# Hickory as firewood



## muncybob (Sep 28, 2011)

My btu chart shows Bitternut Hickory as fairly high in btu content. Somebody has several hickory trees he wants down. Are all hickory species good firewood?


----------



## Thistle (Sep 28, 2011)

Yes they are. All pretty much the same,considered among the best there is.

Shagbark,Shellbark,Mockernut,Pignut,Bitternut...it dont matter what you're burning.


----------



## Jack768 (Sep 28, 2011)

Burned half a cord of shagbark hickory a couple of years ago.  Fantastic wood -- burns hot though.


----------



## cptoneleg (Sep 28, 2011)

Thistle said:
			
		

> Yes they are. All pretty much the same,considered among the best there is.
> 
> Shagbark,Shellbark,Mockernut,Pignut,Bitternut...it dont matter what you're burning.





+1 and BBQ too


----------



## Thistle (Sep 28, 2011)

cptoneleg said:
			
		

> Thistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You got it. I'm hoping to get a few hickory nuts this year too,havent seen many so far,I think its a bit early for them compared to years past.Tough to get the kernels from that hard white shell,but they sure are tasty.


----------



## muncybob (Sep 28, 2011)

Thistle said:
			
		

> cptoneleg said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's exactly why he wants the trees taken out, tired of the nuts!


----------



## onetracker (Sep 28, 2011)

muncybob said:
			
		

> Thistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



yes those messy nuts. unbelievable. free food falling from the sky and we (not us) can't deal with that. some years ago i saw a huge mulberry tree being taken down cuz some tennants were complaining about the fruit falling on their cars. town removing cherry trees cuz they stained the flippin sidewalks. free, organic, plentiful FOOD falling from the sky, and we (not us) want to cut them down cuz they're inconvenient. what planet am i living on?


----------



## onetracker (Sep 28, 2011)

LOVe hickory. i'd burn it exclusively if i had the chance.

warped the baffle in my stove it did. someone left the draft open.


----------



## smokinj (Sep 28, 2011)

I think shags the best for the stove and pignut for the bbq.


----------



## lukem (Sep 28, 2011)

Hickory is good if you have a hydraulic splitter, but if splitting by hand it wouldn't be my first choice.  All the hickory I've ever split (which isn't a lot) was a beast to split.  Maybe I just got lucky...


----------



## Shari (Sep 28, 2011)

I've got 1-1/2 cords of shagbark seasoned 2 yrs. which will be going the the stove this winter.  I'm sitting here with great expectations as I've never burned this type of wood before.

That shagbark can really pinch you when you are splitting it.  The bark gets me every time. 

Shari


----------



## Jags (Sep 28, 2011)

If I could only choose one wood to burn, it would be hickory.  Good stuff (all varieties).


----------



## krex1010 (Sep 28, 2011)

I have about 2.5 cords of hickory in my stacks for this year.  It's actually the first time I have had a good bit of it, looking forward to burning it this year


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 28, 2011)

I have had my hickory, (not sure what kind but its not shagbark) split and stacked for about 7 months total.  The bark is falling right off it at this point.  Do you guys feel its seasoned enough to start burning in November or December?  I just threw a tarp over the top of it this past weekend.  It over hangs about a foot down.  If I didnt use it until December, that would be 9 months total with a whole summer part of the 9 months of seasoning.  I have about 6 cords of it and Im praying it is O.K.  What kind of experience have you guys had with hickory?  I know it burns hot.


----------



## krex1010 (Sep 28, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> I have had my hickory, (not sure what kind but its not shagbark) split and stacked for about 7 months total.  The bark is falling right off it at this point.  Do you guys feel its seasoned enough to start burning in November or December?  I just threw a tarp over the top of it this past weekend.  It over hangs about a foot down.  If I didnt use it until December, that would be 9 months total with a whole summer part of the 9 months of seasoning.  I have about 6 cords of it and Im praying it is O.K.  What kind of experience have you guys had with hickory?  I know it burns hot.



It may be fine or it may be pretty damp still.  Buy a moisture meter and pop open a split and check it out.  I'm not real experienced with hickory so I'm not the best one to comment on how fast it dries.


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 28, 2011)

Hopefully we get some more answers here guys.  I need experienced hickory burners answers please


----------



## BrotherBart (Sep 28, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> Hopefully we get some more answers here guys.  I need experienced hickory burners answers please



What more can we tell ya? Half the answers are from people that have burned it and they say it is great. For what it is worth I stack it right in with the oak in my stacks and it burns the same.

Go get it.


----------



## Jack Straw (Sep 28, 2011)

I am fortunate to have quite a few Shagbark Hickory trees in my woods. They are kind of tricky to cut though. They tend to splinter when you cut them down and can be a little dangerous.


----------



## cptoneleg (Sep 28, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> Hopefully we get some more answers here guys.  I need experienced hickory burners answers please





I have eaten good BBQ that was cooked with hickory, but I still like mesquite BBQ better, and that is all I know about it. :zip:


----------



## Loco Gringo (Sep 29, 2011)

Too much talk of nuts maybe. From personal exp, hickory is as good as it gets. Just season it, like any thing else.


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 29, 2011)

guess i will go get a moisture meter


----------



## jimbom (Sep 29, 2011)

We use hickory and oak.  Both good.  Hickory seasons about twice as fast as our oak.  I have about sixty gallons of hickory bark that we will try in the stove this year.  I am not sure what to expect, but hope it will be good kindling.


----------



## charly (Sep 29, 2011)

JimboM said:
			
		

> We use hickory and oak. Both good. Hickory seasons about twice as fast as our oak. I have about sixty gallons of hickory bark that we will try in the stove this year. I am not sure what to expect, but hope it will be good kindling.


 I cut up a downed hickory last year , and I will agree, it did seem to season really fast. I was surprised how quickly it dried out. Hurricane Irene uprooted two big hickory trees along my riding trail in my woods. Worked one down to the trunk wood, was a good mature 35- 40 foot tree. Wow lots of nuts this year. The brush I stacked was loaded with nuts, like a bumper crop. I know where the deer will be.


----------



## heus (Sep 29, 2011)

The pignut hickory that I cut split and stacked last summer still feels heavy as a rock. Dont think it is ready to burn even after over a year of seasoning.


----------



## jimbom (Sep 29, 2011)

Hickory is dense.  If you need the wood this year, check the moisture.  You might be surprised.  I was surprised at ours.


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 29, 2011)

heus said:
			
		

> The pignut hickory that I cut split and stacked last summer still feels heavy as a rock. Dont think it is ready to burn even after over a year of seasoning.


Huh. A little under half my stack for '12 is going to be Pignut...dead standing but not split or stacked yet. Guess I will lay in some Ash, just in case...


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 29, 2011)

thats what im concerned with.  it feels heavy but then again i never burned hickory before.


----------



## weatherguy (Sep 29, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> thats what im concerned with.  it feels heavy but then again i never burned hickory before.



I had some last year, it was seasoned 4 years so I know it was dry and it was still heavy, burned great, would love to get a couple more cords.


----------



## Heartwood (Sep 29, 2011)

Bitternut Hickory.  It's absolutely awful to burn.  You'd hate it.  Your stove will feel like an icebox.  Your chimney will cough.  Your wife will look for a man who burns pitch pine.

By the way, where did you say those free trees are?


----------



## muncybob (Sep 29, 2011)

Glad I saked as I'm always learning about trees....but, the guy has not responded so I guess it's a mute point.  After yesterday's storms I now have some maple to cut up.


----------



## onetracker (Sep 29, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> Hopefully we get some more answers here guys.  I need experienced hickory burners answers please



makes a fantastic flatbow.
great tomahawk handles.
fighting staffs
leave the shaving on the ground so they stay damp and throw them on the bbq. da best.


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 29, 2011)

Well I split some splits open yesterday and noticed it really did not feel damp inside.  Now I didnt check it with a moisture meter because I did not get one yet, but I can say for sure that the ends are checked and the bark takes no effort to remove.  It basicly falls off.  Im going to get down in the 40's this weekend so I might get a chance to see if it sizzles.  If it does I am doomed and will have to turn my heat on which I can not afford to turn on this year.  I think from here on Im going to ask strickly for ash so I dont have to worry about my wood seasoning in 9 months any more.


----------



## cptoneleg (Sep 29, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> Well I split some splits open yesterday and noticed it really did not feel damp inside.  Now I didnt check it with a moisture meter because I did not get one yet, but I can say for sure that the ends are checked and the bark takes no effort to remove.  It basicly falls off.  Im going to get down in the 40's this weekend so I might get a chance to see if it sizzles.  If it does I am doomed and will have to turn my heat on which I can not afford to turn on this year.  I think from here on Im going to ask strickly for ash so I dont have to worry about my wood seasoning in 9 months any more.




First year I burned alot of 6 month oak, don't worry about it if its all you got,  burn on, didn't use the furnace at all that winter.


----------



## iod0816 (Sep 29, 2011)

My pignut and shagbark are dry as you'd want them right now (>20 easy). I live in mass and had them split and stacked since Mar. Downed and bucked in Dec. Id say cover it on the top now that were in Oct after this dry week ahead and your ok. Hickory is dense as oak, starts off lower mc, but dries fast. It will still weigh a lot even when dry. Your not looking at red maple type wood (and similar) dry and wet weight differences. 

I live on a city lot and don't have room oak drying. So I go for sugar maple, locusts and hickory.


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 30, 2011)

what is the difference in weight between lets say ash and maple compared to hickory


----------



## Woody Stover (Sep 30, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> what is the difference in weight between lets say ash and maple compared to hickory


Hickory is noticeably heavier when dry, especially compared to soft Maple. Your Hickory may not be optimal but it sounds like it'll burn.


----------



## tumm21 (Sep 30, 2011)

Do you think it will put out about 80 percent of the heat it would have if seasoned another year?  or less


----------



## Battenkiller (Sep 30, 2011)

JimboM said:
			
		

> I have about sixty gallons of hickory bark that we will try in the stove this year.  I am not sure what to expect, but hope it will be good kindling.



Be careful with the amounts you put in there, that stuff is like gasoline in a hot stove.  It does make incredible kindling, however.


----------



## Thistle (Sep 30, 2011)

tumm21 said:
			
		

> what is the difference in weight between lets say ash and maple compared to hickory



Air-dried Hickory is generally between 50 & 55 lbs/cubic foot,Ash 42-44,Sugar Maple 44-46,Silver (soft) Maple 35 roughly.


----------



## tumm21 (Oct 2, 2011)

i hope this stuff works for me this year.  Being it burns hot do you think I will burn less wood this year


----------



## bobdog2o02 (Apr 14, 2014)

My personal experience says you cant go by weight but when you bang them together they should ring. Hickory is not like oak, I've gone from 45% to 15% over one summer in a good windy spot.  It is still  very heavy when dry.  GREAT FIREWOOD, i'll harvest it over oak any day.  Easy to light and long burns.


----------



## smokedragon (Apr 16, 2014)

onetracker said:


> LOVe hickory. i'd burn it exclusively if i had the chance.


+1 to that

It is absolute premium firewood (better than all other hardwoods in my area).  

Get it, and enjoy it.


----------



## muncybob (Apr 16, 2014)

Burned my first batch of hickory this year, was seasoned 2+ years(may have been the stuff I was originally talking about here?) and tested no higher than 20% on the mm. Kinda surprised me since the same size splits in ash or maple were considerably lighter but then again this is more dense wood.
LOVE this stuff! Nice coals that restarted very easy even after prolonged downtime periods. A load would last longer and a nice aroma too.  Can I expect the same results from locust? I'll be cutting my first locust tree shortly.


----------



## bobdog2o02 (Apr 16, 2014)

muncybob said:


> Burned my first batch of hickory this year, was seasoned 2+ years(may have been the stuff I was originally talking about here?) and tested no higher than 20% on the mm. Kinda surprised me since the same size splits in ash or maple were considerably lighter but then again this is more dense wood.
> LOVE this stuff! Nice coals that restarted very easy even after prolonged downtime periods. A load would last longer and a nice aroma too.  Can I expect the same results from locust? I'll be cutting my first locust tree shortly.


No.  I always mix the locust with other wood.  Burns HOT and fast


----------



## Jags (Apr 16, 2014)

Holy old thread, Batman....

Locust is fantastic stove chow, but I don't try to light up a cold stove with it.  Same with Osage.


----------

