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Objective/Hypothesis An attempt to answer the question which has been nagging mankind (and womankind, to a somewhat lesser degree) throughout the ages: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck? This author hypothesized that a woodchuck could, given the chance, actually chuck one heck of a lot of wood! And keep himself darn warm doing it. The Study Data was collected during three different phases. Phase I During ten years off the grid, used wood to heat a 600 square foot cabin in a Southern Quebec forest. And cooked all hot meals in a wood cooking range during the same period. href="#001">1 Annual wood consumption during this phase averaged five solid cords (15 runs).2 Phase II To make room for Liselyn's grand piano, a gas stove replaced the wood range and the Cadet airtight assumed heating exclusively for an annual wood consumption of two-and-a-half solid cords (8 1/2 runs). Phase III Phase III takes place in the new house, whose square footage is roughly four times that of the cabin. A catalytic wood burning stove (a large Dutchwest convection heater) on the first floor is the sole source of heat for the house apart from a 1Kw bathroom heater on a 15-minute timer. Annual wood consumption under these conditions is between five and six solid cords (15-18 face cords). (Note: by 2007 our annual wood consumption has dropped to a 3-year average of four solid cords, or 12 face cords). Initial Assumption The author has determined that the average solid cord of heating wood split to his specifications is comprised of an average of 400 sticks of wood. The Methodology The following method was used to gather statistics (and wood) during the study: List #1
The Data First, collating the statistical information gathered during Phases I, II, and III, we obtain the following totals: Table #1
Next, consulting List #1, we infer the following: Table #2
Conclusions So, how much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Detailed analysis of our data reveals that over the past thirty years this woodchuck has chucked approximately 218 pieces of wood. Or, looked at another way: As I performed her firewood chores as a kid, my grandmother always told me "he who heats with wood is thrice-warmed". I'd say more like eleven-times warmed! Footnotes 1This portion of the study spanned the years between 1972 and 1982, a period during which global warming was not yet so evident. In those years, we were often visited by the first frost just after Fair Time during the waning days of August, and tomato plants rarely made an appearance in gardens before the first week of June. January temperatures in those days commonly remained below 0-degrees F for weeks at a time; -20 F was a frequently recorded temperature day or night, and on at least one occaision the mercury outside the Cabin's single-glazed kitchen window descended to the bottom of its scale at -40 F. 2 A solid, or full cord measures 8' x 4' x 4', or 128 cubic feet. A full cord is made up of three face cords (also referred to as little cords, stove cords, or runs), which each measure 8' x 4' x 16", or 1/3 of a full cord. As mentioned, the author's reckoning is that an average full cord contains just over 400 splits when prepared as heating wood. When split for cooking wood the number of splits can rise by more than %50. Table #3
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