I'm Liking the Hickory, but...

[SpeakEasy]

I have about 1/4 cord of hickory that was mixed in with a load of ash that I bought in Sept. '09. When I stacked it last year, I separated the hickory out. Recently I checked its moisture content and was surprised to find it to be 22% after 14 months of being split and stacked. I thought it would be below 20%. I burned a load of it anyway, just to see how it would be. It lit easily, and it burned hot and long. It left nice coals. That is, it performed just the way I hoped it would, in spite of the 22% moisture reading. So - what's up? Why is it still 22% after 14 months? And why is it burning so well in spite of reading 22%. Maybe the meter is wrong?

-Speak

 

[amateur cutter]

If it's burning well, no sizzle, or excessive smoke, lights easy etc. put the MM back in the drawer & don't worry about it. A C

 

[gzecc]

I don't have that much experience with hickory although I thought it seasoned in one year. In my experience 22% is good enough for burning.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The reason it is still 22% is because hickory is so dense, just like oak, it gives up its moisture grudgingly. Danged good wood though. Wish I had a lot of it.

 

[DBoon]

What kind of moisture meter are you using? Hickory is really dense, and a cheapo moisture meter might read higher on hickory than it should.

 

[Kenster]

What kind of moisture meter are you using? Hickory is really dense, and a cheapo moisture meter might read higher on hickory than it should.

The past two nights I burned some real nice hickory from a standing dead that I took down, bucked and split last winter. 18 inch long, about 8 inch thick splits. Heavy as a block of concrete. Splits like a block of concrete, too. I did a fresh split and put the meter on it and I was getting 11%-14% on a little meter that someone on the site says reads 5% HIGH.
Man, that stuff burned nicely. Hard to hand split but all I have around here is various types of oak and pignut hickory. I like burning both.

 

[rphurley]

I don't own a moisture meter, but I always give Hickory 18-24 months before burning and it has always burned beautifully!

 

[rdust]

Wood is going to burn fine at 22%, once it's over 25% or so it'll be more sluggish. With that said you will notice a difference if it was given another year.

 

[Shari]

I like what I'm hearing here -

I've got about 1-3/4 cord of hickory from a tree that came down in a storm last year. It was cut to rounds last year - I got it this year and split/stacked it for 2011/2012 in April/May of this year. It's kind of like waiting for that steak to get done on the BBQ - I can't wait to burn it!

Shari

 

[joshlaugh]

I have cut down and burned a lot of bitternut hickory. I give it 12 months after being split and stacked and than I burn it. No idea about moisture content, I simply look at the wood and as long as it burns well and doesn't sizzle, everything is good.

 

[Battenkiller]

And why is it burning so well in spite of reading 22%. Maybe the meter is wrong?

For one thing, hickory needs a three point downward correction at 22% on the meter. That means your 22% MC reading for hickory is really only 19% MC in actuality.

Secondly, most meters are calibrated for the oven-dry method of moisture assessment used in the lumber industry. So a reading of 22% MC on hickory is corrected to 19% (dry-basis), which is only 16% water by weight (wet-basis). Which goes a long way to explain why your wood is burning so well, and also goes a long way to show that you should put the meter away and enjoy your stove. ;-)

 

[Kenster]

I've burned hickory for the past couple of years but this is the first year that I know for a fact the wood has been split and stacked for a good year and the moisture meter reads 11 to 14% (so should really be 8% to 11%.) It burns beautifully. It's still a booger to hand split, though. I've been burning a mix of the hickory and some really good water oak. I've decided that the next hickory I cut, which should be this week, will be cut at nine inches for a north/south burn. Should make it a lot easier to split. Then I'll use my 20 inch, easy to split oak for the east/west burn.

I've got a handful of ugly hickory rounds, curved or knotty, that make it real hard to hand split. They are about six or seven inch diameter. The bark is blown on them and they've been in the stack for going on three years. They weigh a ton. Next time we're due for really cold night and it's going to stay cold into the next day, I'm going to toss a couple of these into the box at bedtime to see how long they'll burn.

 

[modo]

I always save my hickory for the coldest part of winter, burns the hottest. If i burn it much in late fall, it runs me outa the house. As far as moisture content, like has been stated on here as long as its not hissing at you and you can shut your stove down like normal you should be fine.

 

[weatherguy]

I was lucky enought to get about a 1/2 cord of seasoned hickory and I like it better than the oak. I burned a little bit to see how it burns but Im saving the rest for the dead of winter. I can get 3 cords of 28 in hickory rounds but I guess Id have to get a splitter after what Im hearing about splitting the stuff. I may get it anyway and worry about it later.

 

[modo]

Depends how much hickory you have to split, and how much stamina you have in your tank that day! But it does burn hot. Only gripe ive ever had about it is the pop and sparks it shoots out my stove door when i reload, and yes it doesn't want to go down w/out a fight when you split it.

 

[Coach B]

I've got some Hickory that'll be the first thing to burn when I get my new stove in. I know Hickory is right up there with Osage Orange(Bois D'Arc) and Locust when it comes to heavy wood. All three are prized stuff in the smoke dragon Hardy boilers that are popular around here.