Hickory Firewood: How Good is It Compared to Other Wood?


Hickory is an interesting, but frequently misunderstood wood. Pecan is actually a type of Hickory tree (bet you didn’t know that!), but I’m only telling you that to prove my point.

In this post, we’re focusing on firewood. And specifically, we’re answering the question:

Is Hickory good firewood?

Hickory is arguably the best type of firewood, especially for heating. It has an exceptional heat output of 28.5 million BTUs per cord of seasoned wood. In addition, Hickory produces minimal smoke and high-quality coals that can burn through the night.

Not convinced? Hickory is very close to a few other top quality firewoods (Black Locust in particular). In the following section, we’ve compiled data to help you compare top firewoods. Let’s start with my quick video overview:

Hickory vs. Other Firewood

best firewood

Below you’ll find a graphic which assigns Hickory to one of three tiers of firewood quality. This will give you an easy view of where Hickory stands in comparison to other types of wood in our area (the Midwest USA).

Within each tier, the types of firewood are not ranked but are considered close in performance. Also, you may like to know that the tiers are based primarily on data from several university extension offices. 

To learn more about the data sources, you can read the note below the image. Now, here it is!

firewood comparison

The information in this image is based largely off of data from the following sources: Utah State University Forestry ExtensionOklahoma Cooperative Extension ServiceUniversity of Illinois ExtensionUniversity of Missouri ExtensionSouth Dakota State University Extension. In addition, where there was missing data (only a few occasions), I’ve used my own experience to round out the data.

Next, we’ll take a deeper look into the 6 most important burn qualities of firewood, to see how Hickory performs in each category. Let’s get to it!

The 6 Burn Qualities of Hickory

1. Heat Output vs Other Firewood

Hickory is a close second for heat output, and although it falls slightly behind Black Locust in this category, Hickory is still in the “best firewood” conversation.

If you took a poll about the hottest burning firewood, a lot of people would say Hickory and Black Locust. The only type of firewood I know of that has a higher heat output is Osage-Orange, but that’s not very common here.

Below, you’ll find a chart that summarizes the BTU output and weight of 15 common firewood species’ (Note: data sources are mentioned beneath the infographic above).

This will help you get a side-by-side view to compare on heat and weight.

Heat Output of Common Firewood
SpeciesBTUsWeight/Cord (lbs)
Black Locust29.34192
Hickory28.54072
Beech27.53760
Oak (White) 26.43776
Mulberry25.83712
Ash24.23472
Maple (Hard)23.93408
Black Walnut22.23192
Pine (Southern Yellow)222936
Birch20.82992
Sycamore24.12872
Black Cherry20.42928
Elm202872
Maple (Soft)192752
Aspen18.22160

Heat output is an important characteristic for firewood, but it’s not the only thing you need to consider. There’s also coaling, aroma, and more.

Let’s cover smoke next.

2. Amount of Smoke

Hickory produces very little smoke, especially when compared to Pine or Hard Maple, which are known to be big smoke producers.

Low smoke production is a common trait among our top tier firewoods, like Ash, Black Locust, and Oak. However, Mulberry, which is otherwise top-level firewood, does produce a moderate amount of smoke.

It’s also worth mentioning, that almost any type of wood will be VERY smokey if you burn it wet. You should always make sure your firewood is properly seasoned (dried) before you burn it.

If you skip down to this section, you can learn more about seasoning firewood, and how you can accelerate the process.

3. Does it Spark?

Some types of firewood pop or spark really badly, which may not seem like an issue at first, but it can actually be a big problem.

Wood that sparks heavily can create significant fire hazards, which can cause problems in both open-air (e.g. outdoor) and enclosed fireplaces. Mulberry is an example of a wood that sparks heavily.

Hickory produces minimal sparks, so it’s a really good performer in this category (another win for Hickory!). However, it’s still a good idea to monitor any type of open-air fire, even if it’s not expected to spark a lot.

4. Smell or Fragrance

Have you ever tried liquid smoke? Or cooked with liquid smoke flavoring? Fun fact: smoke flavoring is actually made from condensed Hickory smoke.

If they make flavoring out of it, then it’s got to smell pretty good! And it definitely does. There are those who would even call Hickory the quintessential smoke smell.

Hickory is also a prized firewood for BBQ and smoking meats, and we recently featured it as one the 11 best smelling firewoods you can burn.

This is one of the few categories where Hickory very clearly beats Black Locust firewood, which smells fine but is much less fragrant.

5. Does it Produce Coals?

Another factor that is commonly used for rating firewood is “coaling”. When any kind of firewood burns it produces coals, and the quality of the coals produced have a big impact on how long (and how well) the fire will continue burning.

For example, wood that has great coaling properties will work well as an overnight fuel in wood stoves, because the quality coals will help the fire stay hot through the night.

These long-lasting coals will also allow you to easily re-start a fire in the morning by simply adding more wood to the existing embers.

Hickory has phenomenal coaling properties and large Hickory logs are great “overnighter” fuel for wood stoves. Black Locust and Hickory are about even in this category, but they really outperform lighter firewoods like Ash, Maple, and Pine.

6. Creosote Build-Up

If you’re using a fireplace or wood stove in your home, another important thing to consider is the maintenance of your chimney, and specifically preventing creosote build-up.

If you’ve not heard of creosote before, it’s a side product of burning wood, and it’s basically a black tar that is gradually deposited by wood smoke on the inside walls of a chimney.

Creosote isn’t a problem in small quantities, but if it gets built up, it can be quite dangerous. Build-up of creosote can reduce the ventilation of your chimney, and it’s also HIGHLY flammable, which can cause chimney fires.

To prevent creosote build-up, it’s important to properly maintain your stove and to have your chimney cleaned regularly.

In addition, you should only ever burn wood that is thoroughly seasoned (dried), because wet wood produces more creosote. Another big factor is the type of wood you’re burning.

In general, firewood that is very sappy will produce much more creosote build-up than firewood that is not as sappy.

Most hardwood firewood, including Hickory, have low sap levels and produce less creosote than very sappy firewood like Pine.

Speaking of Pine, it’s probably the worst type of wood when it comes to creosote build-up. Many people, including my family, completely avoid burning Pine in wood stoves.

Burn Quality Overall Comparison

firewood comparison

Alright, now that we’ve covered the 6 most important burning qualities for Hickory, let’s summarize a few quick comparisons between it and other top tier firewood types.

First, I think it’s helpful to mention that you probably aren’t going to have every kind of wood close by, and a perfectly reasonable way to choose from a list of top firewoods is to go with what is most readily available.

However, if you do have a lot of firewood options, here’s some more info to help you break the tie.

  1. Hickory has exceptionally high heat output and outperforms nearly all other types of firewood, except for Black Locust and Osage-Orange.
  2. Hickory produces extremely good coals capable of burning hot through the night and is on-par with Black Locust and Oak coals.
  3. Hickory has arguably the best smell of any firewood and beats all other top-tier firewoods in this category.

All things considered, Hickory is definitely a top 2 firewood, and is neck-and-neck with Black Locust for the top spot. But I’d say Black Locust is probably a little better, at least for heating.

Next, let’s touch briefly on identifying Hickory firewood, so you can be sure you know what type of wood you’re dealing with.

Identifying Hickory Firewood

In my experience, the easiest way to identify Hickory firewood is using it’s very distinctive bark.

Hickory trees have bark that grows in thin “plates”. For some types of Hickory, these “plates” hang off of the tree like a shaggy rug (like the Shagbark Hickory in the photo above).

For other types of Hickory, it’s more subtle. For example, the bark on the Pignut Hickory in the photo below is not hanging off of the wood like a Shagbark Hickory would.

However, the bark still grows in those thin plates, and if you pull on it, you can pop individual plates off the top. If I want to check if a piece of firewood is Hickory, I always check the bark first.

If you are a wood identification expert, you may have a more scientific approach. But this simple approach will work for most people.

If this method doesn’t work for you, you can always use leaves as a back-up method for identification.

Hickory produces compound leaves that typically have 7-9 leaflets (see the photo below). In appearance, they are somewhat similar to Ash leaves, but if you look at a branch with leaves on it you can see a difference.

For Hickory trees, the compound leaf stems grow down branches in an alternating pattern. Whereas for Ash trees, the compound leaf stems grow opposite to each other on the branches.

Another type of leaf that is similar to Hickory is Walnut. But Walnut trees typically have several more leaflets than Hickory does, so they should be pretty easy to distinguish.

In summary, if you find a tree that has compound leaves that grow in an alternating pattern, and it has 7-9 leaflets, then it’s probably going to be a Hickory tree. See my photo of a Shagbark Hickory leaf below for reference.

Seasoning Hickory Firewood

For wood to be “seasoned” basically just means that it’s thoroughly dried. Different types of firewood will require more (or less) time in order to dry-out, and you should always plan to burn firewood that is completely seasoned.

what seasoned firewood means

In general, firewood will take at least 6-8 months to fully dry, and for denser types of wood this process can take even longer. You should expect it to take 1 year or more to season Hickory firewood.

Exactly how long it will take depends on several factors, including the climate where you’re located (e.g. wood dries faster in Texas than in Oregon), and if you’ve properly split and stacked the wood.

In order to expedite the process, and to get your firewood seasoned as quickly as possible, use the following tips for fast drying:

5 Tips for Seasoning Firewood Fast:

1. Split the firewood

firewood dries WAY faster when it is split into pieces, rather than sitting in log-form. Think about it, when the wood is split more surface area is exposed to the wind and sunshine, which are the primary contributors to dry wood.

2. Elevate the firewood

You may do a double take here, because a lot of people don’t do this step due to the extra effort required. And I’ll admit, this isn’t absolutely essential, but if you put your stack of firewood up on some pallets or perpendicular planks, it will increase airflow beneath the firewood stack and will accelerate your drying time.

3. Stack the firewood 

To optimize your drying time, you should stack your firewood neatly in a location that will maximize the amount of sunshine and air flow. For example, stack the wood away from buildings (out of the shade), and point the face of the stack (not the ends) towards the direction from which you get the most breeze.

4. Leave space between rows

if you make multiple stacks of firewood, each stack should be separated by at least a few inches for air flow. This will allow both stacks of wood to dry better.

5. Cover (optional) 

If your wood pile is outside you can put a cover or tarp over the stack to drain any rain/snow. Just make sure that it doesn’t totally block airflow from the side of the stack, otherwise it will trap in moisture and make seasoning take longer.

if you want to learn more about seasoning firewood, you should take a look at this article.

Related Questions

What is the Best Firewood?

The best type of firewood for heating a home with a wood stove, is Black Locust or Hickory, due to the high heat output and long-lasting coals. For outdoor campfires, Pine or Cedar are better because they produce a beautiful fire with a pleasant aroma that doesn’t burn too long.

Is Hickory a Hardwood?

Hickory is a hardwood because it is a deciduous tree, meaning it loses its leaves every year. For a tree to be a hardwood is based on whether that tree is deciduous, not on the density of the wood. Softwood trees are conifers, like Pine, which are evergreen and have needles instead of leaves.

JJ

JJ is a firewood enthusiast, an Eagle Scout, and an avid learner and teacher of outdoor skills.

Recent Posts