Fall is in full swing and winter will be here for you know it. With that being said, you need to start preparing for the winter weather as soon as possible. If you do not, you may find yourself left out in the cold. There are many ways to heat your home but utilizing firewood is considered one of the most cost-effective methods. Nevertheless, you need to understand that some wood makes better firewood than others. There is a possibility that you’re going to encounter hackberry at some point. So, is hackberry good firewood?
Hackberry firewood is going to burn well. This makes it a very popular hardwood for this specific purpose. Its not the best firewood you can find, but it is far from the worst. In fact, it will work wonders for many individuals.
If you’re preparing for the winter months, you should find a good firewood. You need a type of wood that is going to be easy to burn. And, you need to make sure that it will be able to put out a lot of heat.
In terms of density and BTU rating, the wood receives moderate scores. It isn’t spectacular in either factor. Therefore, it is not going to produce nearly as much heat as hickory or oak.
Another good thing about hackberry is that you’re not going to have to worry about sparks or smoke too much. The wood is very heavy. Therefore, these things will be minimized. On top of that, the fragrance produced when burned is pleasant. It will make your entire home smell great.
Splitting Hackberry Wood
Ultimately, you need to find a wood that won’t be too difficult to split. Unless you have an electric or gas-powered splitter, you’re going to be using brute force. Therefore, you’ll want to go with something that is easier to split.
This is why you’ll want to choose to hackberry wood. When compared to many of the others, you can rest assured knowing that hackberry is going to be very easy to split. You shouldn’t have much difficulty here. Even if you’re using brute force and an ax, you should be able to get the wood split without too much difficulty.
However, you’ll want to consider saving yourself time and energy by investing in a good splitter. This will ensure that you’ll be able to handle everything no matter what type of wood you’re dealing with.
Either way, hackberry wood is very easy to split and this makes it good for everyone including those who do not have a splitter. An ax will do the trick without too much effort on your end.
Hackberry Firewood Seasoning
Remember that wood is going to burn better and hotter when it is dry. Therefore, it is best to prepare as early as possible. Doing so will ensure that you have plenty of time to let the wood dry.
Well, you’ll be thrilled to know that hackberry is great for this specific purpose. It is very similar to ash in terms of moisture content.
Both types have very little moisture content and this means that they’re going to dry out much faster. As long as you start early, you can guarantee that your hackberry wood will be completely dry and ready to go before winter rolls around.
While the wood can dry out very quickly, you should know that it is going to perform much better when aged.
If you allow it to dry out for a year, there is a good chance that you’re going to get much better results. This will ensure that the wood burns much better and produces a little more heat. Therefore, you should be patient and let it dry out for as long as humanly possible.
You might want to look into a moisture meter to test the moisture content before you burn it. You can find them on Amazon for a decent price. Here is a link to the one I have. Moisture Meter
(Link To Amazon). Just make sure its 20% or lower and it’s safe to burn.
Hackberry Firewood BTU
Finally, you need to make sure that the firewood is going to be able to produce a sufficient amount of heat. This is why you need to pay close attention to the wood’s BTU rating. Unfortunately, Hackberry is not the best wood in this specific category. It can produce a moderate amount of heat and it is stringy.
Therefore, the wood is user-friendly. However, it cannot produce as much heat as some of the alternatives. With a moderate BTU rating, hackberry will not be able to put out as much heat as hickory or oak. They’re going to be better in this category.
Nevertheless, there is a lot to like about hackberry. It can be split very easily so this is going to make your life so much easier. On top of that, you won’t have much trouble getting the fire started when using hackberry.
Therefore, it is good for emergency situations and when you wake up first thing in the morning. If you need to get a fire going very quickly, this is the wood that you want by your side!
Summary
Ultimately, hackberry is not the best firewood out there. However, you should know that it is not the worst either. In fact, it can be very beneficial for many years. It burns exceptionally well so you won’t have much trouble starting a fire with hackberry wood. The only problem is that it will not produce as much heat as some of the alternatives.
Therefore, you may want to use a combination of woods. You can start the fire with hackberry and make the switch to hickory or oak. Either way, it is a good idea to have some hackberry firewood on hand because it can be very beneficial.
