If you’re looking for a perfect choice of firewood for your daily burning activities, worry no more. Hickory Firewood might be your best selection.
Hickory is one of the finest firewood regarding flexibility and strength. Moreover, when it burns, it produces a unique aroma.
However, its downside is, unlike other wood types, it is harder to split and saw and is prone to bugs.
Want to learn more about hickory firewood? Read through this article.
What Is Hickory Firewood?
Hickory is one of the best firewood used for burning as it burns hotter than most hardwoods, including oak and maple.
Aside from being durable, Hickory is a good shock absorber making it perfect for making tool handles, e.g., axes and shovels.
Burn Qualities of Hickory Firewood
Heat Production
For every cord of seasoned wood, hickory produces 28.5 million BTUs. But the BTU output of hickory changes depending on the species.
Seasoning Time
Seasoning in dry places like Texas will be easier and quicker. There are processes for speeding up seasoning time in unfavorable climates. They include:
- Split the firewood
- Stack in the right place
- Protect the wood
- Elevate the wood
- Space out the rows.
Creosote Build-up
Creosote is a type of black tar that accumulates inside chimneys. To avoid poor ventilation, eradicate the creosote deposit. The output of creosote is low in hickory hardwood as it has low levels of sap and resin.
Smoke Production
The levels of smoke emission in hickory are low, unlike that of white fir, pine, and boxelder. Most hardwoods, like hickory, burn clean and don’t cause sore, red eyes.
Burning Smell.
Burnt Hickory has a good scent. The smell also adds a sweet, smoky flavor to food. Its fragrance outperforms that of other woods.
Splitting
The toughness of hickory wood fibers makes it challenging to split. There are significant arguments when it comes to splitting hickory.
Most consider it best to season it first, then break it. Splitting during freezing morning hours is favorable in cold areas.
Types Of Hickory Firewood
Shagbark Hickory
The core location of Shagbark is in the Eastern United States or Southeast Canada. It has a sweet taste. When burnt, it produces a smoky fragrance beneficial for flavoring meat. It also burns remarkably and is hence used as firewood.
Trunk of a shagbark tree
Pignut Hickory
Pignut is a strong and elastic wood commonly found in Canada and Eastern United States. Its relatively high heating quality makes it suitable for home heating fuel.
drawing of a pignut hickory nut
Bitternut Hickory.
It’s found in some core parts of the Eastern United States. Since it’s solid and durable, it can function as furniture and tool handles. It also produces a pleasant smell while burning hence used for smoking meat.
bitternut hickory
Shellbark Hickory.
They’re well known for their large nuts and slender trunks and grow well in wet forests. Moreover, their large size makes them unpopular in urban environments.
It is rigid and highly flexible hence used for making tool handles, good furniture, and fuel wood. Additionally, it is appropriate for firewood due to its lasting heating capacity.
Mockernut Hickory
Also known as white hickory, it is a type of hickory that has a long-lasting existence as it can live up to 500 years.
The most abundant type, famous for its strength, is within the Eastern side of the United States. Desirably used for smoking hams and also for fuel-wood products such as charcoal.
Mockernuts have a yellow/green leaf and are hard-to-crack nuts. Their barks have dark gray shallow furrows with ridges forming a diamond pattern.
Easy Ways To Identify Black Locust
Leaves
The leaves alternate along the stem and consist of seven to twenty-one leaflets which can be oval or round. The upper part is dark green, and the beneath is pale. It has white flowers with a yellow blotch on the uppermost petal and drooping clusters in May and June.
black locust leaves
Bark
For the young saplings, the bark is smooth and green. On the other hand, mature trees have a dark brown bark and are hollow with flattered ridges at the top.
Nuts
The outermost shell of hickory nuts is a husk. Its exterior is green when the nut is young, but when it matures, it becomes darker. The inside of the nut is white.
black locust nuts
Stalk shape
The stalk has a giant leaf at the end and 15 -17 pairs of oppositely arranged leaflets.
Comparison to Other Woods
Conclusion
Hickory is the most preferred wood to achieve a hot burning fire. It is best for cooking as it produces a pleasant fragrance. Additionally, if you need plenty of heat, hickory firewood is the proper selection as its variety is helpful in the fire.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.