Yellow Coal

Got to love locust. I love those lazy blue flames been burning nothing but locust for the last two weeks with the cold we have been having.

jatoxico said:

Yeah that sounds about right. And air, air and more air.

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Agreed. Ive been frustrated with the locust. I learned to not use it on restarting from coals in the morning. It will just sit there and smolder and coal up forever without lighting.

I had several cords of locust that I started using this year. It is a trash wood in my part of the country. Anytime we are excavating or clearing property there is always a high concentration of it, usually standing dead and dry rotting. Some folks in my area really like to burn it but it is low on my list and typically only take it if it is free or part of a clear cut we do. I have burned it at below 15% moisture and it still does not burn as lively or hot as oak or beech. There are many who would disagree with me but I use it in cool weather as it establishes a nice long lasting coal bed that keeps the stove at a moderate temperature for a long time.

One way to get it going with a small amount of coals is I place cedar splits across the coals then place the locust on top or mix in with some other woods. I will only load the stove up with locust when I have a very nice bed of coals. Locust in my neck of the woods doesn't really seam to have any use other than firewood. Some still use for fence posts, but it usually is considered a garbage tree no use. It is my favorite wood to burn. Best for heat, lasts longer than most other woods in the fire. Pretty light once dry for its heating capability. All just my opinion everyone has there likes and dislikes.

I personally like the fact that Locust doesn't take off quickly like oak, maple, etc. It works well as a wood to use when it's bitter cold out and you can't wait for the coals to burn down between reloads. When there is a large bed of hot coals the oak, maple, etc burn up pretty quickly, but locust seems to last much longer.

I take all the locust I can get my hands on.

I like to stack it with the sassafrass and maple that grow around it. When I get to that part of the stacks, I'm all set. None ready for this year though.