5 hours at the woodpile

[Waltzie]

Any idea on the amount?

Figuring 180 ft2 unstacked is a cord, the numbers come to about 25 cords. Seems high, compared to the looks of the piles. Wondering if splitting bigger for furnace wood makes that big of a difference, compared to fireplace wood. The pile is 30’ x 30’ x 5’ tall

On the plus side, the Eastonmade didn’t flinch.

Thanks,

Waltzie

 

[Mustang71]

Hmm idk assuming you split 18 inch pieces and it's a square 30x30x5 I came up with 16 and a half cord. That's is 180 sqft is a cord. Idk. It doesn't look that big though. A cord is a cubic measurement so I'm not real sure on the math.

 

[farmer steve]

Don't know how much but that's a nice pile @Waltzie. we gotta meet up some time and talk oil ratios.

 

[Waltzie]

Most pieces were 22-24”. Unless it was a butt-end cut off to make a piece 22-24”.

This pile will never be stacked, just pushed around with a loader until it gets thrown piece by piece into the outdoor furnace.

@farmer steve your near Carlisle.... correct?

 

[Circle B MN]

Nice pile, but....25 cords in five hours? With that splitter? If by chance you meant face cords, that still 1.75 cord or so an hour. My guess looking at the pile is closer to six full cord....a polite estimate

 

[Mustang71]

I was also wondering if it was face cord or cord. I hand split and in an hour I can split a pretty big pile that if I'm lucky adds up to a face cord. If I could do 25 full cord in 5 hours I would go buy a splitter asap. That means in 1 hour I would have more than enough wood for 1 winter.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Hmm idk assuming you split 18 inch pieces and it's a square 30x30x5 I came up with 16 and a half cord. That's is 180 sqft is a cord. Idk. It doesn't look that big though. A cord is a cubic measurement so I'm not real sure on the math.

Explain your math would you?

Way I see it, the length of the split makes little difference. Could be an inch long or 30'. A pile 30'x30'x5' is 4,500 CUBIC feet. Only way to know how many cords of stacked wood that is is to stack it and measure, but you can also divide that number by an estimated factor, in this case the OP mentioned 180 to determine the approximate number of cords.

Basically, a stacked pile is assumed to contain 20% air or so. Obviously a pile is less dense. Using 180 cubic feet assumes the pile to have 40% more air than a stack. Seems reasonable to me.

Of course, this math assumes that the pile is in fact 30'x30'x5', and that it has straight sides instead of a sloping side. Any deviation from this shape introduces room for error.

Now, the size of the split does make SOME difference because it can affect the density of the pile also. Fewer, larger pieces will allow less air space than more, smaller splits, so in general, any given size pile of boiler wood will have a little more wood in it than the same pile of stove splits.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

But yeah, no way that splitter does 5 full cords an hour. It looks like a super nice splitter by all accounts, but unless it's running like over 40 gpm, I'm thinking with one operator, 1-1.5 cords an hour would be about right. I'd believe 2, but 5 seems pretty high. That's well into large processor territory.

 

[Waltzie]

All wood cut to length prior, 2 skid steers moving wood in-out, and a small tractor with a grapple to lift the really big ones. If the push block never stops moving you make a lot of wood fast with a 6 way wedge. Counting operators, there were 7 people ensuring that the block never stopped.

But that’s not the point, to those who read AND understood my initial post it was not bragging about the feats of a guy splitting wood. The measurements are accurate, and straight sided on 2 sides ( the barn and the silo), the other side used a hill as a back stop. The front side was mostly straight as it was continually pushed up with a skid steer. To piggy back off of the “bucket of firewood” post, we were filling a 25 cubic bucket in about 75 seconds.

 

[Mustang71]

I'm not sure on the math because sqft and cuft are being mixed but how can you say sqft is the same as cuft. Is it 180sqft by 3 inches tall or 5 feet tall because either way its 180sqft and that equals a cord apparently.

I took 900 sqft and divided it by 180sqft which is 5. Then took 60 inches and divided it by 18 and got 3.33 rows at 18 inches so 5x3.33 was 16.65. I may have missed something going from sqft to cubic ft but still a solid cube at 30x30x5 is 35 cord then with a 20 percent air gap is 28 cord. I'm not real sure how 180sqft can always equal a cord.

 

[Waltzie]

That one is on me. It’s 180ft3.

128 ft3 of nice fireplace sized stacked is a cord, but these were 18”-36” rounds run through the 6way one time. Very little resplitting and no stacking.

If 180 ft3 is a “piled” cord of fireplace size wood, it appears that there is a sizeable calculation adjustment for outdoor furnace sized wood. I was wondering if anyone else has noticed that, as this is my first season with an outdoor furnace.

Thanks,

Waltzie

 

[Deleted member 117362]

I don't care about speed, that is a nice splitter.

 

[Mustang71]

That one is on me. It’s 180ft3.

128 ft3 of nice fireplace sized stacked is a cord, but these were 18”-36” rounds run through the 6way one time. Very little resplitting and no stacking.

If 180 ft3 is a “piled” cord of fireplace size wood, it appears that there is a sizeable calculation adjustment for outdoor furnace sized wood. I was wondering if anyone else has noticed that, as this is my first season with an outdoor furnace.

Thanks,

Waltzie

Makes more sense and yes it is 25 with a lot less math to go wrong. So if you have 4 straight sides then it would be 25 cord. I always split to stack not to throw into a box. I didn't know there was a loose thrown box dimension on a cord.

 

[Waltzie]

I got the 180 from hanging out on Arboristsite. I just don’t believe that we did that much wood. But it sure was nice to have competent operators.... normally I am by myself.

 

[Deleted member 149229]

A cord is 128 cubic feet. 4x4x8=128.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Which Eastonmade splitter is it?
180-200 cu. ft. for a loose thrown cord is probably pretty close estimate for stove wood, as you suggest.
Not sure how boiler wood would compare.

 

[Waltzie]

22-28. I guess I am following in your footsteps Sandhill, I also have and love a Super Split. But for today’s workout with the BIG wood, it stayed in the shed.

 

[Waltzie]

A cord is 128 cubic feet. 4x4x8=128.

It is if you stack it, but this is just piled.

 

[Deleted member 149229]

It is if you stack it, but this is just piled.

Yep, just a baseline.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

All wood cut to length prior, 2 skid steers moving wood in-out, and a small tractor with a grapple to lift the really big ones. If the push block never stops moving you make a lot of wood fast with a 6 way wedge. Counting operators, there were 7 people ensuring that the block never stopped.

But that’s not the point, to those who read AND understood my initial post it was not bragging about the feats of a guy splitting wood. The measurements are accurate, and straight sided on 2 sides ( the barn and the silo), the other side used a hill as a back stop. The front side was mostly straight as it was continually pushed up with a skid steer. To piggy back off of the “bucket of firewood” post, we were filling a 25 cubic bucket in about 75 seconds.

Gotcha! I have a similar type splitter, although not that nice. By myself, pulling rounds off a trailer next to the splitter, i can do a cord an hour, plus or minus. Having a nicer rig, and six other dudes, doing over 4 per hour seems feasible. It's exactly like you say, if the block never stops you really make a lot of wood. btw, I certainly wasn't meaning to imply that you were bragging, just that when one way (measuring piles) of solving a formula (how much wood is this) seems to make an unexpected result, that another way of looking at things (how much could you possibly put through the splitter per hour) can sometimes be helpful.

Anyway, next time take a video if you have a chance!!