Black locust isn't necessarily dry in a year

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dave11

Minister of Fire
May 25, 2008
633
Western PA
There have been many posts here about how fast black locust is to dry, and is ready to burn in a year. But I think people should say it only MIGHT be ready to burn in a year.

I had a large black locust dropped on my property almost exactly one year ago. I bucked it and split it immediately, and stacked it on racks in full sun and wind. Based on what folks said here, I was planning to burn mainly the black locust this year.

In my stove, which I admit is very picky, it won't burn even reasonably well without the door cracked open. And I can't get a good secondary burn at all.

Yesterday I built a fire using only a load of two year old Poplar. It burned so well I almost couldn't control it. Massive secondary burn.

Today I built a fire using only the locust. Contrary to what some here have said, I have no trouble getting it to light. It burns well for the first 15 minutes, then starts to piddle, and requires more air, which is exactly how all other "not dry enough" wood does in my stove.

Woodzilla had the same experience with black locust, and posted here about it.

It might be somewhat dependent on the type of stove, but I think the advice about locust being dry enough to burn in a year shouldn't be automatic. Clearly sometimes that's not the case.

And I'm 100% sure it's black locust.
 
dave11 said:
There have been many posts here about how fast black locust is to dry, and is ready to burn in a year. But I think people should say it only MIGHT be ready to burn in a year.

I had a large black locust dropped on my property almost exactly one year ago. I bucked it and split it immediately, and stacked it on racks in full sun and wind. Based on what folks said here, I was planning to burn mainly the black locust this year.

In my stove, which I admit is very picky, it won't burn even reasonably well without the door cracked open. And I can't get a good secondary burn at all.

Yesterday I built a fire using only a load of two year old Poplar. It burned so well I almost couldn't control it. Massive secondary burn.

Today I built a fire using only the locust. Contrary to what some here have said, I have no trouble getting it to light. It burns well for the first 15 minutes, then starts to piddle, and requires more air, which is exactly how all other "not dry enough" wood does in my stove.

Woodzilla had the same experience with black locust, and posted here about it.

It might be somewhat dependent on the type of stove, but I think the advice about locust being dry enough to burn in a year shouldn't be automatic. Clearly sometimes that's not the case.

And I'm 100% sure it's black locust.
Click to expand...
Black Locust takes more air because it is so dense same way with oak or the other dense woods, I am not saying your BL is dry but that could be part of the issue, can not compare the settings of your stove to the less dense woods.
 
If that's the case, then I won't ever be able to burn black locust in my stove, because the air is fully open and I still need to crack the door. Can't get any secondary burn with the door open. And if I alter the stove to allow more air, then it will be out of control with other types of wood.

I prefer at this point to think the locust isn't dry enough. It still feels too heavy to be dry, despite it's density.
 
BL is very difficult to burn without a good ember bed - burn a load of poplar, then put the BL on top of a very thick ember bed.
 
CarbonNeutral said:
BL is very difficult to burn without a good ember bed - burn a load of poplar, then put the BL on top of a very thick ember bed.
Click to expand...

I tried that already. The locust just sits there with a few wispy blue flames on it, unless I keep the door open.
 
+1 with CarbNeutral. Black locust needs a hot coal bed to start and sustain a solid burn. When lowering air control, dont do it all at once,either -try doing it in stages.
 
I may have mentioned about burning BL right away, but would never say its ready in a year when cut green. My BL was all standing dead, and measured with a MM. And the pieces at the base & around knotts and stuff were still +30%, but probably 1/2 of what I had was under 20%. With as dense as this wood is I couldnt amagine it being ready in less a year from green, though I really have no experience, this last truckload of standing dead is my first experience with BL. I'll probably be trying it come Jan or Feb, in both my big 'ol pre-EPA and also the new Jotul so we'll see then how it burns then.
 
The Black Locust that I have been burning the last 2 years burned better after 2 years of drying than just 1. I also have to give it more air than any wood I've ever burned before but once it's going it burns nice and hot and long. Also very messy wood with lots of bark.
 
►►OhioBurner◄◄™ said:
I may have mentioned about burning BL right away, but would never say its ready in a year when cut green. My BL was all standing dead, and measured with a MM. And the pieces at the base & around knotts and stuff were still +30%, but probably 1/2 of what I had was under 20%. With as dense as this wood is I couldnt amagine it being ready in less a year from green, though I really have no experience, this last truckload of standing dead is my first experience with BL. I'll probably be trying it come Jan or Feb, in both my big 'ol pre-EPA and also the new Jotul so we'll see then how it burns then.
Click to expand...

Lots of folks here have said though it can be burned after one year, but looks like that's not true for everybody. Based on what I had read here I was planning to burn mainly locust this year, but looks like I won't be able to.
 
Locust burns a bit more like coal than wood. It is very dense and requires more air. When it burns it has a signature blue flame. dave, you're not alone in having problems burning it. The load of locust we have now is from the front yard of a fellow that has a wood stove. When I asked him if he was going to burn it, he responded, "Can't, locust is lousy firewood."

Our locust did burn at 1 yr, but the tree was dying and I may have split some of the already dead sections. At year two, it's burning well, albeit with more air. As a test, re-split a batch of your wood. Press the fresh split surface of the wood against your cheek. If it's cool and damp, the wood will need more seasoning. Bring this batch of fresh resplits into the house and let them sit for a week. Then try to burn them after a hot coal bed has been established. If that works, it may be a way to at least partially burn through your current locust stash.
 
I think no matter how seasoned BL is you will find it to be heavy wood. I just cut some in the woods that was probably dead for decades and it is as heavy as fresh Oak. It would be interesting if you could get a MM reading. I know it starts out low in Moisture, but takes a long time to finish. I have some that it a year old and planning on burning some this winter. The stuff I burned last year was similiar to what I cut today, dead for decades, and it actually burned quite well right after cutting. It is like coal and different than most wood, but will provide alot of heat.
 
BeGreen said:
Locust burns a bit more like coal than wood. It is very dense and requires more air. When it burns it has a signature blue flame. dave, you're not alone in having problems burning it. The load of locust we have now is from the front yard of a fellow that has a wood stove. When I asked him if he was going to burn it, he responded, "Can't, locust is lousy firewood."

Our locust did burn at 1 yr, but the tree was dying and I may have split some of the already dead sections. At year two, it's burning well, albeit with more air. As a test, re-split a batch of your wood. Press the fresh split surface of the wood against your cheek. If it's cool and damp, the wood will need more seasoning. Bring this batch of fresh resplits into the house and let them sit for a week. Then try to burn them after a hot coal bed has been established. If that works, it may be a way to at least partially burn through your current locust stash.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Seems to be a wide range of experiences with it. Most comments that I found here when searching seemed to sing the praises of BL and rank it high on the list of what people want to burn.

It does burn with a blue flame, but as my stove goes, it's burning poorly at one year. Maybe at two years it will be no better.

Problem is I can't give it any more air unless I leave the door cracked, and there's no way to get secondary burn that way.

I was mixing it with dry poplar up till yesterday, and was only getting mediocre fires. Then yesterday I used all dry poplar, and the difference was incredible. I realized then that adding the BL to the poplar had been holding the stove back.

I did test the fresh slits last year, and they were at 20% when newly split. Haven't checked them this year but will in the next day or so. Since they were so dry already when split, I figured after a year of good seasoning they'd be good to go. But I was wrong.

Thanks for the input.
 
I've got a half cord BL stacked on the porch. I cut it last Jan/Feb. and I admit that I was already a bit concerned about how dry it was, even after a summer in the sun and air.
I'll really have to think about it now.
 
dave, are you loading the wood N/S?
 
i burn it all the time its seasoned only 1 yr i have no problems at all with it , i get a good hot fire going before i put it in. from when i split my wood till the day i burn it it never gets wet and i let sun into the wood shed most of the summer.
 
Achieve a good bed of coals, then try to put some locust in the stove with other wood you are burning more efficiently, rather than a load of all BL. See if the other wood helps to light it off.

I save my dense woods for the coldest times of the burn season, maybe hold off on the BL, if you can, until it gets COLD out, this will also help your stove achieve a stronger draft.

Good luck, BL is my favorite.

Nate
 
"I did test the fresh slits last year, and they were at 20% when newly split. Haven't checked them this year but will in the next day or so. Since they were so dry already when split, I figured after a year of good seasoning they'd be good to go. But I was wrong"

There you go, the wood is dry enough, just takes some different techniques.
 
In my experience with BL, it starts out around 30% mc, close to ash. Dries as fast as ash with higher btu's. It doesn't burn as easily though. I think its best mixed in with other hardwoods. I always load BL in the back for night time burns with other hardwoods like oak or hickory.
I'll take any anybody doesn't want.
 
I'm burning BL now and it was standing dead when I got it and split and stacked for 8 months on top of that. I don't get the secondaries that softer wood gets, but man does it throw out the heat. Like everyone says, it takes more air and I have to leave the damper open longer before closing it down. After that it will cruise for a long time.
 
BeGreen said:
dave, are you loading the wood N/S?
Click to expand...

The two bottom splits N/S, the two middle E/W, and 2 smaller splits N/S on top. This usually gives me an awesome burn.

It doesn't matter whether I burn the BL alone or with other wood, or start the fire with it, or lay it on hot coals. It won't burn properly, not in my Englander. I've burned poplar, oak, maple, pine, and dogwood, all with no trouble. Either my stove is too restrictive on air, or this BL isn't dry enough after one year.
 
Is it possible the the MM readings for BL are skewed? Some of the more pro grade meters have settings for different species of wood dont they? Maybe BL is one of them that would be different enough from other woods to need a different calibration? Just curious, since it seems most of us with MM experience pretty low numbers even from the get go with BL.
 
Dave11, I may have missed something, but I don't believe you mentioned whether you covered your stack. Without some kind of roof, that wood will never be dry enough to burn well here in Penna where it rains a lot, no matter how many years it sits. In a covered pile ( top only) out in a sunny field, 6 months has been plenty to dry everything but oak, for me. My BL starts fast and burns great.
 
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