Walnut: Is It Good Firewood? Find Out Here!

Ever since man found a way to create fire, we have used wood to turn a spark into gigantic bonfires. However, you may think that you can simply put any type of wood down and set it alight. This is not the case.

Some woods burn better than others. Certain examples include oak, ash, and maple. When dry, these will happily burn and keep you warm for a while. But, what about Walnut?

Is this strong and wonderfully stable wood good for firewood? Well, if you wanted to find out, you're in the right place.

In today's article, we will be discussing the certain characteristics of what makes good firewood. And, of course, we will find out if Walnut is good firewood or not. 

If you're in a rush, here's a quick answer - Walnut is a hardwood that burns cleanly. Therefore, it is considered good for firewood. Even better, if you're looking to warm up quickly, Walnut provides a good amount of heat. 

Read on to find out more!

Characteristics Of Good Firewood

When looking for logs for your wood burning stove, you'll want to find the best! However, choosing adequate firewood can be trickier than you may have thought. To be considered good firewood, it needs to burn for a long time and easily.

Here are some of the things to look out for in good firewood and what to avoid:

The Wood's Appearance

Selecting firewood from a resinous (oily) type can result in black, often thick smoke. This can obscure your wood stove's front glass and discolor it over time.

Cleaning the glass, once it has become clouded, might be challenging and time-consuming. This is why you should try to use wood that isn't as resinous, such as oak or maple.

The Efficiency Of The Wood

The sort of wood you burn can have a big impact on the efficiency of your wood stove. Resinous timbers and softwoods may burn inconsistently.

Pine, birch, eucalyptus, aspen, and a few more species are not the best examples of logs for a wood burning stove because of this.

The Wood's Safety

This can accumulate in your chimney and is often the primary cause of chimney fires in wood burners.

The Wood's Reliability 

The reliability of your wood burning stove can be harmed by using soft and sticky fuel. Chemicals produced by resinous firewood and softwoods are tough on the internal parts of a wood burner.

The burner's catalytic combustor and combustion fan, in particular, might be adversely damaged with time. As a result, hardwoods wear out far less quickly in wood stoves and create the greatest logs for a wood fire.

Walnut: Good Or Bad Firewood? 

Walnut is suitable for use as firewood since it is a clean-burning hardwood. It also generates sufficient heat pretty quickly. Furthermore, it has a nice scent and is simple to split.

That is why we recommend taking advantage of the chance of using it if you are fortunate enough to have Walnut trees nearby. But only if you're the owner, or you have permission to use some of its wood. 

Now we know that Walnut is suitable for firewood, you may be wondering how easy it is to split, if it's messy, and whether it burns cleanly. Let's find out more.

Is Walnut Easy To Split?

Unless the tree is twisted, you'll be pleased to know that Walnut trees split very easily. If a Walnut tree has been grown for landscaping uses, however, they may not always sport uniform grains.

If you can, pick Walnut trees that come from a forested area. These will typically grow straighter and taller. They will usually have better quality wood than those that grow in the open, such as yard trees.

These tend to grow a broad canopy instead.

Is Walnut Messy?

Many types of trees have very sticky sap. This can be a nuisance to try and cut through and then set alight.

When compared to many trees such as Pine trees, Walnut is rather clean. When cutting Pine, you always need to plan in advance! Your hands, work clothing, shoes, and chain saw will be covered with sap.

You won't get this issue with Walnut. While you will undoubtedly come across some sap, it will not be everywhere!

The main mess from Walnut trees is when the Walnuts, themselves, drop out of the trees.

More often than not, these will land on cars and can cause some sort of damage. But, when it comes to cutting Walnut wood, you should be able to stay pretty clean.

Does Walnut Burn Cleanly?

When Walnut is appropriately seasoned, it can burn incredibly cleanly. Nevertheless, some people moan about the amount of ash Walnut firewood creates.

But, remember that Walnut is a hardwood, unlike Pine. It may not burn for as long but compared to more resinous woods such as maple, it will burn better but with more ash. 

For the best fire, we suggest combining Walnut firewood with either Pine or oak!

Walnut Heat And Efficiency 

There's no doubt about it - Walnut burns well. But, there are different types of Walnut such as black Walnut, English Walnut and White, Butternut Walnut.

Depending on the type and species, Walnut can generate around 20.0 to 22.2 million BTU's (British Thermal Unit) for every cord (128 cubic feet of the wood).

A cord of Walnut is typically equal to 231 gallons of propane gas, 152 gallons of oil (heating), 20,348 cubic feet of gas (natural), and approximately 6,185 KW hours of electricity. 

In Summary 

Compared to many other types of wood, Walnut is considered a pretty great fuel. This is mainly down to its medium thickness and efficiency when burning.

If you want to burn Walnut in your home, Walnut is a great choice. It has a beautiful aroma, burns clean, and, very pleasingly, is simple to light. 

Although Walnut does not create as high a temperature as other hardwoods, like Oak, it is far better for burning compared to a softwood such as Cedar.

We hope this article has helped you understand Walnut as firewood a bit better. Read our other articles to discover more fascinating facts about different types of firewood.