cord wood. A thing of the past?

[turnkey4099]

The problem isn't with the idea of standardized measures, but that the cord is a poor unit of measure for commerce, because it is so easily manipulated and the product being measured is irregular. Or to put it differently, it's so poorly defined. It's also hard to verify. Measuring a cord of wood requires stacking it, which is a not-insubstantial amount of work.

Any rigorous system of measurement -- say, weight plus moisture content -- is going to require expensive equipment. But cutting firewood is the ultimate low-budget business. If you have a source of wood, and a few hundred dollars worth of equipment, you're in the firewood business.

I sell by the cord. I split and stack it and the stacks are in easily measured cords. Customers are told that what they get is a full cord and if they wish to stack it and it comes up short I will deliver double whatever the shortage is. My practice is to load out of measured cord stacks and then add a bit 'overage'.

Of course out here the standard is to sell by cord. We view all those other odd measures as just ways to cheat the customer.



Harry k

 

[CalG]

The problem isn't with the idea of standardized measures, but that the cord is a poor unit of measure for commerce, because it is so easily manipulated and the product being measured is irregular. Or to put it differently, it's so poorly defined. It's also hard to verify. Measuring a cord of wood requires stacking it, which is a not-insubstantial amount of work.

Any rigorous system of measurement -- say, weight plus moisture content -- is going to require expensive equipment. But cutting firewood is the ultimate low-budget business. If you have a source of wood, and a few hundred dollars worth of equipment, you're in the firewood business.

Of course, one could purchase their stove wood by the bushel. A much more rigorous unit of measure ;-)

Testimony to how distant "cord wood" has become is how quickly this thread returns to the theme of "A cord of wood". That is, a unit of measure. Cord wood on the other hand is a form that a commodity (wood) is (or was) readily handled. It is also rather easily quantified in this form. I do understand that firewood in Europe is frequently dispensed by weight. Metric tons or something like that. I wonder if they transfer cord wood by the ton? ;-))