locust wood opinions

[bostock]

i have a couple locust trees (black locust) to come down. maybe 30' tall, twisted and mean trees. Trunk maybe 30" diameter at ground...any opinions on seasoning/burning? It doesn't look like fun to split, but i'll let the 35 ton splitter worry about it.
What do you think - good? avg? bad? any unique seasoning concerns? a quick search on google has it as it only a notch below oak when it comes to burning values...

 

[jeromehdmc]

Locust is great wood. Cut it and split it and in a couple years you will be enjoying the warmth.

 

[CodyWayne718]

I'd say a year an you'll be enjoying the warmth

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Top Notch high BTU wood.
If you split it big let it season for 2 years.

 

[Dune]

Locust! Long hot burns, doesn't rot, the perfect firewood, along with cherry, ash, hickory, oak, apple, yeah, they are all good, but locust is real good.

Gave all my neighbors a present and burned cherry all this week.

 

[RIDGERUNNER30]

black locust is about all i burn other than some softwood maple and beech, It is one top rated woods in the btu range, it spilts easy and seasons faster than other hard woods get those trees bucked up and spilt. top notch wood man

 

[dwaynecornhauler]

Not to hijack but a question: I took a locust down 2 years ago and split. The tree never produced the seed pods, but smells bad when burning, not pleasant. Is this most likely black locust? Worked best for me to cut let sit 9 mos then split it, not so knarly.

 

[Blue_Tractor_Man]

Black locust is a great burning wood. The main problem I have with it is it smells bad when burning. Kind of like sizzling pee or burning manure. I don't burn it for that reason.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Love it , love it , love it! Awesome heat - burns a looooong time - seasons fast (one year, two if split really big).

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Top Notch high BTU wood.
If you split it big let it season for 2 years.

2 years? He said "locust" not "oak." Locust is damn near burnable when green.

 

[RIDGERUNNER30]

everybody talks about how bad locust smells, but burning it in the two air tight stoves i have never smell it in the house and when outside to me it doen't smell no worse than other wood we burn. I have two neigbors that live close by and they have never complained. to me black locust burns like coal long and hot, love the stuff.

 

[CodyWayne718]

Top Notch high BTU wood.
If you split it big let it season for 2 years.

2 years? He said "locust" not "oak." Locust is damn near burnable when green.

yeah I was wondering why everyone kept sayin 2 years also, you'd think with its natural low MC a year would be good....

 

[Dune]

Actualy you can burn locust green. Puts out a lot more heat when seasoned for a year, and even more after two years. I even season pine for two years.

To qualify the above statement a little, I dont' split rounds under 7-8 inches.

 

[RIDGERUNNER30]

your right cody wayne, locust is a natural low moisture wood and i'am burning locoust that is about nine months seasoned no problems. alot of old timers around here that did burn wood always tried to get as much black locust they could and i'am guessing the old time wood burners were people use to not let there wood season properly other types of wood give them poor result so having locust to burn even if not seaoned like we season our wood today gave very good results. like i said before we burned coal growing when i was a kid and black locust burns as close to coal as any wood i ever seen.

 

[basswidow]

Listen:

Locust is almost as easy as ash to split and nearly as dry. Black Locust does not smell to me either. It's great wood and I would jump at the chance to get any. I am currently burning nothing but black locust. Good burning wood - lots of heat.

The only negative I can see is the splits can give you many little splinters in your hands when putting the split in the stove.

 

[gzecc]

Locust is my favorite wood. Seasons in less than one yr. Mix it with other hardwoods. The unpleasant smell is outside. I can live with that compromise.

 

[Dune]

your right cody wayne, locust is a natural low moisture wood and i'am burning locoust that is about nine months seasoned no problems. alot of old timers around here that did burn wood always tried to get as much black locust they could and i'am guessing the old time wood burners were people use to not let there wood season properly other types of wood give them poor result so having locust to burn even if not seaoned like we season our wood today gave very good results. like i said before we burned coal growing when i was a kid and black locust burns as close to coal as any wood i ever seen.

Reminds me that some appalachian blacksmiths were known to use green locust chunks as forge fuel, rather than coal.I Imagine it more or less charred on the spot and they were really forging with charcoal, similar to the way bitumious is coked in a forge.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well, I'd rather err on the longer side of seasoning here. I'm betting it would burn a whole lot better after 2 years than 1. To use an example, let's compare white ash. You can burn it right away if need be. Ideal? NO. You can burn it after a year and it burns good. You can also wait longer than a year or two. This year we have burned white as that was split in 2009 and we've burned ash that was cut in 2002 or 2003 (don't remember for sure). The stuff that is the oldest burns a whole lot better than the stuff that was split in 2009.....and that 2009 stuff was dead when cut.

As for the smell, I read on this forum many times that people think red oak also stinks to high Heaven. Not around here it doesn't. Smells good.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Top Notch high BTU wood.
If you split it big let it season for 2 years.

2 years? He said "locust" not "oak." Locust is damn near burnable when green.

I stand by my statement. Personally I will let oak season for at least 3 years.
From talking to a lot of guys that have been burning for 40 to 50 years this is how I will operate

Cheers, Hiram

 

[heatwise]

one year i had got several logs of large diameter locust from a tree that was about that size. i had to recut most of it. at the time i made several stepping stones from the off cuts for a neighbor who wanted a path through an ivy bed. i still have a few down in the lower yard that havent rotted out. it split easy and i thought it burned like maple but sparked a bit. i had stacks and stacks of it and would use it again if i come across some more. pete

 

[gzecc]

Well, I'd rather err on the longer side of seasoning here. I'm betting it would burn a whole lot better after 2 years than 1. To use an example, let's compare white ash. You can burn it right away if need be. Ideal? NO. You can burn it after a year and it burns good. You can also wait longer than a year or two. This year we have burned white as that was split in 2009 and we've burned ash that was cut in 2002 or 2003 (don't remember for sure). The stuff that is the oldest burns a whole lot better than the stuff that was split in 2009.....and that 2009 stuff was dead when cut.

As for the smell, I read on this forum many times that people think red oak also stinks to high Heaven. Not around here it doesn't. Smells good.

For most woods except oak this is excessive seasoning. Everything is better after 2 yrs than one, or three yrs than 2 or 4 yrs than 3. But this is now getting absurd. Moisture content should be at or below 20%. Locust and ash will be at or below 20% in less than one yr. That is great for people who dont want to store wood for multiple yrs.
Sorry for the typo (absurd)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I do not know what obsurd means but if it is good, that is what I try to be.

If you think having wood in the stack for 6 or 7 or more years is not necessary, then you are correct. If you think it is silly, then you, sir, are very wrong!

I have stated many times on this forum why I try to keep an excess of wood and I intend to continue with this practice. Let me also add that the older wood still proves to burn much better than even the 2 year old wood. So is it necessary to have old wood like that? No. Is it nice? Absolutely, and I will continues. I also will not be plagued with creosote problems or difficult burning wood.

 

[Thistle]

I had a few loads in shed at parent's acreage 1 hour west of me that I'd forgot about.Mixture of red/black oak,white oak,bur oak,hickory + about 10% red elm & mulberry.They were cut 7-8 yrs back & stored.Later this summer I brought in to my yard a couple of them.I usually will cut several loads at the acreage (standing dead,sound fallen logs & storm-damaged green trees +pruning/thinning) every year.

This summer was the first I'd cut any out there since 2008.I was working crazy overtime for several employers until Spring,so it was easier for me to score several free loads of various hardwoods on local CL last year & again this Summer (most already cut to length,stacked on curb or patio) then spend 2hrs travel time + 3-4 hrs per load out working out west.

Now that work has slowed down,am spending more time at acreage,until the snow gets too deep for me.Since September I've filled the old shed back up,most of that will saved for 2011-12 hopefully.

Here's some of the very dry mix I brought home in early October from acreage.2nd pic is old shed on Dec.18th.

 

[adrpga498]

Love it , love it , love it! Awesome heat - burns a looooong time - seasons fast (one year, two if split really big).

Ditto.

 

[CTYank]

Well, I'd rather err on the longer side of seasoning here. I'm betting it would burn a whole lot better after 2 years than 1. To use an example, let's compare white ash. You can burn it right away if need be. Ideal? NO. You can burn it after a year and it burns good. You can also wait longer than a year or two. This year we have burned white as that was split in 2009 and we've burned ash that was cut in 2002 or 2003 (don't remember for sure). The stuff that is the oldest burns a whole lot better than the stuff that was split in 2009.....and that 2009 stuff was dead when cut.

As for the smell, I read on this forum many times that people think red oak also stinks to high Heaven. Not around here it doesn't. Smells good.

For most woods except oak this is excessive seasoning. Everything is better after 2 yrs than one, or three yrs than 2 or 4 yrs than 3. But this is now getting absurd. Moisture content should be at or below 20%. Locust and ash will be at or below 20% in less than one yr. That is great for people who dont want to store wood for multiple yrs.
Sorry for the typo (absurd)

20% moisture is not the "holy grail" to some, but just a waypoint. Most wood I bring in and place in racks near the stove is ~10%; it then drops further, and burns great in an EPA stove. Seems to me, if there were a reliable methodology to get wood to 0%, I'd be there.

Note that I'm not talking about outdoor air-drying for many years, but often just one, with some kiln-drying indoors before burning. (Red oak gets extra time.) The calendar is not the determinant, but the near-term readiness to burn (moisture.) Really good wood can wait outdoors while I use the second-rate.