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Loose vs stacked volume

Started by 1270d, September 16, 2016, 08:17:13 AM

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1270d

Has anyone measured how loose piled wood volume relates to stacked volume?   For example a pickup or trailer load of "x" cubic feet will stack down to x face cords.

By loose volume I mean tossed to dumped randomly in a truck or trailer.

xalexjx

for 16" off conveyer i use 200cu ft for a full cord. Works out to give the customer a little extra.
Logging and Processed Firewood

GRANITEstateMP

  I've used 180cu ft for 16-18in wood, and 195cu ft for 22-24in wood.  Got the idea from this site: http://www.vermontlumber.com/cord-of-wood.php  We did a couple test runs with known stacked cords, broke them down then "through" into the trailer (conveyor...).  Everything seemed to stack out as it should.  Also did a couple runs right off the processor and then hand stacked.  The numbers seem to work out for both the customer, and me!
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Corley5

  Here's the thread I started almost eleven years ago about this that was just recently revived  :)  https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,15481.0.html
  I use 190 cubic feet for a loose standard 128 cubic foot cord and divide by three for 63.33333 cubic feet per 16" face cord.
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GRANITEstateMP

Just a note, my post was for a 128cu. ft. cord of wood. 
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Kubota M6040
Load Trail 12ft Dump Trailer
2015 GMC 3500HD SRW
2016 Polaris 450HO
2016 Polaris 570
SureTrac 12ft Dump Trailer

1270d

Thanks guys!   Just what I was looking for.

North River Energy

I asked one of my regulars to evaluate his order once stacked. He's an engineering type, so I figure he understands a tape measure and that math thing.
The stacked total should have been 512 cubic feet, and the measured was within 2 or 3 of that. I forget if it was plus or minus, but he was happy, so...

16", each at 185-87 loaded from the stockpiles with front-end loader and tine bucket.

lopet

My dump box is 12'x 8'x6', holds three full cord, cut & split at 16".
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OH logger

185 to 190 for me. i don't like givin wood away but i HATE complaints :D
john

1270d

Do you guys deliver with dump trucks, dump trailers or pickup truck?   How big is an average order?   


North River Energy

1 ton dump truck.
Average is 2cd, but varies based on previous season's burn rate.

Ken

I use a 6x12 dump trailer with 30" side boards which equals 180 cubic feet.  I fill it with thrown in wood with a slight hump and everyone seems to be happy at 1 cord.  If I rank it in I can get 1.5 cords with it ranked a bit above the side boards
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Corley5

I used to haul two face cords in this loose.  I'd get three if the load was stacked 8)  It went down the road when the 550 came on board.


 

I hauled 4 loose face cords in this.  It long ago rusted out and after two frame repairs due to rust it became someone else's problem.


 

Five face cords in a full load on the F550.  My preferred delivery method now.


 

The 14' gooseneck dump trailer is in the background of this picture.  It's the only picture I could find of it  :-\  I haul five face cords in it too.  It's all but retired now.  Seven Michigan winters have taken a serious toll on it.  I'd rather use the 550 any way.  Easier to back up.  A replacement for this dump trailer would be a two wheel drive one ton dump. 


 

  I prefer a five face cord minimum but will take two if the buyer is willing to pay for it.  It takes just as much time and almost as much fuel to deliver 2 as it does five.  If some one orders 7 or 8 or 12 cords we work it out  ;)  I prefer orders that are multiples of five  ;) ;D  Serious wood burners around here usually get 10-20 cords.  I do have clients that get 25-30.  Casual weekend wood burners or those that use wood to supplement there fossil fuels usually get five cords as do people with fireplaces who burn wood because it's cool  ;D :)  I do not run a firewood service.  I've had people who want a couple face cords delivered every now and then throughout the season instead of stockpiling wood beforehand.  I won't do that.  All cords I refer to are 16" face cords or a third of a full 128 cubic foot cord.   
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

glassman_48

corley5,
How big is your dump trailer?  Mine is 12' by 80" and I put 2 by 10's on the top rail sides.  I was getting I pulp cord stacked to the steel sides and humped up about to the top of the 2 by 10 thrown in loose.  If I was to do it all over, I think I would get a 16' gooseneck to get 2 pulp cords in loose.  Need a bigger truck than too than my 3/4 ton diesel, or better have good brakes.

glassman_48

reread my last post, the word stacked should not of been in there, thrown in loose is the way it goes into my dump trailer.

rjwoelk

When I order in my logs they are 16 ft long  and he measures them 4x4x8 for a cord. So now you process them to say 16 inch, there is no way this all translates into a meaning full cord. So I have educated my customers on what a cord is. 4x4x8 in log form not cut and split and shrunk, or stacked 2 times.  I sell it by the bag aprox a 1/3 of a cord and they are happy, which is what matters anyway.
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Corley5

  Trailer is 14' long by 7 something wide with 2' sides and 2' extensions.  There's a face cord in about 8"s of depth.  Struck full it holds 6 face cord but that's too much weight especially of green hard wood.  I've got paint marks around it at the five cord depth.
  I figure a 2X8X8 cord on average will process out to 2.5 face cords of firewood.  I've had them come out better but it has to be exceptionally nice straight larger sticks.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

1270d

Do most of you sell green wood?  Load directly into your delivery truck/trailer, or process into a pile and load out later with equipment?

Do customers differentiate between dry wood and seasoned wood, or are they one and the same?

Corley5

  99% of my wood is sold green and I make the customer aware of it.  The processor is loaded right out the pile made by the forwarder.  Some times it's loaded with the forwarder right out of the woods.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

North River Energy

Probably 80/20 seasoned/green. Depends on client preference.
Green goes direct to the truck, seasoned is loaded out of the stockpiles.
Seasoned is not dry, and the regulars know that. New accounts get a briefing on the relevant details.

GRANITEstateMP

Most of my orders are green wood loaded direct into the trailer (90-95% green wood orders).  On my 12ft dump trailer we process to the top of the metal with a slight hump in the middle (16 or 18in wood).  This stacks out to a full 128cu ft. cord.



  

 

picture shows the trailer empty.  If we do 22in long wood we load part way up the wood boards (1x10 board with a chaulk mark) with a hump in the middle.

Our average customer is probably 2 cord (128cu ft).  Most of our customers want 1 cord at a time and will then stack that, then call for the next.  This allows me to spread out my deliverys, sometimes for the better, sometimes not!  We do have a couple customers that take 4-9 full cord a year, usually one or two a week till they are full.


 
Found this picture of a full cord of 16in from last year.

Hakki Pilke 1x37
Kubota M6040
Load Trail 12ft Dump Trailer
2015 GMC 3500HD SRW
2016 Polaris 450HO
2016 Polaris 570
SureTrac 12ft Dump Trailer

thecfarm

I did firewood for a guy. Loaded it into a dump trailer. He had it all figured out. Had marks in the trailer and it had to be level to the marks. Loaded with a conveyor,would have to get in and throw the wood into the corners to level it out.
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BurkettvilleBob

Quote from: North River Energy on September 18, 2016, 11:40:26 PM
Probably 80/20 seasoned/green. Depends on client preference.
Green goes direct to the truck, seasoned is loaded out of the stockpiles.
Seasoned is not dry, and the regulars know that. New accounts get a briefing on the relevant details.
What's the moisture content of " seasoned " wood?

Ianab

Seasoned should probably be below about 20% moisture. Not fully dry, but dry enough to burn well.
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North River Energy

^^
What Ian said.
I used to measure it with a meter, and if memory serves, the trend was around 14-16%. By comparison, a KD 2x4 measured 6%.
From casual observation, it appears that most of the moisture loss takes place in the first 3 months after splitting. The change in stockpile dimension is apparent.

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