hickory- thumbs down...

i had a large hickory i bucked, split and stacked last year. its either a pignut or mockernut. its burning terrible. not a whole lot of heat, and the amount of ash is simply insane. my stove is simply full of gray, fluffy ash each day. it doesnt happen with oak either. all the ash is keeping the coals from burning completely too, so i get a bunch of charcoal mixed in. i split it pretty small to make sure it dried quick. i checked a fresh split yesterday = 17%. not bad at all.

any ideas?

I give my pignut three years before I burn it. It takes longer than oak. One year is not even close to enough time. Hickory is by far better than oak, much hotter and longer lasting, if it's properly seasoned. I'd say you are rushing things big time.

I'm with kenster, tis green. You've got a couple more years to go before you can enjoy it.

but its at 17%?

is there a difference between green and dry?

i can move what i have left and burn something else i guess....

17%? How are you measuring? The only valid measurement is to freshly split a piece and press the probes of your meter into the freshly split face. You can't measure it from the outside of a round or split that has been laying around. Of course the outside is going to be dry. You want it dry all the way through.

Green=wet=unseasoned. Dry = seasoned = decent burning.

Hickory can be the best wood you'll ever burn. Don't waste it by burning it before it's ready.

a fresh split. i took a piece off the stack, split it in half, and it was 17% on the newly split face side. the "older side" was 15%.

before its asked- i am 100% sure its hickory.

If tis really 17%, with the probes stuck in the center of the fresh side of the split, eyer ya sure tis actually hickory I've never seen 'bad burning hickory', but then tis a lot in this world I've not seen

I've never had hickory that burned bad, either. That's really odd....

Is any of the wood you're burning punky or spalted badly? I love burning hickory, wish I had more in my stack to be honest.....

it blew over in a storm alive. no punk whatsoever.

i guess i will put it aside and let it sit longer.

Do you have pictures of the wood?

2+ years seasoning. The longer the better imo.

no pics, but i know my trees pretty darn good. i figured thats the reasoning for wanting the pics. again, i know my trees pretty good- not to mention all the hickory nuts around the stump. just unsure the exact species. certainly wasnt a shagbark thats for sure.

i will say it was tough sawing and it had a light colored outer wood, darker heartwood.

the area woods also has ash, walnut and poplar. i know them too.

Are you measuring along the grain or perpendicular?

IE: if your grain is N/S, then your probes should be N/S as well

yes, thats how i measure. both probes in the same ring.

ok

oh it burns, just not nearly well as i had hoped. i would say it burns like sweet gum. its the ashyness and the charcoal it causes that i really cant stand.

i'll check some more pieces and report back.

The exessive coals are due to high MC...
I've been there before.

Thats odd, I burned it one year and it was one of the better woods Ive burned, mine was seasoned 3 years, didnt have a moisture meter at the time so dont know what it was. Maybe your meter's off? Put it aside and try it again next year or year after and see if theres a difference.

Just checked 2 pieced that have been inside all day. 18 and 17%.

Forget it. I just restacked it all for next winter.

Just one more reason I recommend getting 3 years ahead on the wood. These problem don't crop up then.

well, never burned bad hickory and never got the ash build-up your talking about........burn shagbark.........can't be too much different