Oak and Black Locust are the real deal!

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VTHC

VTHC

New Member
Nov 12, 2009
119
Northwestern Vermont
I've heard the tales of the almighty Oak and Locust, but never experienced it until last night.

Normally i burn lots of Elm, Ash, and Sugar Maple because those are very abundant where we cut firewood (mostly standing dead). No slouches in their own right...
Well, last fall i got a hold of some Red Oak that had been dead/down for numerous years (maybe 7-10 years). I C/S/S the non-punky stuff (there wasn't much punk) and got about 1/2 cord. I also got about a cord of Black Locust that was cut for power line line clearing that had been down for a few years. Again, I C/S/S right around the same time as the Oak.

Last night i decided to see how they would burn, so I filled the stove about half way with uglies from the Oak and Black Locust score on top of a decent bed of coals from the usual Elm/Ash mix. DAYUM! I am psyched for the dead of winter! The Oak was probably not quite ready, but with the Locust in the mix... got the stove top cruising around 550*F and it stayed there for a solid 2+ hours! And it wasn't even fully loaded or full splits! It messed up my reload timing and I ended up going to bed without reloading (decide to let the NG furnace cover my back as it isn't too cold here yet).

I now believe the hype!
 
I've got quite a bit of Ash ready to go but I'm grabbing dead/dry Oak when I come across it. I'll also be burning some BL for the first time this year...looking forward to that!
:coolsmile:
 
I'm really looking forward to next year . . . or maybe it's the year after that . . . I'll be getting my first crack at some oak . . . and then a year or two after that oak and black locust . . . then I too will see what the "hype" is all about. ;)
 
Longer burn times, for sure. Most of what I have now is Oak, I do have some BL that was cut a couple of years ago, I will be saving that for the real cold nights. That stuff is great to burn, does not smell very good on a reload. I am already burning Oak as that is 80 percent of what I have and it is definetly longer between reloads. I like to start the fire with Maple or Cherry and load it after it is rolling, it is not the stuff to start a fire with. I have also been enjoying Beech this year, and I am going to wait for next year to burn some Hickory.
 
As long as its solid, I'll take Hard Maple over Oak. Unless the Maple has to be split.

I think I would also take solid Ash over Oak too, since you can use it so much sooner.

But I burn prolly 90% Oak, so I take what I get.
 
firefighterjake said:
and then a year or two after that oak and black locust . . .
Click to expand...

The Locust is probably good to go in a year. When i C/S/S last fall the locust was in the high 20s for MC - granted, it had been down on the ground for a few years before i got to it (log length). Haven't checked it yet this season, but based on my experiment last night i don't need to!
 
Alot of the wood on my yearly grapple loads have been easily 85% oak. Only problem is getting ahead in order to use it. This year I'm actually ahead of the game and have a good percentage of oak to burn. The last couple years I've had to mix it up with maple and ash and some BL and smaller quantities of oak in order to get by. I know it's a pain in the ass unless it's dried but when it is it's worth it.
 
ISeeDeadBTUs said:
As long as its solid, I'll take Hard Maple over Oak. Unless the Maple has to be split.

I think I would also take solid Ash over Oak too, since you can use it so much sooner.

But I burn prolly 90% Oak, so I take what I get.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on splitting the Maple. The stuff i've been processing has been really twisty and produces lots of weird splits and uglies. But, after dealing with a lot of Elm ANYTHING is a treat after that! Luckily i have a splitter to ease the pain.

I have to say... i still think White Ash is the best all-round wood to burn. Easy to split, easy to season, and it has good BTU output.
 
VTHC said:
ISeeDeadBTUs said:
As long as its solid, I'll take Hard Maple over Oak. Unless the Maple has to be split.

I think I would also take solid Ash over Oak too, since you can use it so much sooner.

But I burn prolly 90% Oak, so I take what I get.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on splitting the Maple. The stuff i've been processing has been really twisty and produces lots of weird splits and uglies. But, after dealing with a lot of Elm ANYTHING is a treat after that! Luckily i have a splitter to ease the pain.

I have to say... i still think White Ash is the best all-round wood to burn. Easy to split, easy to season, and it has good BTU output.
Click to expand...

My bet is that you won't be saying that after burning black locust. (Or shagbark hickory, if you try that.) Different level, IMHO.
 
I got to burn some nice seasoned oak last year and it was great, I have some for next year and the year after, This year its a mixture of ash, maple, birch and some beech. One day I hope to try the fabled black locust.
 
firefig[removed said:
void(0)hterjake]I'm really looking forward to next year . . . or maybe it's the year after that . . . I'll be getting my first crack at some oak . . . and then a year or two after that oak and black locust . . . then I too will see what the "hype" is all about. ;)
Click to expand...

Just curious.... BL seasons really well in just one year....why do you need to wait 2 or 3 years from now to burn some BL? If you have it, c/c/s NOW, and it'll be awesome by next December. :)
 
VTHC said:
ISeeDeadBTUs said:
As long as its solid, I'll take Hard Maple over Oak. Unless the Maple has to be split.

I think I would also take solid Ash over Oak too, since you can use it so much sooner.

But I burn prolly 90% Oak, so I take what I get.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on splitting the Maple. The stuff i've been processing has been really twisty and produces lots of weird splits and uglies. But, after dealing with a lot of Elm ANYTHING is a treat after that! Luckily i have a splitter to ease the pain.

I have to say... i still think White Ash is the best all-round wood to burn. Easy to split, easy to season, and it has good BTU output.
Click to expand...
I agree if for some reason I was forced to burn one type of wood White Ash gets my vote.
 
CTYank said:
VTHC said:
ISeeDeadBTUs said:
As long as its solid, I'll take Hard Maple over Oak. Unless the Maple has to be split.

I think I would also take solid Ash over Oak too, since you can use it so much sooner.

But I burn prolly 90% Oak, so I take what I get.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on splitting the Maple. The stuff i've been processing has been really twisty and produces lots of weird splits and uglies. But, after dealing with a lot of Elm ANYTHING is a treat after that! Luckily i have a splitter to ease the pain.

I have to say... i still think White Ash is the best all-round wood to burn. Easy to split, easy to season, and it has good BTU output.
Click to expand...

My bet is that you won't be saying that after burning black locust. (Or shagbark hickory, if you try that.) Different level, IMHO.
Click to expand...

The Locust is on par with Ash as far as ease of processing and season time (it is pretty rough on a chain - had to sharpen a few times throughout the day), but it isn't as abundant for me as Ash. So, value-wise, Ash is kind of the best all round wood for the effort.
I burned a full load of BL last night - took a while to get it going, but once it was going...! Got down to the freezing mark last night, and the house was 69* when i got up at 5:30 this morning - not too shabby!

We're gonna have to take down a bitternut hickory in our front yard that is dying (maybe next summer if we have the $$). Shame too, because it is HUGE, and there aren't very many hickories in this part of the state. The base of the trunk is 48+ inches - which should give us plenty of firewood for the next few years. Not sure where i'm going to stack and process the tree on our 1/4 acre city lot!? :grrr:
 
VTHC said:
....We're gonna have to take down a bitternut hickory in our front yard that is dying (maybe next summer if we have the $$). Shame too, because it is HUGE, and there aren't very many hickories in this part of the state. The base of the trunk is 48+ inches - which should give us plenty of firewood for the next few years. Not sure where i'm going to stack and process the tree on our 1/4 acre city lot!? :grrr:
Click to expand...

You probably know this, but I found out by accident. The bark on our pignut hickory just sheds as we split. Piled that bark to throw away, but didn't get it done for a while. Grabbed a few dried pieces of the bark and threw them on the top of a top down fire. On start up, I generally go outside to make sure no smoke is noticeable. The aroma was fantastic. So now I put a piece of hickory bark on the top of every start up fire. So save your hickory bark and try it out.
 
Hmmm, my Shelburne burns right through BL. I haven't hit 500 degrees yet. Then again, it might be operator error as I'm a newbie. :red:
 
For some reason I do not have alot of Ash here, and I guess all of us may be running out of it in a few years since they are all dieing. I have one giant Ash in my woods I am going to hate see die. It actually has four trunks and each trunk is probably 40 inches in diameter. When it dies I am sure I will have years worth of Ash but I will be sorry to see it go. It is a landmark when I am hunting as I can see it from a great distance and figure out where I am.
 
wood-fan-atic said:
firefig[removed said:
void(0)hterjake]I'm really looking forward to next year . . . or maybe it's the year after that . . . I'll be getting my first crack at some oak . . . and then a year or two after that oak and black locust . . . then I too will see what the "hype" is all about. ;)
Click to expand...

Just curious.... BL seasons really well in just one year....why do you need to wait 2 or 3 years from now to burn some BL? If you have it, c/c/s NOW, and it'll be awesome by next December. :)
Click to expand...

Due to the way I load my woodshed . . . right now my woodshed is loaded up with two years worth of wood -- 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. When I load up the wood in the empty spot this Spring or Summer the black locust and oak (which will be ready) will be burned in 2013-2014.
 
oldspark said:
VTHC said:
ISeeDeadBTUs said:
As long as its solid, I'll take Hard Maple over Oak. Unless the Maple has to be split.

I think I would also take solid Ash over Oak too, since you can use it so much sooner.

But I burn prolly 90% Oak, so I take what I get.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on splitting the Maple. The stuff i've been processing has been really twisty and produces lots of weird splits and uglies. But, after dealing with a lot of Elm ANYTHING is a treat after that! Luckily i have a splitter to ease the pain.

I have to say... i still think White Ash is the best all-round wood to burn. Easy to split, easy to season, and it has good BTU output.
Click to expand...
I agree if for some reason I was forced to burn one type of wood White Ash gets my vote.
Click to expand...

Haven't had the pleasure of burning oak or black locust as previously mentioned . . . but I think I would agree with you . . . if I had only one wood to choose to burn it most likely would be white ash . . . easy to process, quick to season and decent burns . . . not the home run king of wood, but a solid player.
 
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