Most efficient way to burn wood

[CalG]

Interesting, that water would weigh over 830 lbs.

Volume measure has never meant much to me, even though I buy fuel wood by the "log truck load". That is about seven cord. Mixed hardwood, which I would preferr to be all oak or ash, but usually includes too much popple and bass.

By the TON. and DRY is the only way to measure "burn efficiency"

Anything else (metric tons approved) is just guesstimation.

 

[jimmpatrick]

Log Cord Weight Calculator

Since "a pint's a pound the world around" (try that in metric :laughing

Sorry, but a pint here in Britain is 20 ounces, and probably in the rest of the world still not on to the metric system. And you're being shortchanged on your gallons too. A British gallon is 1.2 American gallons.
Moving to the metric system does not mean that useful measures can't be retained. Beer is sold in pints here and all except the the young recognise body weight in stones (14 pounds) and pounds rather than kilos. Even the young measure your height in feet and inches. We moved to decimal currency - as you have the US - 40 years ago to great complaints. Nobody would want to go back to LSD now - as pounds, shillings and pence were known in pre-drug days.

 

[dave1949]

Good point jimmpatrick

Apparently, the US system is preserving pre-1824 British history. That is the year the British adopted the Imperial system. I am familiar with the Imperial gallon being close to Canada. I guess it is in declining usage there.

I became curious about the origin of the ditty "a pint's a pound the world around." we are, or were, taught that little saying to remember the approximate weight of a pint of water. It was the theme song for an 1880's anti-metric group in the US: The International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting (Anglo-Saxon) Weights and Measures. Who knew?

United States customary units - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States customary units are a system of measurements commonly used in the United States. Many U.S. units are virtually identical to their imperial counterparts, but the U.S. customary system developed from English units used in the British Empire before the system of imperial units was standardized in 1824. Several numerical differences from the imperial system are present.

“A Pint’s a Pound the World Around” | Government Book Talk
In the 1880’s, the International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting (Anglo-Saxon) Weights and Measures advocated both retention of the traditional measuring system and pyramidology – a belief that the Great Pyramid was a huge measuring device constructed by the Hebrews that also hid prophesies about the future. Despite this odd admixture of beliefs, the Institute proved to be an effective lobbying group in resisting the metric system. It also had a theme song: “A Pint’s a Pound the World Around.”

 

[dmccarty]

...
I became curious about the origin of the ditty "a pint's a pound the world around." we are, or were, taught that little saying to remember the approximate weight of a pint of water. It was the theme song for an 1880's anti-metric group in the US: The International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting (Anglo-Saxon) Weights and Measures. Who knew?

WOW! I sure did not know that fact. I never would have guessed that the metric use debate has been going on for that long. Nor that the Pint's a pound the world round came from a song. :confused3::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[dave1949]

WOW! I sure did not know that fact. I never would have guessed that the metric use debate has been going on for that long. Nor that the Pint's a pound the world round came from a song. :confused3::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

Maybe we should try to find it on YouTube :laughing: History is fun.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

here in the US pellets are WAY more expensive. I think from reading folks with a similar house and climate as me I would need at least one or more bags of pellets a day. I think those bags are $5+/bag! This is even buying buy the pound I think?? I just don't remember its been awhile and I did the math then. They don't deliver pellets by the dump truck full here in the US. I would think that in Europe they would be just as expensive or more, afterall you all buy most of our production of pellets anyway!! My wood is free minus the fuel to gather it and cut it. I have the saw and had it before the stove so you can say I have to figure that in to my cost because I don't I owned it prior and would own it anyway. I have not bought a splitter, I split maybe 20% by hand, the rest I borrow/tradw out work with a friend for use of his splitter so I don't have a cost there. My wood is gathered under a $10/firewood permit so essentially its free.

It depends on where you live. Here in Southern Oregon pellets run $150 - $210 a ton, depending on the time of year. Cheapest time to buy pellets is August. In farm areas, corn stoves are still a good deal, since you can burn high aflatoxin corn that can't even be fed to livestock. You might have to develop your own supply network, though.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

For firewood, there's efficiency and there's efficiency. I cut my own, and my stove will take a 10" round without splitting, so I only have to split the big pieces. The small branches get cut up and go into the wood shed too, so I don't have to split much kindling. In the mornings, a big hunk will still have good coals, so I just toss in half a dozen 2" rounds, open the draft and let it flame. By the time I get out of the shower the house is warm, and by the time I go to work it has burned to coals again. It's very efficient to avoid all that splitting. Rounds don't dry fast, so they need to be cut 2 years in advance.

 

[3930dave]

It depends on where you live. Here in Southern Oregon pellets run $150 - $210 a ton, depending on the time of year. Cheapest time to buy pellets is August. In farm areas, corn stoves are still a good deal, since you can burn high aflatoxin corn that can't even be fed to livestock. You might have to develop your own supply network, though.

I was told by a stove dealer a number of years back that they decided not to carry corn stoves, because they didn't want to have to deal with the consequences of DIY corn sourcing. If I'm remembering correctly, the primary concern was if/how/to what extent a low budget corn processing operation would dry the corn, and he was worried about excess moisture in the kernels.

Rdgs, D.

 

[clemsonfor]

For firewood, there's efficiency and there's efficiency. I cut my own, and my stove will take a 10" round without splitting, so I only have to split the big pieces. The small branches get cut up and go into the wood shed too, so I don't have to split much kindling. In the mornings, a big hunk will still have good coals, so I just toss in half a dozen 2" rounds, open the draft and let it flame. By the time I get out of the shower the house is warm, and by the time I go to work it has burned to coals again. It's very efficient to avoid all that splitting. Rounds don't dry fast, so they need to be cut 2 years in advance.

10" round oak may take up to 5 years to dry!! You can cut a 10-14" oak that has been dead on the ground for 5-10 years and when you split it, the inside is dripping wet still. I have seen this in trees that the sapwood has already rotted away!! I don't think I would try that on oak, other species yes.

 

[clemsonfor]

For firewood, there's efficiency and there's efficiency. I cut my own, and my stove will take a 10" round without splitting, so I only have to split the big pieces. The small branches get cut up and go into the wood shed too, so I don't have to split much kindling. In the mornings, a big hunk will still have good coals, so I just toss in half a dozen 2" rounds, open the draft and let it flame. By the time I get out of the shower the house is warm, and by the time I go to work it has burned to coals again. It's very efficient to avoid all that splitting. Rounds don't dry fast, so they need to be cut 2 years in advance.

10" round oak may take up to 5 years to dry!! You can cut a 10-14" oak that has been dead on the ground for 5-10 years and when you split it, the inside is dripping wet still. I have seen this in trees that the sapwood has already rotted away!! I don't think I would try that on oak, other species yes.