Is black walnut good for firewood? This is the focus of our discussion. It’s common knowledge that black walnuts are among the tree species used for heating.
One of the primary uses of firewood is heating. Whatever your specific needs are, you need the right type of wood. However, whether it’s the best option available to you is what we’ve focused on.
Not only have we provided a definite answer, but we’ve also gone into other relevant details like toxicity, the type of walnut wood you shouldn’t use, other good wood species for firewood, and what makes walnuts ideal for burning.
Are Walnuts Good Enough for Firewood?
Of course, walnuts are among the best woods for heating. It’s one of the reasons why it has become a popular heat energy source for American households.
It’s a great fuel source for your fireplace or campsite due to its burning efficiency, low toxicity, denseness, and prolonged combustion time.
Making firewood from black walnut trees isn’t difficult as the wood is easy to split and stack. Its characteristic density simply translates to tighter grain.
Besides being an excellent fuel source, black walnuts are ideal for furniture making. That said, you might want to further explore this hardwood by reading further.
Toxicity Levels of Black Walnuts
Toxicity is a broad subject when discussing firewood combustion.
While some firewood may be considered more toxic than others, there’s a general safety concern due to combustion emissions. This is particularly true for indoor spaces with limited ventilation provisions.
Allergies are additional considerations when discussing the toxicity levels of black walnuts. People have varying levels of tolerance for open wood combustion.
If that defines your condition, you’re better off avoiding all kinds of firewood combustion.
You may opt for safer or less toxic fuel options. Another approach is to adopt safety measures while burning black walnut firewood. These measures have been further discussed below.
Types of Black Walnuts to Avoid for Firewood
Not all black walnut wood is considered safe. There are safety considerations you should be attentive to. First, the wood should be well seasoned before it’s used as firewood.
In other words, green or unseasoned black walnut firewood won’t give you the heating results you seek.
Treated black walnut wood is another type to avoid. Treatments are mostly done with chemicals and these are released during combustion.
Of course, such wood can be harmful, hence the need to avoid them entirely. You’re better off using untreated walnut wood as fuel as these have little or negligible toxicity levels.
What Makes Walnuts Ideal for Burning
Due to its characteristic denseness, black walnuts store up a lot of energy that translates to longer burn time. This is one of the primary considerations for persons looking for good firewood.
What more? You won’t have to struggle to split your wood as black walnuts are quite easy to split.
The increased burning efficiency of black walnuts means your firewood stack won’t deplete easily or quickly. More importantly, you get cleaner energy as walnuts are generally less toxic.
You must understand that generally, the smoke from burning is considered toxic, especially when a significant volume is inhaled.
However, some wood types, though well-seasoned give out more smoke than others hence, the term toxicity. With black walnuts, this problem is greatly reduced due to its efficient combustive feature.
The best part is the heat or energy generated due to its denseness.
Safe Use of Black Walnuts as Fuel
We’ve seen that black walnuts, beyond a doubt are considered good sources of firewood.
Despite being a good heating fuel, proper and safe use is highly recommended. So, what’s the safest way to use black walnut firewood? We recommend taking the following precautionary measures:
Firstly, ensure adequate ventilation when using indoor spaces. While moderate exposure to combustion smoke is considered safe enough, care must be taken to avoid prolonged exposure to smoke and other gases resulting from wood burning.
Is your black walnut wood treated? If it is, we strongly recommend you avoid burning or using it for fuel. This extends to all treated wood types.
It’s possible to make the most use of this firewood while limiting any adverse effects it might have on your health and well-being.
Are There Any Disadvantages with Black Walnut Firewood Use?
So far, we’ve focused on explaining why black walnut firewood is good. However, it’s crucial to understand that there may be disadvantages to using black walnuts as firewood.
In other words, they may not be totally good. This reality brings up the matter of choice as you’ll have to decide what to do.
If you have a fireplace, you may have to deal with creosote buildup resulting from the smoke given off during combustion.
However, this isn’t a problem you can readily solve as long as you use wood fuels. Other good firewood types derived from hardwoods like beech, oak, maple, hickory, and ash all give off smoke.
Your best bet for reducing creosote buildup is by ensuring your wood is properly seasoned and your fireplace is regularly maintained.
Other Good Wood Species for Firewood
Apart from black walnuts, there are other wood species considered generally good for firewood.
These are mainly hardwoods with dense features which store significant amounts of combustive energy. Some of these include maple, oak, beech, hickory, ash, black locust, and mulberry.
Cherry, hard maple, birch, and sycamore are additional variants to consider for your heating needs. You’ll have to compare and contrast these to identify the best type(s) among them.
This saves you a lot of stress and headaches, thus helping you achieve generally efficient combustion.
Only Use Properly Seasoned Black Walnut Firewood
When it comes to the importance of efficient combustion, the role of proper seasoning cannot be overstated.
This helps eliminate all moisture, thus helping the wood burn properly. That said, how long does it take for black walnuts to properly season?
It generally depends on the climatic conditions of your location. However, a drying time of about 1 to 2 years should suffice. The result will be efficient heating and less smoke production.
So, is black walnut good firewood? You know the answer. Take advantage of the combustive efficiency of this hardwood for your heating needs.
You’ll find this helpful if you live around locations with a lot of these tree species.