10/09/06 Making Fire

Making fire. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Cooler days and nights are approaching and firewood is now being purchased in Oregon. Consumers can protect themselves by knowing something about firewood purchases: The key thing to remember this fall when buying firewood is that it must be sold by the cord....the only legal unit of measurement: COONEY: They may call it a truckload. They might call it a pile, a rick, a rack, any number of different terms. We've heard creative terms such as a wood cord or perhaps a commercial cord. That is absolutely prohibited. That would be like having a large gallon of gasoline. Clark Cooney of the Oregon Department of Agriculture´s Measurement Standards Division says a cord is 128 cubic feet when the wood is stacked neatly and tightly. Because of the current economy, there may be more wood sellers out there this fall: COONEY: During tough times, people are going to be trying to make a little extra money on the side cutting firewood and selling it. So indeed, there might be people out there who are not familiar with the methods of sale of firewood. Cooney says it's important to make sure the firewood is purchased by the cord and not some other kind of unit of measurement. COONEY: It's the only accepted unit of measurement because it is defined. The other units of measurement are just somebody's judgment. So it's required to be as a cord or a cubic meter. It's a definite measurement. Cooney says once the firewood is delivered, you can ensure you are getting exactly what you are paying for. COONEY: Have that wood stacked tightly and neatly so you can get a measurement on it. Just dumping into your driveway, there's no way to tell how much you just had delivered to your residence. Whether you stack it yourself or you pay the delivery person to stack it for you, or just someone to do it...that the way to go. Remember that different woods have different qualities. Oak creates a lasting fire and splits easily. But oak may be expensive and other woods may work just as well. Some woods are less dense and have different splitting and coaling qualities. Also the more moisture in your wood, the less heat you will get from it. It takes energy to burn the water out of wood (it may make a hissing sound). This is energy that should be used in warming your house. Generally, the dryer the wood, the more you`ll pay for it. ODA responds to complaints about firewood deliveries. Cooney suggests you be present when the wood arrives....and have it stacked and measured to make sure you are getting exactly what you are paying for. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.