First snow + free locust = crazy delicious

[DiscoInferno]

Finally got some white stuff in the DC area. Also had neighbors taking down a black locust. They kept all the small and medium stuff, and gave me the big pieces (maybe 3' diameter at the base). That stuff is just ridiculously heavy! Luckily it is so brittle; a few swings of my little "super splitter" busted up these otherwise unmovable rounds. I'd estimate some were 200lbs+. The second truck load, I definitely overloaded my poor little Ranger; check out the before and after (although the pics can be misleading, since the driveway is inclined so the back wheels are higher). Based on ~4500lbs/cord, I probably had 1500-1800lbs back there. My mudflaps were scraping the ground.

As a bonus, I now realize that a truckload from last year that I thought was walnut is actually probably locust also. A free upgrade, as it were.

 

[Roospike]

"HOT LOAD" coming through , make way.

 

[ourhouse]

Nice load and FREE heat

 

[Mo Heat]

Here's some firewood info from WikiPedia:

Black Locust is unsurpassed as firewood for wood stoves;[citation needed] it burns slowly, with little visible flame or smoke, and has a higher heat content than any other wood that grows in the Eastern US, comparable to the heat content of anthracite[citation needed]. However, for this use it should be split when green, then dried for 2 to 3 years, and ignited by insertion into a stove already hot from burning of a load of some other hardwood.[citation needed] In fireplaces it is less satisfactory because knots and beetle damage in black locust make the wood prone to "spitting" coals for distances of up to several feet.

That's good stuff! I've never been able to positively identify it around here. I get the honey locust and the black locust confused.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I agree with the coal comparison, it does not seem to flame much.

Black locust has very thick bark with criss-cross patterns and deep furrows. To me it looks like walnut bark, and to a lesser extent poplar bark (but the wood is much different than poplar). The only honey locust I have is from what I think is an ornamental variety, so I don't know if it is representative of the wild tree, but it has a thin bark that is either smooth or somewhat scaly. The difference is night and day once you've seen both.

Here are some photos of both:
honey locust
black locust

 

[MrGriz]

Awesome score!

With regard to BTU content, remember: Free wood = Free BTU's

 

[DiscoInferno]

There is so much free wood in this area that I've gotten somewhat picky; I've mostly limited myself to high-BTU wood: oak, hickory, locust, mulberry, ash. (Sorry left-coasters, don't mean to rub it in.) Now I'm realizing I need a bunch of low-BTU stuff like poplar or pine also, just to burn down the massive coal beds that result from the "good" wood. I have a bunch of cherry, but even that makes a lot of coals.

 

[Elderthewelder]

(Sorry left-coasters, don't mean to rub it in.) Now I'm realizing I need a bunch of low-BTU stuff like poplar or pine also, just to burn down the massive coal beds that result from the "good" wood. I have a bunch of cherry, but even that makes a lot of coals.

I just scored a load of Oak, found myself in the right place at the right time, as Oak is pretty hard to find here in the Seattle area, also scored a small load of Cherry, pretty close to downtowm Seattle. I can get Douglass Fir, Pine,Poplar, cottenwood, and cedar out the wazzu, hardwood is a bit harder to come by. Pics on either end are the Oak, middle is the Cherry that I had to chunk up with the Stihl