Black locust

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Maple man

Burning Hunk
I was wondering how long to season black locust because
It is a low moister wood to begin with thank you
 
maple man said:
I was wondering how long to season black locust because
It is a low moister wood to begin with thank you
black locust will actually burn semi-green. Not that you shouldn't season it. I usually season my locust for at least a year. Depends on a lot of variables though. Climate, weather, covered top or uncovered top, etc.......
 
This year is our first burning BL. It was C/S/S 14 months. It takes longer to start than any other wood we've used and burns longer than the 3-year red oak loaded with it. The rest of that BL batch will be used next winter. Then it will be primo. So, one year - fine, two year - great.
 
Gark said:
This year is our first burning BL. It was C/S/S 14 months. It takes longer to start than any other wood we've used and burns longer than the 3-year red oak loaded with it. The rest of that BL batch will be used next winter. Then it will be primo. So, one year - fine, two year - great.
Yeah locust does not take off like a bat-out-of-hell. Look at it like this, seasoned maple or pine is the 'Hare', locust or elm is the 'Tortoise'......that Hare takes out of the gate like mad; quick heat, high stove temp, smolder off to ash rather quickly. Now that Tortoise, he is lazy and slow out of the gate....but once he gets it going, he puts off some serious heat. And when you come back to the stove 6 to 8 hours later, still lots of glowing red coals in there to get it started again.......I'll take the tortoise over the hare anyday!!...lol....I got at least 8 cord of it outback for next year and around 2 for this year, haven't hit it yet in the pile....
 
Locust is my favorite......Burns good in 1 year......burns great in 2 years and by then the bark is coming off. But the first year that bark really gets it going well. That heavy bark works good for kindling though after it falls off. Most that burn a lot of locust will tell you it burns like coal. The other good thing about locust is it lasts and lasts in the pile. You can cut locust that has been on the ground for several years and it is still rock hard. Did I mention it was my favorite.
 
Locust Post said:
Locust is my favorite......Burns good in 1 year......burns great in 2 years and by then the bark is coming off. But the first year that bark really gets it going well. That heavy bark works good for kindling though after it falls off. Most that burn a lot of locust will tell you it burns like coal. The other good thing about locust is it lasts and lasts in the pile. You can cut locust that has been on the ground for several years and it is still rock hard. Did I mention it was my favorite.

+1....and yes it's my favorite too!!!
 
I'm liking locust too. Ours is 2 yr seasoned, though it burned well after one year. It is slower to start and needs more air to maintain a fire, but it is great fuel.
 
BeGreen said:
I'm liking locust too. Ours is 2 yr seasoned, though it burned well after one year. It is slower to start and needs more air to maintain a fire, but it is great fuel.
So far I've only burned a split or two here and there but with all the talk of how hot it burns, I figured that on a full load I'd have to cut the air back to keep the stove from getting too hot.
 
I'm burning 1-year seasoned BL as we speak... never had any of these hard-starting problems described. Maybe cuz I cheat and use a big Duraflame starter log.

Keeps my stovetop at 650 for hours.
 
bluedogz said:
I'm burning 1-year seasoned BL as we speak... never had any of these hard-starting problems described. Maybe cuz I cheat and use a big Duraflame starter log.

Keeps my stovetop at 650 for hours.

Good to hear - I was getting concerned since a majority of my wood for the next few years is black locust. What a terrible problem to have!

I do make it a point to keep it separated from the rest of the stacks so that I can mix it in with the other hardwoods.
 
Black Locust is great firewood. Cuts easy and splits well. Drys in one year. Only negative is the thorns when taking them down.
 
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