Is this a cord?

[rarefish383]

By the amount of wood in the picture I would say it was an old Chevy Luv truck... Maybe I'm dating myself now!

I had a 74 LUV, was beginning to think mine was the only one on Earth. Do you still have that one? Joe.

 

[Marshy]

I bought my last Craigslist cord of wood this week. I'd like to hear your opinion of whether this is a cord of wood. I know how much a cord is but the seller insists I'm wrong and this is a cord. I laid a 8' 2x4 across the top to show the width. We originally stacked it along our neighbors fence which is 4' high and had a little less than 12' in length of the stack. The pieces average about 14"-15" long. My calculation shows I should have about 24' of firewood stacked 4' at this piece size.

Let me know what you think.

What did you pay for this amount of wood? How long are the splits?

If it's 16" or longer, and you paid $60-70 for it delivered, I would say you are in line with my local market.

 

[Philbert]

I have a battery powered saw: cordless!

Philbert

 

[farmer steve]

I don't know why on earth this thread would turn him honest. The only thing that might work is if you call DNR and have them come look. In MD, DNR is in charge of weights and measures. I went to a gas station and the trigger locked and I couldn't shut it off. Had gloves on so I couldn't get my finger in to release the little catch. I complained to the clerk and he said the catch is designed to lock until the tank is full. I asked what if I only wanted 10 gallons. He said then you have to come in and pay first, that's how they had the triggers set and they weren't going to change. I called DNR and the following Monday they had all new nozzles on the pumps. Now, if you only paid for a face cord you may wind up in a little bit of a semantics war, but if you paid for a full cord, DNR takes that pretty serious.

Joe here in PA it's about the same with BWM and Dept of AG regulating firewood sales. they only investigate complaints to there office. here's the link to the official word of the law. right off the bat i'd bet the seller didn't give him a receipt.
https://www.pacode.com/secure/data/070/chapter23/s23.107.html

 

[rarefish383]

Joe here in PA it's about the same with BWM and Dept of AG regulating firewood sales. they only investigate complaints to there office. here's the link to the official word of the law. right off the bat i'd bet the seller didn't give him a receipt.
https://www.pacode.com/secure/data/070/chapter23/s23.107.html

Steve, that looks like MD. Each state my have a different adjacency in charge, but they are all pretty much the same. There is another thread right now on the same subject so I looked up weights and measures for CT and theirs fall under Consumer Protection, but the fine details look the same. When's the next get together, I've been sharpening all of my doubles, may start throwing again, Joe.

 

[Wood Hound]

Yes, it's poor quality too. A good bit of it's poplar and soaked due to snow/ice built up on it. There isn't two pieces the same size... prob the worst cord I've bought. I've arranged to use my neighbor's dual-axle trailer next time, see it before I buy it. When I called and ordered we discussed the amount and it was clear it was a cord, not a face cord. The seller didn't know what a face-cord was when I said I had a face-cord and a half after he delivered and we stacked. We've been dealing with some cancer troubles again with the wife so I didn't allocate as much time to getting this load of wood, we were close to being out and I wanted some quickly cause my wife's always cold.

Thanks for all the feedback!

If i was close by,i would help you get your firewood and it would be on me.....

 

[rarefish383]

Yes, it's poor quality too. A good bit of it's poplar and soaked due to snow/ice built up on it. There isn't two pieces the same size... prob the worst cord I've bought. I've arranged to use my neighbor's dual-axle trailer next time, see it before I buy it. When I called and ordered we discussed the amount and it was clear it was a cord, not a face cord. The seller didn't know what a face-cord was when I said I had a face-cord and a half after he delivered and we stacked. We've been dealing with some cancer troubles again with the wife so I didn't allocate as much time to getting this load of wood, we were close to being out and I wanted some quickly cause my wife's always cold.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Good points, all I looked at was the first pic to get an idea of quantity. Went back and looked at the second pic, does look like a pile of craaaa-, well, not very good wood. I am a bit on the OCD side, measuring every block before I split. Every piece is within half an inch. I don't expect every one to do that, and I don't do it for a living. But when you have pieces that look 6" long in the middle of the pile? Stuff like that goes in my burn pile to keeps us warm as we drink cold beer, Joe.

 

[Philbert]

I am a bit on the OCD side, measuring every block before I split. Every piece is within half an inch.

https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/firewood-measuring-sticks.305553/

Philbert

 

[rarefish383]

https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/firewood-measuring-sticks.305553/

Philbert

I remember the measuring stick thread. I'm lucky and can cut standing dead Oak on 3 farms. I put the tree on the ground then take a custom Oak, 18" stick, and my pruning saw and mark off the log. My BIL works on one farm and loads my trailer with the farms JD loader. I only take wood down to about 12" and leave the rest for BIL. I like real straight neat stacks, Joe.

 

[turnkey4099]

Thank you for your feedback! My intention was to send the seller a link to this thread. Hopefully he'll understand and deliver an honest cord to those that don't know how much a cord is.... 99% of the buyers in the area.

Just call up the definition of a cord in a dictionary, copy that and send it too him. Show your picks that prove you only got a skosh over 1/2 cord. You might even call up your states "weights and measures" statutes and if they include firewood you can tell your dealer "either bring the rest of the cord or W&M will be knocking on your door"

 

[rarefish383]

PA Weights and Measures 814-946-7315. Darn, I might look up W&M for every state and when we get these questions I will have a direction to point, Joe.

 

[farmer steve]

I just love how so many here throw around the term CORD. No if ands or buts a cord of wood be it pulp wood fire wood or saw logs it is measured 8'x8' x4'. Any thing less is not a cord. those short stacks only 16 to 20 inches long are face cords maybe if they are 4'x8'x16"thru 20"

I also have carried 2 face cord in a Long Box F250 Ford truck with out sides, and a tiny bit extra with sides.

Al

i'm reporting you for cheby abuse Al. i know the ford can take it.

 

[Mustang71]

Joe here in PA it's about the same with BWM and Dept of AG regulating firewood sales. they only investigate complaints to there office. here's the link to the official word of the law. right off the bat i'd bet the seller didn't give him a receipt.
https://www.pacode.com/secure/data/070/chapter23/s23.107.html

PA regulates firewood sales? Don't let N.Y. find out they will tax the hell out of it and I'll end up in jail for "illegal fire wood cutting"

 

[rarefish383]

PA regulates firewood sales? Don't let N.Y. find out they will tax the hell out of it and I'll end up in jail for "illegal fire wood cutting"

I don't know if I'd call it "Regulate" They just state what are legal terms to use in the sale of fire wood. If they actually regulated it, I'd be in jail with you. So, no "truck loads", "ricks", or "tote sacks". To arbitrary. Even the little shrink wrapped packs at the grocery store say .75 CF per bundle, which is a fraction of a cord, 1/170.666 of a cord, I think, Joe.

 

[farmer steve]

guess i struck a nerve. here's a reply from a post i put on C/L about truckload/piles of wood sellers. kinda hard to decipher what he is saying. another guy with a p/u and a
wildthing.

 

[rarefish383]

First off welcome to AS. sorry about your dilema. i have found from selling wood over the years that about the most you can get on a 8' bed pickup stacked is 3/4 of a cord. https://www.pacode.com/secure/data/070/chapter23/s23.107.html. i would call the seller and remind him of our state law. i have notified several sellers on C/L about truckload sales. i'm good friends with another member in you neck of the woods that could give you some advice if you would like it. BTW i'm over in york co.

I didn't realize that was your add, I thought you just posted it for us to see. I was going to send a one word reply. Thanks. So, I'll just say it in person, Thanks, Joe.

 

[cantoo]

How much did you pay?
If you paid under $100 then it is reasonable. If you paid close to $300 then you got rooked. How come no one ever says how much they paid just how much they got?
I sell by the trailer load and for X dollars, I don't give a rats azz how much is on the trailer. You can call it a cord, a chord, a jag, a rick I don't care I'm still selling that trailer load for X dollars . If you aren't there when I deliver then too bad it's still that trailer load and X dollars. Stack it up and if you get 10 cords, 10 chords, 10 jags, 10 ricks I don't care it's still X dollars for that trailer load.
I sell wood in a loaded trailer with the price on the trailer and parked in front of a business. I am selling that load for that price done deal. If you tell me that you want 10 cords, that means nothing to me. I'll deliver this load, go home and load another one and it'll be sitting in front of the business again, you want it then pay the price on the sign. Keep doing that until you get whatever you figure is 10 cords, I don't care. I really think this is the best for both sides. And no I'm not stacking wood for anyone but myself.
I sold this load of logs. Guess how many cords it is? oops, I don't care how many cord it is, it's a $400 load of logs, you want it? Give me $400 and it's how many ever cords, jags, ricks or whatever you get.
I'm starting to think that SB47 is on to something when he says he charges for labor and not wood. This load of logs were nice and easy to get, open bush and close to the road so not very labor intensive for me. The next load might be a lot tougher to get, tight muddy bush way back in a field, should I charge more for it?

 

[farmer steve]

A cord is 128 cubic feet. However cutting wood to 16'' makes more labor for the same amount of wood that's cut at 24''.
I charge for labor, not the wood itself. If you want a cord cut to 24'' it's x amount. If you want a cord cut to 16'' it will cost you extra, because there is more labor in cutting shorter lengths. It's not my problem if your fireplace can't take 24'' splits and you need shorter splits. You bought the fireplace that's is small and needs smaller wood. So you pay extra for wood that will fit.
If I charged 200, a cord thats 24'' and equals 128cf then a cord cut at 16'' I would add an extra 100 bucks. A cord cut at 16'' would cost you 300 bucks, because I have an extra row of wood to split.
People want to pay the same for a cord no mater how it's cut, 16''-18''-20''-24'' but each takes a different amount of labor to produce.
I charge for labor, not the wood.

my dad always told people when they asked the price that the wood was free. they were just paying for the labor,fuel,etc. funny thing is iv'e caught myself saying the same thing. i would rather cut longer but age (read old) and the fact that i can sell more wood in the 16" range than 24". unfortunately i would put myself out of business
if i charged much more. i'm already at the high end of local prices.

 

[Marshy]

If i was close by,i would help you get your firewood and it would be on me.....

I see you are from Newfield. I grew up in Odessa. I was going g to say welcome but it looks like you have been lurking longer than I have been a member.

 

[Marshy]

How much did you pay?
If you paid under $100 then it is reasonable. If you paid close to $300 then you got rooked. How come no one ever says how much they paid just how much they got?
I sell by the trailer load and for X dollars, I don't give a rats azz how much is on the trailer. You can call it a cord, a chord, a jag, a rick I don't care I'm still selling that trailer load for X dollars . If you aren't there when I deliver then too bad it's still that trailer load and X dollars. Stack it up and if you get 10 cords, 10 chords, 10 jags, 10 ricks I don't care it's still X dollars for that trailer load.
I sell wood in a loaded trailer with the price on the trailer and parked in front of a business. I am selling that load for that price done deal. If you tell me that you want 10 cords, that means nothing to me. I'll deliver this load, go home and load another one and it'll be sitting in front of the business again, you want it then pay the price on the sign. Keep doing that until you get whatever you figure is 10 cords, I don't care. I really think this is the best for both sides. And no I'm not stacking wood for anyone but myself.
I sold this load of logs. Guess how many cords it is? oops, I don't care how many cord it is, it's a $400 load of logs, you want it? Give me $400 and it's how many ever cords, jags, ricks or whatever you get.
I'm starting to think that SB47 is on to something when he says he charges for labor and not wood. This load of logs were nice and easy to get, open bush and close to the road so not very labor intensive for me. The next load might be a lot tougher to get, tight muddy bush way back in a field, should I charge more for it?
View attachment 625110

I think that is a perfectly acceptable was to do business.