Calculate seasoned vs green firewood weight, million BTU heat content, and heating oil equivalents for cords of firewood.
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A firewood cord calculator computes the total thermal heating energy in million BTUs (British Thermal Units) and weight of seasoned firewood cords. It allows homeowners to compare wood heating costs directly against heating oil, natural gas, and propane.
\text{Total BTU} = \text{Cords} \times \text{BTU}_{\text{species}}, \quad \text{Oil Equivalent (gal)} = \frac{\text{Total BTU}}{138,500}One gallon of #2 home heating oil contains ~138,500 BTUs. High-density hardwoods like Hickory produce ~28.5 Million BTU per cord (~205 gal oil equivalent).
Scenario: Burning 3 cords of seasoned White Oak in a high-efficiency wood stove.
Oak heating value: 25.7 Million BTU per cord.
Total energy: 3 cords × 25.7M = 77.1 Million BTU.
Equivalent heating oil: 77,100,000 ÷ 138,500 = 556.7 gallons of heating oil.
Seasoned weight: 3 × 3,800 lbs = 11,400 lbs (5.7 tons of wood).
Osage Orange (32.9M BTU), Shagbark Hickory (28.5M BTU), Black Locust (27.9M BTU), and White Oak (25.7M BTU) produce the highest heat output per cord in North America.
One cord of seasoned oak produces approximately 25.7 million BTUs, equivalent to about 185 to 190 gallons of home heating oil.
Seasoned firewood has radial cracks (checks) at the log ends, loose bark, a lighter hollow "clunk" sound when two logs are tapped together, and a moisture reading under 20% on a pin meter.
A cord of freshly cut green oak weighs up to 5,500 pounds (2.75 tons). When fully seasoned, its weight drops to around 3,800 pounds.
Calculate full cords, face cords (ricks), cubic feet, and weight of stacked firewood logs.
Calculate the cords of wood in an irregular or rectangular woodpile with stacked cord standards.
Convert thrown/loose cubic feet of firewood into true stacked cords and calculate pickup truck bed capacities.
Equivalent to ~371 gallons of #2 heating oil