Information About Hickory Firewood Logs

Trees can be divided into basically two categories: hard wood and soft wood types. Both hard and soft woods are used for specific purposes, but when it comes to choosing wood for burning, hard woods definitely win out.

Woods selected for firewood will start quickly and, once alight, will burn steadily and produce a good amount of heat.

Those woods that spark a great deal aren't as desirable in a fireplace. Woods containing a high amount of resin, such as the coniferous woods like fir, spruce, or pine, can be problematic because that resin can build up in a chimney and cause chimney fires.

Soft woods, easy to split and easy to light, do make good kindling, however.

Hickory, a hardwood, makes a wonderful choice for firewood. After all, hickory burns the hottest of any commonly used firewood, with a high BTU rating; it burns with a low flame; and it doesn't spark or smoke heavily. Hickory is perhaps the most popular of woods used for smoking meats. Perhaps for this reason, hickory like ash is sold not only as firewood logs, but also as wood chunks or chips.

Hickory wood is considered a dense wood, which allows it to burn steadily and give off a high heat for a long period of time. These benefits, however, come with a price. Because of its density, hickory is a difficult wood to split. Hickory also requires a longer drying time, or seasoning period, than some other woods. Since wood when harvested can hold up to half of its weight in water when first cut, it becomes vital to allow the wood to dry before attempting to burn it. Otherwise, this "wet" wood can result in a slow, smoky fire--assuming the wood burns at all. "Green" hickory can actually hold a water content of up to 80 percent. By contrast, seasoned hickory wood will have a water content of about 20 percent.

Seasoning hickory firewood begins with splitting it, which allows the wood to dry more quickly along its length, rather than through the moisture-holding bark. Smaller pieces will cure more quickly than bigger pieces. After splitting the wood, stack it in a dry environment where the wind and sun can help to pull moisture from the wood. For an effective seasoning time for hickory, plan on about 12 months. The firewood is ready for burning when, if two pieces are hit together, a hollow sound is the result. Large cracks will also begin to show in the wood. And now? On to some wonderful fires.