Burning Black Walnut

[Ashful]

If I could I would cut them all down. The last to get leaves and the first to drop them. Dirty, toxic, and messy. Really many are monsters that just the branches are near impossible to cut or trim. So they stay where they are. Only two are in the general vicinity of the house.

I'm surprised you don't lose them in storms. I lost ten in just one year, between Irene and Sandy.

Yes, they have a very short leaf season, but I still find them to be very pretty trees. I also like that there is zero leaf clean-up, by comparison my maples are a PITA. Right now my too-soggy lawn is covered in several inches of wet matted maple leaves, under four inches of snow. The walnut leaves all blew away as they fell, back in late September / early October.

 

[ct01r]

Over the years, we've had a few farmers that would buy walnuts, then they sell them to a candy company. You don't make much, but at least there's a place to get rid of them. I'd get the kids to help me pick them up and they'd split $10-20 a pickup load 3-4 times each fall. Nice way to introduce them to the working side of life. Now I either dump them in the back field (as far away as possible), or let them dry out and burn them. They actually burn surprisingly well if they're dry. Curt

 

[walhondingnashua]

Neighbor has a steel porch roof with no paneling under it. Sounds like a 9mm every time one of those things hits his roof. Roof looks like a golf ball with all the dents in it.

 

[jetsam]

Over the years, we've had a few farmers that would buy walnuts, then they sell them to a candy company. You don't make much, but at least there's a place to get rid of them. I'd get the kids to help me pick them up and they'd split $10-20 a pickup load 3-4 times each fall. Nice way to introduce them to the working side of life. Now I either dump them in the back field (as far away as possible), or let them dry out and burn them. They actually burn surprisingly well if they're dry. Curt

One time I decided to save up a big box of them until they were dry so I didn't have to deal with that rind. I got back to it after they were black and dry.

It turns out that the inside of the nut dries out just about as fast as the outside; there was not any meat left in there!

 

[yooper08]

With all the ash from the BW, I will say the one benefit is that it keeps the coals for a long time. Last night I loaded it up at 8:40 to last only 4-5 hours so I could reload before bed. Fell asleep before then. Went to start it up this morning at 8:00, felt the stove and it was still warm (temped at about 100). Dug the coals out from under the ash and got her going again.

 

[Hogwildz]

Medium heat, and a shitton of ash.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I'm surprised you don't lose them in storms. I lost ten in just one year, between Irene and Sandy.

Yes, they have a very short leaf season, but I still find them to be very pretty trees. I also like that there is zero leaf clean-up, by comparison my maples are a PITA. Right now my too-soggy lawn is covered in several inches of wet matted maple leaves, under four inches of snow. The walnut leaves all blew away as they fell, back in late September / early October.

I’ve lost three or four in many years. Mostly branches dying and falling

 

[walhondingnashua]

I've been burning a lot of very dry walnut the last few weeks and I am impressed with how it keeps the coals as well. I have had my best start ups in 3 years by putting some walnut in before bed.

 

[paulnlee]

Many moons ago while visiting wife's auntnuncle in Aldrich Mo. she brought back a potato sack of walnuts and put it in the shed. After that winter they were all gone. Thanks to the squirrels I have 30' ers all over

 

[Dobish]

i burned a bunch of it in the firepit on new years day. Mainly just twigs and dead branches...

 

[yooper08]

I've been burning a lot of very dry walnut the last few weeks and I am impressed with how it keeps the coals as well. I have had my best start ups in 3 years by putting some walnut in before bed.

Agreed, which is putting me in a pickle on how to use the rest of it. Do I use it throughout winter during the day and use the other hardwoods at night, use it for overnighters and save the good stuff for the day, or pause for shoulder season? Or, just mix it in?

 

[Simonkenton]

"Many moons ago while visiting wife's auntnuncle in Aldrich Mo. she brought back a potato sack of walnuts and put it in the shed. After that winter they were all gone. Thanks to the squirrels I have 30' ers all over."

Yes! My house is in a forest on top of a mountain in North Carolina. Black walnut trees all over the place.
But, in 1925, my place was a corn field. The local farmer lived down at the bottom of the mountain near the creek, but his corn fields were on the somewhat flat ridge on top of the mountain. His daughter Ms. Marlor still lived in the old farm house when I moved up here 22 years ago, and she told me about picking corn in 1925 where my house now stands.

After WW2, 1/3 the population of Madison County moved to Detroit to work "the line." And the farming operations stopped. Old Dad and Ms. Marlor still lived in the house by the creek. And the forest took over the corn fields.
So how the hell did walnuts get 300 feet up the steep mountain to grow where my house is? Squirrels. Boy they love to bury those nuts.
And I count the growth rings on all the walnuts I have whacked, they all started growing in 1949, 1952 etc.
Thank you squirrels, good job! Otherwise all I would have is maples and poplar with one or two oak.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Agreed, which is putting me in a pickle on how to use the rest of it. Do I use it throughout winter during the day and use the other hardwoods at night, use it for overnighters and save the good stuff for the day, or pause for shoulder season? Or, just mix it in?[/QUO

Seems to burn fast for me, but have not tried to incorporate it into overnight burns yet. Worth it to experiment though.

 

[Simonkenton]

I have not found it to be the best for overnight burns. Mediocre, and I have burned tons of black walnut.
I save oak, hickory, or locust for the overnight burns.

 

[Ashful]

I have not found it to be the best for overnight burns. Mediocre, and I have burned tons of black walnut.
I save oak, hickory, or locust for the overnight burns.

Agreed. I burned almost 100% black walnut in 2011 - 2014, and it beats softwoods, but it’s one of the poorer hardwoods I’ve burned. I wouldn’t seek it out, but when Irene and Sandy bring them down in my own back yard...

Somewhere on this forum, there’s a photo of a monster black walnut tree that fell right onto my wood stacks. It must have had 80 feet of straight trunk, roughly 24 - 30 inch diameter.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Agreed. I burned almost 100% black walnut in 2011 - 2014, and it beats softwoods, but it’s one of the poorer hardwoods I’ve burned. I wouldn’t seek it out, but when Irene and Sandy bring them down in my own back yard...

Somewhere on this forum, there’s a photo of a monster black walnut tree that fell right onto my wood stacks. It must have had 80 feet of straight trunk, roughly 24 - 30 inch diameter.

Another 6" diameter would be veneer, big$$$$$

 

[Ashful]

Another 6" diameter would be veneer, big$$$$$

You know, reading Al Gore's Internet, you'd think so. But several neighbors called mills after Sandy rolled thru, and they were all turned down. It seems that unless you can fill a full log truck or three, it's just not worth their time to even send the truck to your location. Also, they're leery about even touching any yard tree, too many issues with hitting unseen objects within, like ceramic wiring insulators and other hardware.

 

[yooper08]

I have not found it to be the best for overnight burns. Mediocre, and I have burned tons of black walnut.
I save oak, hickory, or locust for the overnight burns.

Agree. I don’t need a lot of heat from the stove at night, so putting in some BW E-W has given me plenty of coals to go again in the morning, when I really want the heat. My stove is essentially in my office so my heat demands are kind of flipped from most people.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Back in colonial times Wanuts were usually referred to as "bushes" not trees. They are also the most lightning prone tree and were recommended to be planted near homes to act as a natural lightning rod. At least until Ben Franklin came along and did his thing on Lightning rods.

 

[Ashful]

Back in colonial times Wanuts were usually referred to as "bushes" not trees. They are also the most lightning prone tree and were recommended to be planted near homes to act as a natural lightning rod. At least until Ben Franklin came along and did his thing on Lightning rods.

Interesting. In that case, my house is surrounded on the south and east by 80 foot tall "bushes".

 

[Kevin Weis]

I'm thinking bushes or trees were identified as one or the other based on the shape of they're crown back then not by height as they mostly are now.