Is Hickory a good firewood?

[Richard]

Seems there is more than one type of hickory and I don't know what it is.

The tree is about 10/11 inches diamater and on the edge of the gravel driveway that was being widened a bit.

We took it down yesterday & my wifes cousin asked me to drag it to the burn pile. I asked what kind of tree it was and he said hickory "but it doesn't burn very well like Oak" (or something like that)

Should I drag it to the trash pile and burn it? (by trash, I do not mean household trash but rather, branches/limbs other)

Or, should we drag it to his 'to be split' pile?

If hickory is harder than oak to split, that's ok...he's got a hydraulic splitter.

Just don't want to torch it if it's good firewood

 

[crbr]

......... my wifes cousin ....

Hickory and Oak are two of the best hardwoods to produce heat.


LOL..... Kinfolk in east TN are wonderful....


.

 

[Egon]

You could drag it over to My burn pile!:laughing:

 

[MarkV]

Hickory if very desirable firewood once it is cured.

MarkV

 

[RobA]

Although figures vary depending on the source here are BTU ratings for some hickory and oak species:

Shagbark hickory 27.7
Bitternut hickory 26.7
White oak 25.7
Red oak 24.0

 

[magicheater]

Hickory and Oak are two of the best hardwoods to produce heat.

I agree

 

[captaincrab55]

Great for smoking meat too....

 

[DennisArrow]

The only problem is the weight even when dry......Do dry it NOW for next winter or even better the next.....Burns long, hot, and not much ash.......Dennis

 

[BruceWard]

My Dad trys to burn hickory as much as he can. It is his favorite fire wood. He is 62 years old and has always lived in a wood heated home.

He uses seasoned wood to start fires and then green wood to keep them going. The green wood burns slower.

 

[ToadHill]

Great heat from hickory, but you get a bunch of sparks also.

 

[om21braz]

It is the BBQ restaurants wood of choice in this immediate area. They buy a large enough quantity around here year-round that makes it tough for anyone else to get much of it. And yes, properly cured it is excellent firewood.

 

[foggy1111]

generally....the weight of the (dried) wood will tell you the btu content of the wood. The heavy wood yeilds more btu's than the lightweight wood. but, how it burns is another thing.

 

[AchingBack]

There are perhaps many good tool handles to be had in the processing of that wood. Axe, hammer, shovel, pick, knives; you name it. It is a pleasure to hew your own tool handles.

 

[archerm3]

Hickory is the best wood for making bows too...i'd love to get my hands on some more 7 foot splits...

 

[Ford850]

The bitternut hickory I burn does produce a lot of heat, but it is difficult to burn unless you already have a very hot fire started. Another issue with it is the painted hickory borers that lay eggs in dead hickory wood (aka firewood). When you bring the wood indoors to burn, the wood thaws and you will have large "longhorned" beetles flying all over the house.

 

[dodge man]

I burn some hickory, the only problem is the insects that bore into the wood, it doens't seem to hurt the wood that much, but it makes a lot of sawdust, which can make a mess. I never bring any fire wood into the house, except to put it straight in the fire. There are just to many bug in the fire wood.

 

[Tractorbeam]

Hickory is the worst wood to burn. I'll do you a favor and take it off your hands.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Hickory is strong and very pretty, waste to burn in my opinion.

 

[Taylortractornut]

The old man that does our serious truck work has always request we take him one hicory for the winter. It can only age 6 to 8 months to or be green. He showed me that if its 2 winters old that it will burn hot and fast, and wont coal up. may be the type here. We have 2 ones a scaley bark and the other one is a bitter nut I think. I get the slabs from a friends mill to burn does reall y well green and dried.