Hickory as firewood

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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 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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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