Firewood is an excellent, low cost heating source especially in southern states
When I built my wood bunks I didn’t know the term “cord of wood”.
The panhandle of north Florida definitely has its cold snaps. 2021 was our first year here. There was one or two hard freezes. 2022 we woke up to a nine degree morning among many hard freeze nights. I’m reading that 2023 is already teeing up to be even chillier. The furnaces installed in most homes way south are laughable compared to what was up north. But, you don’t need that level of heating.
Greg Judy had a great YouTube video about sourcing firewood from your own property. Last year we tried using our farmhouse fireplace to heat our entire home with our thermostat set in the 50s. With the exception of really cold nights, we made it without the use of our home’s electric heat.
With our fireplace getting started in the morning and burning into the night, we consumed a lot of firewood. I really wasn’t prepared for how much we would use. We took some trees down and cut them up for firewood. A neighbor gave us a small rack for firewood that maybe held a half face cord. I built a rack out of used lumber for the overflow of wood figuring we’d have wood for years. We ended up buying a farm truck load of firewood before the month of December was over.
What is a cord of wood?
This was a terminology that I was unfamiliar with. Firewood is typically measured in cords, which is a standard unit of volume for stacked firewood. A cord of firewood is defined as a stack of wood that is 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long. This amounts to 128 cubic feet (or about 3.62 cubic meters) of wood. This is usually 3 rows of firewood cut to 16”.
A face cord is a term used to describe a stack of firewood that is typically one-third the volume of a full cord. While a full cord of firewood measures 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, a face cord is typically 4 feet high and 8 feet long but has a varying width depending on the size of the wood pieces used to create the stack. A face cord is a measurement of volume and not a standardized unit like a full cord. For example, if the wood pieces are cut to 16-inch lengths, a face cord might be 16 inches wide. If the pieces are cut to 12-inch lengths, the width would be 12 inches.
Fall has arrived, as TnF Farms prepares for winter 2023
Back when summer was just getting started, we fell some trees on our property to build a new chicken building. I cut and stacked the pine logs that were later milled then used some of that wood for the building we built. All the hardwoods went into another stack to be used for firewood.
I feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of my cheapie big box store chainsaw. It always starts and it only struggles on the really big cuts. Today I picked up a bunch of the firewood logs with my tractor to use as a makeshift sawhorse. The Saturday was off to a great start. My chainsaw had fresh gas, a new bar and a chain. It confidently roared going through the seasoned logs like they were nothing.
I set up my production triangle and it worked well. Pick up a few logs with the tractor forks, start whittling away on both sides, once the forks were empty, and stack the firewood. I had my trailer set off to the side for logs needing to be split and my bunks set up for the ready to burn pieces. Fork up some more logs and repeat.
I’m no spring chicken
Hours passed and eventually the sun started to set. My body is soon 50 and was getting tired. My brain was telling my body to manhandle more logs and my back was saying, no, no more. Many refills of fuel and chain oil, my chainsaw’s new components showed some wear. That confident roar from the chainsaw in morning was replaced with a moan that begged for maintenance.
An evening cocktail of Advil and Benadryl and the next day I was back at it. I had two forks worth of logs left to process. Once stacked I looked at my trailer with its heap of logs needing to be split. The family that sold us our farm left a splitting axe behind. I can hold my own splitting wood but my joints are only good for about 10 swings. Swing an axe too long and I’ll pay for it a number of days.
Let’s split some firewood
I have two face cords full of ready to burn firewood. My trailer is full of logs and splitting with an axe is going to take all winter. Remembering I have a buddy with a log splitter I shoot him a text to inquire what kind of a bribe he will accept for the use of his splitter. As luck would have it, I am in good standing for borrowing equipment and I just need to bring his splitter back with a full tank of gas. Renting or in my case, borrowing a splitter is a game changer.
With the log splitter, I process the trailer of logs in a couple hours and fill out a 3rd bunk with another face cord of firewood. When I built my wood bunks, I didn’t understand wood cords so they are not 4′ tall or 8′ long. But for estimation purposes, approximately 3 full days of work yielded a cord of firewood from my property.
What Florida trees can be used for firewood?
Hardwood trees generally make better firewood because they burn hotter and longer than softwood. They also tend to produce less creosote, which can build up in chimneys. While Florida doesn’t have the same abundance of hardwoods as some other regions, there are plenty of suitable options.
- Oak (Southern Live Oak, Water Oak, Laurel Oak): Oak is a popular hardwood for firewood due to its high heat output and long burn time. It’s a common tree in Florida.
- Hickory: Hickory is another excellent hardwood for firewood, known for its high heat value and pleasant aroma when burned.
- Citrus (Orange, Grapefruit, and Lemon): Citrus trees can provide a fragrant firewood option, but they are considered a softwood. While they burn relatively quickly, they can be used for kindling or mixed with hardwoods for a pleasant scent.
- Pecan: Pecan is a hardwood that’s suitable for firewood, similar to hickory. It burns hot and can add a pleasant aroma to the fire.
- Black Cherry: In some parts of Florida, black cherry trees can be found and used for firewood. They offer a good heat output and are a hardwood.
We have enough woods on our land that we should theoretically never run out of trees. We can go around our woods and find dead or dying trees or trees that are fallen because of weather. What a wonderful, renewable heating source!
Tallying up the costs
I’m going to leave out the cost of the equipment because it is subjective to the individual. I have a cheapie big box store chainsaw, not a Stihl. My tractor with a front end loader does other jobs here at TnF Farms and the cost of a tractor can swing by a huge amount. I used it to pull cut trees over and do a lot of the heavy lifting. But you can pull a tree you’re cutting down with a truck and you can make shorter logs that can be moved by hand. A gas powered log splitter is quite an investment for being used a few days out of the year.
One long day of cutting firewood trees down in the summer, removing small branches, and stacking logs. My tractor was used to pull trees over and to move around the 10 – 12’ logs. One long day of nothing but cutting the seasoned logs into firewood with a chainsaw and stacking wood. One long day of final chainsaw cutting, splitting logs and stacking the splits.
Fuel. I did not measure. We have a 25hp compact tractor and it sips diesel. I’m going to estimate 2 gallons of diesel. The log splitter had roughly a 1 gallon tank. It showed up bone dry and even after using it for hours, it only needed about ½ gallon of gasoline. My chainsaw used less, but for simple math I’m going to say ½ gallon of gas and then there was 2 stroke oil to mix and the bar and chain oil.
| Man Hours – 3 full days | 36 |
| Diesel – 2 gallons @ $4.50 | $9.00 |
| Non-Ethanol Gasoline – 2 gallons @ $4.00 | $8.00 |
| Oils | $10.00 |
| Equipment usage | $150.00 |
| Possible log splitter 4 hour rental | $100.00 |
| Miscellaneous | $20.00 |
| Total | $297.00 |
Its subject to scrutiny, but I’m going to say $300 for the year
36 man hours. How do I assign a value to that? If you have a farm or homestead and you don’t have paid staff, you have inescapable chores. I did enjoy doing my chore and got satisfaction out of my accomplishment. I did not pay for a splitter rental but I factored for one. I’m going to round up and say my firewood costs are going to be $150 out of pocket and $150 usage of my equipment for the year.
There are people that are paying that or more to heat their houses for a month. Can you buy a cord of seasoned firewood for that cost? Possible. That cost may also be driven by your location. Yes, this time, I did take good trees down this year for improvements. Future years I will be targeting down, dead or dying trees that I will have to address anyway. If you have a fireplace in good working order, and you’re not way up north, try heating your house with firewood.
