A year ago a neighbor down the road had a Honey Locust tree's limbs and branches cut way back and he told me I could have all the wood I wanted. So I cut up and brought home maybe 5-6 pick up loads and split it up and stack it on pallets as soon as I burned other wood and had room for it. It's sat out in full sun and wind for the past year. I'm burning some of it now but it burns so slowly! I don't have a moisture meter but the wood is gray on the ends but orange/pinkish where it wasn't exposed. I throw in pieces of ash, hickory, cherry, etc. that I also have along with some Honey Locust to get and keep a good hot fire going in the stove. I know that stuff is good and dense and hard but should I leave it be another year to season it longer? I have about 4-5 face cords of it but I have plenty of other good seasoned wood I can burn in the meantime.
Drying time for Honey Locust
- Thread starter hawkeye4771
- Start date
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ohlongarm
Minister of Fire
ZZ Tom
Burning Hunk
Two years minimum, and that's out here in the desert where our humid days are 30% RH.
But once it's dry it burns like coal, hot and forever.
Just split a few rounds of honey locust today, going in my 23-24 stacks.
But once it's dry it burns like coal, hot and forever.
Just split a few rounds of honey locust today, going in my 23-24 stacks.
2 years full sun/wind will work but 3 years is probably best. My main stack of Honey Locust has been C/S/S for 3 years now & is just now getting down around 20%, some of the smaller splits were dry early this spring but the larger splits are just now getting dry.
if less than 2 years leave it for one more and save it for your coldest nights. great stuff
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
I've gotten so much of that stuff I've gotten to the point where I refuse to even try and burn it before 3 years. So this year actually is the first year I'll get to try the 3 year seasoned stuff I have. I still have my doubts its ready.
We do get a lot of it up here!! Only thing I don't like are the bugs which in the first year will eat holes in the wood and leave sawdust piles.
Gearhead660
Minister of Fire
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
Ah I forgot about those things! No matter how many times you knock the wood together that dust just never stops falling out. For that reason it ends up being a pretty messy wood to bring inside.
Yep I have alot of that on this wood! I guess I'll burn the thinner pieces as needed and leave the big'ns for another year.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
I had the pleasure of sending honey and black locust through my stove (not very plentiful around my area) All wood is put on a 3 year rotation so generally speaking everything is in the 15-18% category, the one thing about locust is that it sucks when burnt solely by itself, its very sluggish, but the same locust is incredible when its loaded onto an existing fire with a hot coal bed, small blueish flames like a gas stove is its m. o. and it will burn seriously hot like coal. I try to separate a face cord a year of locust from my piles, thats my go to stuff for the artic cold fronts that blow through in January when the temps are forecasted to go below zero def f.
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
It actually can be kind of dangerous if you load your stove full of it, I did that once and because it is sluggish wood like Kennyp said, it will seem like it's not doing a lot...Then all of a sudden it will just flare up and take off. I actually had a chimney fire start that way, I don't think it was due to any formation of dangerous creosote but more so a load of honey locust taking off in the stove with the air wide open and shooting flames up the chimney. So now I know not to leave the room with a stove full of locust that appears to be stubborn to get going.
CincyBurner
Minister of Fire
As kennyp and woody mention, I too notice that honeylocust burns sluggish, especially by itself. Perhaps it wasn't seasoned long enough ? Might be one of those species that requires an extra year (3 years) to season ?
I burn HL but just sporadically. It is a dense wood. Might be best to burn mixed loads ? and definitely on a hot coal bed.
I burn HL but just sporadically. It is a dense wood. Might be best to burn mixed loads ? and definitely on a hot coal bed.
