This wood vs. that wood...

[Wood Duck]

Blackthorn, lots of heat and flame, lasts a long time and leaves a good bed of glowing coals.
Would love to try some of the locust you guys talk about, none over here .

I was in Europe this summer and there is plenty of Black Locust in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia - everywhere I went. It grows in China too. I'd be surprised if there isn't some in England. It seems to be a bad weed in some areas. Some forests in Croatia seem to be taken over by Black Locust.

 

[Billybonfire]

I was in Europe this summer and there is plenty of Black Locust in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia - everywhere I went. It grows in China too. I'd be surprised if there isn't some in England. It seems to be a bad weed in some areas. Some forests in Croatia seem to be taken over by Black Locust.

You're right Wood Duck, looked it up in a tree book, we do have it over here but call it False Acacia.
Now wonder where I can find some.

 

[Thistle]

locust, locust, locust. Black locust.......honey locust.......I have some lilac (yes, the flowering shrub) which REALLY impressed me, I'd say right up there with BL. Beech and sugar maple are up there too. Those are my three personal favorite 'dead-o-the-winter' overnight woods. White oak is right up there, too. But (I've said it before as have others) It pays to have a variety of other softer woods in your stacks too. I have just about every species of eastern hardwood there is in my stacks.

I have access to 10 acres mostly all mixed oak/hickory,but one my all time fav combos to burn was several loads of a mixture of Red Elm,Mulberry,Apple & Honey Locust several years back.

That Lilac you mentioned? Some years ago a So Cal hardwood retailer had some lilac root burl for sale.Very dense,similar to Ironwood/Hophornbeam.And yes,sawing/shaping/sanding the wood,it smelled wonderful,just like the flowers in early May.In April this year I pruned some dead/dying from a very old Lilac bush at local Croation Center (Original building was 1890's schoolhouse in-then rural SE part of county) A couple straight pieces were 1 1/4" -2" up to 18" long -light purple w/cream sapwood.Even storing it inside out of the sun/wind it cracked pretty good over the summer.Should get something like inlays or a lettter opener maybe,from bandsawing a thin flat piece.Until it cracked,was thinking about a chisel handle or two.Ironwood makes great ones also.

 

[ScotO]

I have access to 10 acres mostly all mixed oak/hickory,but one my all time fav combos to burn was several loads of a mixture of Red Elm,Mulberry,Apple & Honey Locust several years back.

That Lilac you mentioned? Some years ago a So Cal hardwood retailer had some lilac root burl for sale.Very dense,similar to Ironwood/Hophornbeam.And yes,sawing/shaping/sanding the wood,it smelled wonderful,just like the flowers in early May.In April this year I pruned some dead/dying from a very old Lilac bush at local Croation Center (Original building was 1890's schoolhouse in-then rural SE part of county) A couple straight pieces were 1 1/4" -2" up to 18" long -light purple w/cream sapwood.Even storing it inside out of the sun/wind it cracked pretty good over the summer.Should get something like inlays or a lettter opener maybe,from bandsawing a thin flat piece.Until it cracked,was thinking about a chisel handle or two.Ironwood makes great ones also.

Believe it or not, Thistle, I counted around 70 rings in these lilacs I cut down on that job over a year ago. Some of the stuff is around 12" in diameter, super dense! Funny because just yesterday, when I replaced the tarps with that EDPM roofing material, I found probably at least a face-cord's worth of that lilac, and I'll be burning it this winter! It smells wonderful when burning, too!

 

[kingston73]

ok I bought some black locust last winter that was split for six months and I wasnt impressed. However Im sure it wasnt seasoned because it looks totally different now than when i bought it, I have about a face cord of it and cant wait to try it out now that im sure its ready. I have red oak , ash, cherry, hickory, black walnut, black locust 80 percent of the stacks are red oak and ash. So far even though it was marginal wood last year red oak is my favorite, burns so hot.

I have a ton of honey locust in my backyard and burned a little last season. This season I'll be burning more of it. When it's first cut its very distinct color, a yellowish or maybe yellow/green? It's easy to tell its seasoned because it loses that distinct color and starts looking like all the rest of the wood. Mine last season wasn't well dried so it wasn't great but the stuff is DENSE and will do a number on a saw chain.

 

[weatherguy]

I have a ton of honey locust in my backyard and burned a little last season. This season I'll be burning more of it. When it's first cut its very distinct color, a yellowish or maybe yellow/green? It's easy to tell its seasoned because it loses that distinct color and starts looking like all the rest of the wood. Mine last season wasn't well dried so it wasn't great but the stuff is DENSE and will do a number on a saw chain.

It seems to be all over the state except in my little corner , I did get a truck load last year that I can try this year, it should be seasoned nicely by now. Doesnt really matter, if I like it better than oak Im still going to have a hard time getting any, thats why I went with oak, preferably white, at least I can get all I want of that.

 

[etiger2007]

I have a ton of honey locust in my backyard and burned a little last season. This season I'll be burning more of it. When it's first cut its very distinct color, a yellowish or maybe yellow/green? It's easy to tell its seasoned because it loses that distinct color and starts looking like all the rest of the wood. Mine last season wasn't well dried so it wasn't great but the stuff is DENSE and will do a number on a saw chain.

Yeah my black locust has lost its yellow tint and looks pretty dull now.

 

[wishlist]

I would say burn what you have access to that will season properly before its needed. I dont think any of us would turn down all the different mentioned species in this thread if someone dropped a pile on our doorstep. Dead ash is everywhere here and will season quickly. I cut down a green bur oak last fall and even with this hot dry summer it still "looks" green the other day. Bogydave mentioned he has his choice of 2 different spieces and even in Alaska I dont think he needs an eletric heater running nonstop!

 

[dafattkidd]

I'm a big fan of locust. I burn a lot of it. But I think my favorite wood to burn it is Sugar Maple. It lights right up, seasons fast, smells pretty good, and coals up well. Locust stinks when you burn and can be annoying to get going without some help from another species. But the best coaling and longest burn times are locust. I also use the locust bark as kindling. Oak loses because of the 2-3 year seasoning process.

 

[woodchip]

did I mention locust?

There are some ornamental black locust trees grown over here, I really must start encouraging people to chop them down and replace them.

I'm curious and want to burn some myself, even though my favourites are oak, ash, birch, blackthorn and hawthorn (actually, anything that falls over nearby and is free).......

 

[steeltowninwv]

locust locust and more locust...with a hint of cherry mixed in

 

[charger4406]

Ironwood, Oak and Black Birch.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Oak, Locust, Beech...I do not have that much experience with Ash yet but a bunch has died so I will be getting to that. Cherry is always nice to mix in with a little maple to get the fire going nice. I also have Hickory, that I have not burned much of yet. I do have to trim my Lilacs back and was just going to put them in the fire pit. I guess I will have to save the branches to see about the hype.

 

[Big Chris]

Oak and hickory for the real cold months, cherry & ash for oct. Nov. & march

 

[blades]

What ever I have that is dense and less than 15% in the middle This year the bulk of it is going to be Sugar Maple for the cold weather, Slver Maple , River Birch, Willow for shoulder time. Got about a cord of Red Oak do not know if it will be ready ( cut &split 2 yrs) and some Elm of one type or another. I have around 10 cords for this season that should be in the proper moisture range for the NC-30.

 

[tfdchief]

I have never had the luxury of only one species of wood. I guess because of that, I have come to love them all. I always have a mix, and I don't separate it. Of course the hardwoods make for longer burns but I don't always need a long burn. So, I just take what I can get, season it and enjoy burning it.

 

[AJS56]

Hophornbeam (ironwood), red oak, beech. In that order. Mmm good! Having said so, I have ash, elm, cherry and like all those too.

 

[AJS56]

I have never had the luxury of only one species of wood. I guess because of that, I have come to love them all. I always have a mix, and I don't separate it. Of course the hardwoods make for longer burns but I don't always need a long burn. So, I just take what I can get, season it and enjoy burning it.

Well said, chief!