generally 80 cubic feet.....and 128 when split/stacked normally. Naturally, there will always be variations. But a too tightly stacked pile would take longer to dry.

 

[Austin1]

Not quite....A solid cord is generally 80 cubic feet.....and 128 when split/stacked normally. Naturally, there will always be variations. But a too tightly stacked pile would take longer to dry.

Some very good in put. I like to leave a bit of room I do live in a very dry Climate I don't sell my wood it is just for me. But most of my wood will have around 1/4 to 3/8 or even 1 inch of room between it and the next space of course some will be touching. But to be honest give it 9 months sitting out in the sun and it will burn fine. We are all to anal on here let's start a oil thread? I always use 40/1 in all my saw's.
Them dam variations!

 

[chainsawaddict]

MR4WD
You have a excellent opportunity to find out and solve our age old dillemma.

Simply split all that fir, and see how much of it you can get back into the pickup. Sounds like a great experiment to me

 

[WidowMaker]

Not quite....A solid cord is generally 80 cubic feet.....and 128 when split/stacked normally. Naturally, there will always be variations. But a too tightly stacked pile would take longer to dry.

=====

How do you figure this???? Source??

 

[ray benson]

Yeah, I have seen figures of 80 to 90 solid cu. ft. in a cord. Air takes up the rest. Look at table 2
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G5450

 

[WidowMaker]

Yeah, I have seen figures of 80 to 90 solid cu. ft. in a cord. Air takes up the rest. Look at table 2
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G5450

===

Thanks for the link...

 

[discounthunter]

the original question was ,i believe; can he get more into his pickup split or whole. the answer is split.

while in the yard yes a properly split and stacked (to dry) cord will take up more space, but he wont be stacking in his truck to dry ,he will pack it as tight as posibly so split will fill up All the spaces. enen if he put wholes in and splits a couple of pieces, those small wedges will fill in those big gaps between rounds.take a look at the first picture and look at all the air space .

 

[outdoorlivin247]

Fluffing.

We had a monster thread last year on the subject - I don't think it ever came to a definitive conclusion.

Anyone here have a direct dial to the producers of Mythbusters? Might be a good one for them. Don't know tho' if there'd be much interested since the opportunity to blow something up of start a controlled conflagration isn't up to their usual standards.

That would be your in...Is it easier to split wood w/ explosives...

 

[MR4WD]

That's a nice load of fir! I can get Fir here but the drive is to far to make it worth wile, I will stick to my lodge Polls. I like Fir much more than Birch it is the premium wood of the North.
For me It's Pine I like it much more than Black Spruce or Poplar and Aspen.
I Elk hunt in a area that has some Monster Firs as wide as the hood on my truck I have been parking under the same tree for the last 20+ years lol. They are in a protected zone free from Logging or oil exploration if only they could talk would be kinda neat to here about the buffalo walking past. Any 24'' tree here is a big one lot's of trees but they are not that big.
P.S you didn't cut that yourself did you? the boy's under the truck look like they did all the work?

We have no shortage of birch here, but all the good ones have been cut already. It's almost like EVERYBODY wants birch and nobody will burn fir. It's almost the same heat, except fir splits way easier and it leaves way less ash to clean up. I'll burn birch when it drops down to -20 though, the coal beds last a bit longer.

I used to live in Calgary for 2 years before I moved out here. The climates almost the same, a bit hotter here in the summer and way more rain though. Last winter I heated almost solely with Lodge pole, which I cut from my last property. I'm 20 minutes from there now and there's next to NO pine in this valley, just lots and lots of fir. I'm too cheap to go for a drive to get pine so doug fir it is.

Them critters offer no help. They like stealing birch bark off the stack and tearing it to shreds all over the lawn. The big black one (Great dane/Collie cross) likes stealing birch and running warp factor 9 around the acreage with it. The Golden Retreiver is more cow than dog. Steady eat'n grass all day and chewing up whatever sticks she can. Don't know who's dog the brown and white one is, it just sneaks under the fence to hang out.

 

[MR4WD]

MR4WD
You have a excellent opportunity to find out and solve our age old dillemma.

Simply split all that fir, and see how much of it you can get back into the pickup. Sounds like a great experiment to me

I'll extend you a formal invite to my place anytime you're in the neighborhood. I'll even loan you my splitter to try you're experiment out!

 

[turnkey4099]

the original question was ,i believe; can he get more into his pickup split or whole. the answer is split.

while in the yard yes a properly split and stacked (to dry) cord will take up more space, but he wont be stacking in his truck to dry ,he will pack it as tight as posibly so split will fill up All the spaces. enen if he put wholes in and splits a couple of pieces, those small wedges will fill in those big gaps between rounds.take a look at the first picture and look at all the air space .

Nope: Here are two picks of ricks in the round, one in the PU:

There are only two spots where a useable chunk can be inserted - top left and in the middle. Even the middle on will only take a piece a bit over kindling size unless you want to whittle one to fit perfectly (bottom right and left are the wheel wells).

One in a rick waiting for splitting:

That one has no space that will take anything other than a piece of kindling.

In any case, even if you could 'pack the chinks', you would only be increasing the amount of wood hauled.

Harry K

 

[turnkey4099]

For those who think they can stack split wood tighter than in the round here is an experiment you can do sitting in front of the TV with a brew.

1. Take a carrot and slice into rounds - use one of the long, tapered ones so you have different sized rounds.

Grab a box top and pack it with those rounds one layer deep.

Dump and split the rounds like you would wood.

Now try to put those splits back into the box top - can't be done.

2. Take a carrot that does not taper much or slice rounds off a wood dowel. This will give the maximum amount of 'void' (air space) between the rounds in the box top. Split them and try to fit them back in - again can't be done.

Much easier than loading/splitting/reloading and you get a couple brews while doing it.

Harry K

 

[Mike PA]

This situation is analagous to sediments and particle size. Smaller particles tend to have higher porosity (more air space) than larger particles.

Given this, it makes sense that the rounds are the most efficient use of space. To use the space more efficiently, you could split a few pieces and stuff them into the small spaces between rounds.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

A lot of it depends on who is stacking it and how it split. On the whole though, I'd agree more with unsplit IF packed tight.

We had a local guy who would buy firewood in bulk and stack it in "cord" ricks by the road. He "air stacked" it so much that people were getting just over a 1/2 cord. Put it to you this way. It EASILY fit in a standard truck bed with tailgate up and 1/2 tons would hardly squat.

View attachment 110955

 

[MJR]

Here is Hemlock rounds:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1937.jpg

Here is Hemlock split:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1941.jpg

Here is Hemlock spilt and stacked (w/some maple):
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/woodstack09001.jpg

Rounds take up less room.

 

[Curlycherry1]

Ok, I tried to answer this question once and for all yesterday and just when I hit submit I opened up a worm hole and AS went into it and died. Sorry, I guess I messed with the Zen and so the universe could not take it. Anyway, here it goes again.

I made up a face cord rack scale model and I cut up some 1/2" and 1" dowels to simulate average firewood blocks and I filled the rack.

Then I got out the Barbie woodsplitter that she got in the divorse settlement from Ken and I split the wood up. The pieces came out looking just like real firewood complete with knots, and twisted and weird shaped pieces. The photo shows the pieces to look like real firewood.

Then I repiled the wood into the rack being careful to get it as reasonably tight as I could and I even shook the rack to vibrate the pieces together. I did the same with the round pieces also.

So there you have it, question solved once and for all - split wood takes up more volume. What do I win for solving this conundrum?

 

[Mike PA]

So there you have it, question solved once and for all - split wood takes up more volume. What do I win for solving this conundrum?

Wow. Nice job. A lot of work to settle something that should have already been settled.