Hackberry Firewood - Worth Messing With?

My winter exercise is felling trees and stacking firewood for the next year.

I have lots of live and red oak, which is my primary go to firewood and pit smoker wood.

However I had a tree in front of me this morning that had disease or damage to the base up to about 4'-0" plus it had grown in a lean pretty far to one side.

Looked like a hackberry to me, what do you think?

Anyway I felled the tree and bucked it.

If you had lots of oak for your wood burning stove, would you include hackberry in the pile, or do I just need to burn this in the field?

 

We don't have any hackberry around here, but I would stack it for later use in the stove if I did.

It's almost 21 mbtu a cord, just under oak.

I burn stuff that is as low as 12-14 mbtu a cord in shoulder season. Save higher btu stuff for when it's colder.

 

There is another recent thread downpage with several positive comments, look for sugarberry/hackberry. I like it, often splits easy even with an axe. I can't say for sure via your pics but it certainly resembles hackberry. Here, the wart growths are very pronounced. The wood on your tree is very light colored, so, that's another plus for hackberry ID.

 

I have a bunch of oak, but I like to have several cords of fast drying easy to light up wood too. Blackgum is a pia to split but I love how fast it goes from 0-blazing hot.

 

I like hackberry for firewood and wont pass it up. I have a bunch coming up in my stack. Probably get to it towards end of January.

 

Hackberry ranks just below white ash, depending on who's BTU chart you are looking at. On the down side, if it's not split and stacked off the ground rot will very quickly set in. Once split and properly stacked it will last as long as most woods.

In my catalytic stove I can get a nice warm all day burn with a load. If its close and easy, load up!

 

OP here. Good advise. I'll split the rounds I bucked today and stack it.

I was concerned when my chainsaw went thru it like it was a crepe myrtle but ill burn it in 2021

 

I worked some Hackberry this fall. I found it to be pretty hard stuff when cutting and even harder to split when green. It’s in the stacks now, probably burn it in a year or 2.

 

I been splitting some lately and it's splitting real easy with an axe but it's not green, it's been down awhile. Beetle grubs get in it if it's slightly punky, biggest grubs I have ever seen! Like, big as your finger. Chickens scared of 'em, lol.

 

Yes.

 

Rare wood around here, but yes worth the effort IMO.

 

Hackberry burns pretty good, definitely worth messing with.

 

It’s good wood. It’s going to fill ashes shoes when all my ash is gone. Bugs kind of like it but not to bad. Keep it dry and off the ground and it will last.

 

Top Cover, off the ground, and its fine to store and burn. All oak gets boring.

 

X2.