Cords per Chain - How many?

[leeave96]

How many cords of firewood do you typically get out of a chain?

What kind of wood are you cutting - green, dead/seasoned?

What kind of chain - chisel or semi-chisel?

How often to you sharpen?

Just courious.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[chucker]

in the best of cutting conditions maybe 20 cords.. cutting dead standing red and white oak with some wind damaged trees on the ground.. ive had the best luck with oregon and baileys chains, such as 73lgx or the woodland 28rc, 38rc all in the 58 gauge chisle..... usually wont and dont sharpen unless i have to lean into a cut, as the saw and chain should work together without overpowering the unit which dulls the chain that much faster... working in dirty sand or mud loaded wood from setting on the ground or from skidding i always try to keep the dirt side to my knees side to keep the chain from dragging the junk through the cut!!

 

[SawJunkie]

I cut a mix of both green and seasoned wood. All of it hardwoods. I use chisel chain. Stihl RSC on the Stihls and Oregon 20LPX on the 346XP. Placed an order for some 72LGX but it's not here yet. As far as how many cords I never really figured it out. I have about 4 chains for each saw and when one gets dull I put another one on and sharpen later.

 

[sunfish]

Guessing between 20-30 cords per chain, mostly standing dead red and white oak. I file by hand (sharpen) and hit it about every 2nd, or 3rd tank.

Semi-chisel only (chisel doesn't work for me). .325, 58 gauge. Oregon, Stihl and Woodland Pro. Stihl rmc was my fav for awhile, but now I'm liking Oregon better.

 

[indiansprings]

There are many variables in how long a chain will last. In a firewood production setting there is no way we will see 20 cord per chain. We unfortunately will see a lot of dirty wood. We are always behind, usually in a hurry and we'll get chains in the dirt occasionally.
We also try to keep our chains as sharp as possible touching them up often. I would say on average me might get 15 cord out of a chain, some more some less. Just thinking about the number of chains I've bought this year this is pretty close for us. I'd love it if we could get our number up to 25 cord per chain.

 

[blsnelling]

I see no way of putting a number on something like this. Every log is different. You never know how long you'll go before touching something you shouldn't. You might dull a chain right away, or you might go all day.

 

[aarontriton]

Im with Brad on this one . I cut alot of locust it has thick deep bark and traps alot of dirt especially if its on the ground . may get a few cuts or a couple tanks of fuel before it needs a good sharpening.

 

[sunfish]

There are many variables in how long a chain will last. In a firewood production setting there is no way we will see 20 cord per chain. We unfortunately will see a lot of dirty wood. We are always behind, usually in a hurry and we'll get chains in the dirt occasionally.
We also try to keep our chains as sharp as possible touching them up often. I would say on average me might get 15 cord out of a chain, some more some less. Just thinking about the number of chains I've bought this year this is pretty close for us. I'd love it if we could get our number up to 25 cord per chain.

If I remember right, I got 3 years out of one chain a few years ago.
I'm also the only one who runs my saws and usually just one saw. That makes a difference.

 

[chucker]

If I remember right, I got 3 years out of one chain a few years ago.
I'm also the only one who runs my saws and usually just one saw. That makes a difference.

and we can only guess that you cut about 6 cords of wood for 3 years to get a close guesstimate of 18 cords?????? i could live with this in the best of cutting conditions or even in 100" sticks!

 

[sunfish]

and we can only guess that you cut about 6 cords of wood for 3 years to get a close guesstimate of 18 cords?????? i could live with this in the best of cutting conditions or even in 100" sticks!

Minimum of 10 cords per year. Conditions must have been right.
Now I have multiple chains and saws and cut more wood, so it's hard to tell

 

[chucker]

near as i can come to is it takes 10 cords of pulp wood to equal 1 cord of 16" firewood ! happened to me a few times being able to cut 60 to 80 cords of pulp to a single chain with the best of conditions... always liked them carlton chains, but a tass burd to sharpen them!

 

[CountryBoy19]

This is highly dependent on so many variable that you just can't pin it down. Heck, bar length even comes into play. If I use a 6 foot B&C, I have 2-4 times the cutters as a short B&C. Theoretically I can cut a lot more wood with that chain than a short one.

I started out with 3 new Carlton chains last year. I've cut 20+ cords of wood, mostly hedge and black locust, followed by oak, and then "others", and I still haven't noticed much wear on the chain. It has stretched a bit, but judging cutter wear, I would guess I can top 30 cords/chain, and those are on my 16" B&C I use for cutting tops.

 

[sunfish]

Few things I guess; I only use semi-chisel (chisel will not last like that for me). The 346xp seems easy on chains? Size of chain, short bar, I don't know? And finally, I keep the chain out of the dirt, or in my case, rocks. LoL, this is some rocky ground here in the Ozarks. First couple years I lived here, was going through 2-3 chains a year and less than 10 cords. :msp_w00t:

 

[sunfish]

This is highly dependent on so many variable that you just can't pin it down. Heck, bar length even comes into play. If I use a 6 foot B&C, I have 2-4 times the cutters as a short B&C. Theoretically I can cut a lot more wood with that chain than a short one.

I started out with 3 new Carlton chains last year. I've cut 20+ cords of wood, mostly hedge and black locust, followed by oak, and then "others", and I still haven't noticed much wear on the chain. It has stretched a bit, but judging cutter wear, I would guess I can top 30 cords/chain, and those are on my 16" B&C I use for cutting tops.

Pertty much the same here, except Oak. Started last October with 3 new chains. One still in the box, other two show little wear. And I'm also right around 20 cords.

 

[chucker]

i hear what your saying!! was stationed at ft. leonard wood after high school what a rock and a hard place... nice country to live in tho....

 

[sunfish]

i hear what your saying!! was stationed at ft. leonard wood after high school what a rock and a hard place... nice country to live in tho....

Yeah, you know. I live 30 minutes south east of Ft Wood.
And wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

 

[Evan]

getn 10-15cords a year on 2 saws with 2 chains a peice. each saw goes to mtn with a spare chain. i usualy sharpen each saw twice a weekend.

wood is dry dead red fir chains are al lgx or maybe a skip oregon in there to for the 066

 

[roostersgt]

Wow! I feel a little less than than "par" on this matter. I've only gotten about 3-4 cords per chain sharpening thus far. Although, I don't lean into the saw and prefer it do all the work. I've now done about 5 cords with my newly purchased MS290 and have noticed the "yellow" chain is far superior to the green chain it came with. I'm very careful to avoid hitting the dirt or rocks. Very happy so far, especially since it costs nearly $30 per Stihl chain. This chain is pricey, but it seems to last well.

Steve

 

[Evan]

rsc3 compared to rsc.

dit kills a chains life bigtime

 

[J.W Younger]

On average I will get 2 years out of a chain cutting 10 cords per, but stuff happens and I have taken out most of the cutters on one side before the chain even had a chance to quit streching.