Convert thrown/loose cubic feet of firewood into true stacked cords and calculate pickup truck bed capacities.
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A loose cord wood calculator converts loosely dumped, thrown, or tumbled firewood into equivalent tightly stacked cords. In forestry and weights/measures law, tumbled firewood contains roughly 40% more void space than stacked wood, requiring ~180 cubic feet loose to equal 128 cubic feet stacked.
\text{Stacked Cords} = \frac{\text{Loose Cubic Feet}}{180}The standard US Forest Service and State Weights & Measures expansion ratio for 16-inch split firewood is 1.40× (128 cu ft stacked = 180 cu ft loose thrown).
Scenario: A supplier delivers a hydraulic dump trailer measuring 12 ft long, 6 ft wide, and 3 ft deep, filled loose with split firewood.
Dump trailer volume: 12 × 6 × 3 = 216 cubic feet loose.
Divide by loose cord factor: 216 ÷ 180 = 1.20 stacked cords.
Stacked equivalent: 1.20 × 128 cu ft = 153.6 cu ft when stacked.
A thrown (or loose) cord is firewood dumped randomly into a truck or bin without stacking. Because of irregular air gaps, it takes approximately 180 cubic feet of thrown wood to yield one 128 cubic foot stacked cord.
An 8-foot long bed filled level with the bed rails holds about 70 to 75 cubic feet of loose wood, which equals approximately 0.40 to 0.45 of a stacked cord. If rounded up high, it holds about 0.5 to 0.6 cord.
A 6.5-foot short bed holds about 50 to 55 cubic feet of loose firewood (level), which equals approximately 0.30 of a stacked cord (roughly 1 face cord).
When logs are stacked parallel, the flat split surfaces nest closely together. Tumbled wood creates large random air pockets that increase volume by 40% to 50%.
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.
Calculate seasoned vs green firewood weight, million BTU heat content, and heating oil equivalents for cords of firewood.
Air voids increase loose thrown volume by 40% (180 cu ft thrown = 128 cu ft stacked)