Burning black locust in a soapstone stove?

[spawner]

I have an opportunity to pick up some free black locust, but I've been told it burns very hot. Further, I only split with a Fiskars x27. So my questions are 1, Will it burn too hot for my stove? 2, Will I drive myself nuts trying to split it by hand? Thank you all! Edit, FYI I have a hearthstone phoenix.

 

[DaveH]

In my experience, BL is brutal to split by hand. It's so stringy they don't pop apart like red oak. You end up spending a ton of time pulling splits apart by hand. Great BTU's for sure, maybe rent a splitter for a day and knock it out.

 

[heavy hammer]

Black locust is worth the work, if concerned about burning it try a little at a time mixed in with some other stuff. Black locust is my favorite, I burn it by itself on the real cold days or for long overnight burns. Once you burn a some of it you will see. Remember it's still just wood just be smart about it and you will be fine.

 

[excessads]

1, Will it burn too hot for my stove?

This will take all the guessing out, it was recommended by someone from here this past season:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SC323K/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[spawner]

Well thank you for the replies. There is the potential for about 4+- cords. Since it seems like people have a positive opinion on it I may have to either invest in, or rent a splitter.

 

[fireview2788]

I haven't burned locust but I have burned a TON of bitternut hickory in my Woodstock Soapstone and never had a touch of a problem. The BTUs for hickory is 26.5 and black locust 26.8 so they are almost identical. Just like any fire, keep an eye on the temps and adjust as needed. Great score!


f v

 

[kversch]

I have an opportunity to pick up some free black locust, but I've been told it burns very hot. Further, I only split with a Fiskars x27. So my questions are 1, Will it burn too hot for my stove? 2, Will I drive myself nuts trying to split it by hand? Thank you all! Edit, FYI I have a hearthstone phoenix.

I've done 95% of my splitting with a fiskars. Last fall I did close to two and a half cords of black locust all by hand. It is definetly stringy but my fiskars made short work. If you have some knotty stuff it might take a bit more work

 

[Babaganoosh]

I've split lots of black locust and it's great wood. I'd give it 2 years to season and it really shines. It's tough to get lit but once it's going it burns great. Usually I put chunks in the fire pit but it lasts forever in the fire pit so I save them for the stove.

4 cords ? Rent a splitter and have a hatchet on hand to cut the stringy stuff. Better yet buy a splitter and make life a little easier . Do like I do and save some straight stuff for the hand splitting.

 

[begreen]

Locust burns hot and long. Watch the stove top temp to stay within Hearthstone's recommendations. It's not too hard to split, with a power splitter .

 

[Paulywalnut]

I've split a lot of BL. It splits like butter what dry or bark is off. Bark sheds easily when down awhile. When splitting it hack off the bark and work your way in towards the middle. The fiskars will do a good job for you. It's one of the best burning. I let mine season as long as possible. I have a lot of 4 year seasoned ready this year. Good luck

 

[teutonicking]

Black Locust is top of the food chain for firewood, and very hard to find. I've only scored it once in five years. Grab it while you can!

 

[SawDawg]

Must be location because it grows like weeds here. It's every where.

I mix BL with other hard woods in my soap stone.

 

[osagebow]

I've done a lot of BL with an X27. Cut the straight stuff to stove length, and cut the knotty stuff smaller. Work outside in. I don't worry if a few pieces stay strung yogether. Or you could stack the hard to split stuff and have your kids split it 19 years from now. It will not rot!

 

[CTYank]

I've burned (slowly) lots of BL over the years. Undeveloped lot across from me has been a prime source via storm blowdowns. I split it all by hand with 5-6.6 lb mauls with no special effort. It's hard and tough, but splits pretty cleanly for me. Your saw's chain best be razor-sharp.

The wood seems pretty close-grained. May be why air-drying BL normally takes a few years in SW CT. It's worth waiting for. Until that time it can take a while to light off in a stove. Definitely best to mix it in with more volatile woods until the firebox is really HOT, like sugar maple, black birch, ash and such. Once it's hot with a good bed of coals, I'd consider stoking the stove with more BL for a mid-winter over-nighter.

Stoke it with shagbark & BL, and it's hard to do better. Free? What are you waiting for? Go!

 

[Jay106n]

I have never burned BL but from what I hear it is like coal. Get as much as you can. Your stove will be just fine.

 

[spawner]

So just a follow up, I picked up the first pickup load of BL the other morning. there is probably 3 more loads but I think its going to end up closer to 2 cords. Not the 4 that I originally thought but hey... its free and close to the house. Looking forward to heating season! thank you all for the info

 

[jatoxico]

Good deal, BL is fine stuff. Can be tough to burn solo especially on startup. Mixed in with other wood and in established fires works well for me as does splitting a little smaller than you might with other hardwoods.