Hickory help.

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dcl

Member
Dec 25, 2018
11
northern illinois
Guys. Quick question. I've got the worst problem. Access to way more firewood than I can use. I know I know.. horrible right? It's mainly live- cut hickory. Like a100 trees. I've never burned it. Read here it's good wood. My question: go all in with hickory? Or gather other wood also available here like downed Cherry and oak? Any issues other than the bugs with hickory? I'm set for 3 years now. Just wanting to get way ahead. Thanks for any words of wisdom.
DCL
 
get it.
And maybe some cherry - or some softer wood (burning down the coals).

Do you have a splitter? Hickory can be tough to split. (stringy)
 
Take what you can store. Stack it covered and off the ground. Will stay good for a long time. I got a couple seasons stacked in rounds covered and off the ground waiting to get split.
 
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Hickory is good o, down side is it's hard to split and goes off like firecrackers in the stove at times. If I'm burning Hickory and open the stove to reload it will pop and shoot sparks out. Find a barbecue place and sell them some.
 
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Take what you can store. Stack it covered and off the ground. Will stay good for a long time. I got a couple seasons stacked in rounds covered and off the ground waiting to get split.
Only problem is the powder post beetles will raise havoc with hickory and make a mess of it, spray the outside with a repellent , won't make a difference when burning it.
 
Always good to have a mix of woods. Based on there btu output and burn times you can mix and match to meet your needs
 
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I would have no problem burning all hickory but I get what's available for free so it's usually a mixture of oaks, hickory, maple and ash. The thing about burning one species at a time is you learn how it burns, length of burn, and heat it puts out etc...more of a guessing game with mixed species.
 
I put it under cover immediately - if there is room. Why not, can only help (unless the cover is too tight for air flow).
 
Hey Dave, I tried to get ahold of you last summer. Please check your messages. It may have moved off the 'recent' status. They seem to do that after a period of time.
 
Take the oak for easy splitting.
 
Hickory and oak are pretty similar. Both great. If it were me, after getting my fill of the harder woods I'd focus on mixing in some cherry. It's nice to have something softer and quicker seasoning for shoulder season and igniting the harder woods. A split of cherry/maple on the coals will really help a load of oak/hickory take off faster.
 
Hickory is great firewood. I quit burning it because of those bark beetles. My pile of hickory would be covered with pounds of fine, powdery sawdust, it looked like someone had dumped ten pounds of white flour on top of the pile.
 
Lots of ash generated from hickory and it coals for days. That can be problematic with small fireboxes. I prefer oak and black birch to hickory. As previously mentioned the fireworks it produces when stirring up coals are not fun to deal with either.
 
Hickory is great firewood. I quit burning it because of those bark beetles. My pile of hickory would be covered with pounds of fine, powdery sawdust, it looked like someone had dumped ten pounds of white flour on top of the pile.
i spray my lean to once yearly lightly and it has kept the beetles to a bare minimum where they are hardly noticeable,it's more problematic with outdoor stacks.
 
Was there today. Did not see the cut site on Stonebarn, but saw a few other things.
Does a guy get to use the saw if he shows up?
I answered your 'conversation' a few days ago, but did not hear back.

[Hearth.com] Hickory help.


[Hearth.com] Hickory help.