Really ... ? (3) years to season Locust

[jkazak]

Read in a post the recommendation was for (3) years for Locust to season.... that would be frustrating since the new place we just got is full of good-sized Black Locust that I'm REALLY going to need next year to survive these high propane prices.

I've just begun knocking them down and was planning on using them next Winter..... What I've been doing is notching them a foot or so off the ground and leaving them lay off the ground to start drying.... then come Spring I'll start cutting and splitting them ....does that sound reasonable..?

But (3) years......???

 

[razerface]

Better split now. They don't start drying until split.

 

[gzecc]

Split and stack it now. Take moisture readings. IMO locust will dry in one year, loosely stacked in the sun in single rows. It starts out with low moisture to begin with.

 

[jatoxico]

Read in a post the recommendation was for (3) years for Locust to season.... that would be frustrating since the new place we just got is full of good-sized Black Locust that I'm REALLY going to need next year to survive these high propane prices.

I've just begun knocking them down and was planning on using them next Winter..... What I've been doing is notching them a foot or so off the ground and leaving them lay off the ground to start drying.... then come Spring I'll start cutting and splitting them ....does that sound reasonable..?

But (3) years......???

This is not what you want to hear but I'll tell you my experience. My first year I burned all locust that had been split and stacked for 18 mo and was not dry enough. It was frustrating, makes you want to blame the stove. Even dry locust is a tough wood to burn by itself. It is super dense which makes it hard to start and if it's at all wet, hard to keep going.

My advice is to split what you expect to use next year ASAP and to split that pretty small. Also try to source some other wood. Locust is excellent but I prefer it mixed in with other wood. At the very least, being able to add it after a hot coal bed has been established is helpful. So try to get some other dry wood, even wood from pallets will be a big help..

 

[nrford]

Honey locust 2-3 yrs. Black locust will season in 1 year, under ideal conditions, Smaller splits, wind and sun, kept protected from rain. IMO

 

[DanCorcoran]

As others have suggested elsewhere, bring the next day's wood indoors, near the stove, to allow additional rapid drying. It will also help add humidity to the otherwise dry air in the house.

 

[Sinngetreu]

+ 2 (?) on the small splits.
I am burning Ash that I cut and split this last July/August. I found that the splits that I made were good for wood that was dry, but my wood hovered around 20 percent and splitting them down more and bringing as much as I could into the stove room to dry even farther made a world of difference. I also mix some small chunks of UNTREATED lumber ends and pallet wood to keep the fire hot.
Good Luck!

 

[Jags]

Try to source some silver maple to go with it. Starting a cold stove with only locust is a slow process.

 

[jkazak]

This is not what you want to hear but I tell you my experience. My first year I burned all locust that had been split and stacked for 18 mo and was not dry enough. It was frustrating, makes you want to blame the stove. Even dry locust is a tough wood to burn by itself. It is super dense which makes it hard to start and if it's at all wet, hard to keep going.

My advice is to split what you expect to use next year split ASAP and to split that pretty small. Also try to source some other wood. Locust is excellent but I prefer it mixed in with other wood. At the very least being able to add it after hot coal bed is established is helpful. So try to get some other dry wood, even wood from pallets will be a big help..

This is more like what my (limited) experience has been with it. When we first got the place 8-months ago I took out quite a few sapling trees (4-inch diameter max) that I cut to length and loosely stacked. I've been using them sparingly when I have a good hot bed of coals from the Red Elm and White Oak that I purchased for this year and they seem to burn pretty well and nice and hot when mixed with other wood. The trees I'm cutting now are 8 to14-inches in diameter and are (were) very much alive.
I did note that they have a low moisture content to begin with so I am hoping that in 11-months time they would be ready to burn. i will make every attempt to get them cut / split ASAP and stack them where they will get the most amount of sun this Summer..... guess 'm going to need that log splitter sooner than later..... as you can tell I'm pretty new to Country Living - but I'm determined to make it happen.....

 

[Woody Stover]

I've just begun knocking them down and was planning on using them next Winter.....

Were they dead? I've found BL on the ground with no bark that was ready to go. If you've got a grove of live ones, you've probably got some dead around, too. They seem to succumb easily to wind or disease....

 

[jatoxico]

This is more like what my (limited) experience has been with it. When we first got the place 8-months ago I took out quite a few sapling trees (4-inch diameter max) that I cut to length and loosely stacked. I've been using them sparingly when I have a good hot bed of coals from the Red Elm and White Oak that I purchased for this year and they seem to burn pretty well and nice and hot when mixed with other wood. The trees I'm cutting now are 8 to14-inches in diameter and are (were) very much alive.
I did note that they have a low moisture content to begin with so I am hoping that in 11-months time they would be ready to burn. i will make every attempt to get them cut / split ASAP and stack them where they will get the most amount of sun this Summer..... guess 'm going to need that log splitter sooner than later..... as you can tell I'm pretty new to Country Living - but I'm determined to make it happen.....

Don't really know what kind of summers you have in Nebraska so you may have better luck. As others said give yourself the best chance by stacking in single rows out in the open and again smaller splits than you might choose if you had more time. If you cover, top cover only. Some use old corrugated roofing which sounds ideal to me since it allows more air movement than what you would get w/ a tarp or other soft cover.

One other thing, locust bark will come off in sheets soon after it's bucked up. Take the time to get it off, it won't be difficult and holds a lot of moisture. Been doing that myself recently...

 

[Sinngetreu]

You know, with all this talk, I'm beginning to think that this may be too much of a hassle for you. You should just send it to me and I will give you some Ash that I have here in trade.

 

[jkazak]

You know, with all this talk, I'm beginning to think that this may be too much of a hassle for you. You should just send it to me and I will give you some Ash that I have here in trade.

LOL... well ....uh.... thanks for the offer but ......

I'm very lucky that I have a great mix of Locust, Silver Maple, Walnut, Mulberry, Ash, Cottonwood (for kindling) and I-don't-know-what-else all around my place. I "only" have 6-acres and just 3-acres of that is mature trees BUT my neighbor (relation) has 27-acres of the same that I can harvest from. And you guys gave me the good idea in that he has a LOT more dead wood to draw from so I'll be stopping by to see if he needs his car waxed, house cleaned, yard mowed....

Now if I could just get my buddy down south to send me up a few cords of all that Hedge he's got....guy has been burning Hedge for 25-years... I wish I had that loot....

 

[Paulywalnut]

I'm burning 3 year Locust and it still does not like being burnt by itself. I start it with something else like mulberry and then it goes off fine on its own.
1 or 2 years and it burns because it is a tight grain wood with little sap. 3 years really burns nice and hot, sorry to say, but burn what you have. It will burn
at this point but get it split asap in small splits.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Read in a post the recommendation was for (3) years for Locust to season.... that would be frustrating since the new place we just got is full of good-sized Black Locust that I'm REALLY going to need next year to survive these high propane prices.

I've just begun knocking them down and was planning on using them next Winter..... What I've been doing is notching them a foot or so off the ground and leaving them lay off the ground to start drying.... then come Spring I'll start cutting and splitting them ....does that sound reasonable..?

But (3) years......???

Welcome to the forum jkazak.

Congratulations on your new property and moving to the country. That sounds like a real winner and it sounds like you have some great firewood too.

Please do not get discouraged and do not misread the 3 year thing. We talk here about being on the 3 year plan and that is the ideal. It may take some time to get there but when you get 3 years ahead on your wood you will be amazed at the difference in how the stove puts out heat, the ease of starting new fires and the lack of any creosote in your chimney. In addition, you won't get taxed on this even though it is like money in the bank.

Locust we do not have but have been given a little to try (black locust) and the heat was great. We just did not like the smell. There is a difference between honey locust and black locust. Do you have lots of thorns? Nasty. But honey locust will take a bit longer to dry than black locust. Most that I've talked with say 2 years on the black and 3 on the honey but I also know of several who give black only a year to dry.

But the big thing to remember is that the wood really won't dry until it has been split and then stacked out in the wind to dry. You live in Nebraska so we know you get some good wind. That may indeed speed the drying for you but get is split and stacked asap. When you stack the wood, be sure it is off the ground. We just cut some saplings to lay down and stack on top of them. Here is how we do it. That first picture really shows the saplings that are under the wood. That last picture is some white and red oak that had been laying flat on the ground for over 10 years. It was on a neighboring property and we were lucky to get it. That was split and stacked last May and we'll probably try to burn some of that next year. Normally with oak, we want 3 years in the stack but this one won't need that much time.

 

[Bret Chase]

Were they dead? I've found BL on the ground with no bark that was ready to go. If you've got a grove of live ones, you've probably got some dead around, too. They seem to succumb easily to wind or disease....

I've burned 9 chord of standing dead locust in the last 2 years..... they burned just fine....

 

[jkazak]

Welcome to the forum jkazak.

Congratulations on your new property and moving to the country. That sounds like a real winner and it sounds like you have some great firewood too.

Please do not get discouraged and do not misread the 3 year thing. We talk here about being on the 3 year plan and that is the ideal. It may take some time to get there but when you get 3 years ahead on your wood you will be amazed at the difference in how the stove puts out heat, the ease of starting new fires and the lack of any creosote in your chimney. In addition, you won't get taxed on this even though it is like money in the bank.

Locust we do not have but have been given a little to try (black locust) and the heat was great. We just did not like the smell. There is a difference between honey locust and black locust. Do you have lots of thorns? Nasty. But honey locust will take a bit longer to dry than black locust. Most that I've talked with say 2 years on the black and 3 on the honey but I also know of several who give black only a year to dry.

But the big thing to remember is that the wood really won't dry until it has been split and then stacked out in the wind to dry. You live in Nebraska so we know you get some good wind. That may indeed speed the drying for you but get is split and stacked asap. When you stack the wood, be sure it is off the ground. We just cut some saplings to lay down and stack on top of them. Here is how we do it. That first picture really shows the saplings that are under the wood. That last picture is some white and red oak that had been laying flat on the ground for over 10 years. It was on a neighboring property and we were lucky to get it. That was split and stacked last May and we'll probably try to burn some of that next year. Normally with oak, we want 3 years in the stack but this one won't need that much time.
View attachment 125457 View attachment 125458 View attachment 125459

Thorns ? Oh yeah. But not like the Locust down in Missouri on my brothers place. Our trees thorns only get up to 2-inches long but down South they are 4-inches and longer.....not trying to downplay them because they are nasty. The very tip will break off in your skin and in a day or so its like a piece of glass stabbing at you.

It was actually debated for some time as to what my trees really were....but they have those strange little seed pods that the Black Locust have. Then the local Utilities tree cutter verified what they are. I'm looking forward to burning them for the nice heat - although I must say I haven't noticed an unpleasant smell..... I thought it was rather nice.

Maybe I better get some photos up for you guys to have a look at....

 

[gzecc]

Thorns ? Oh yeah. But not like the Locust down in Missouri on my brothers place. Our trees thorns only get up to 2-inches long but down South they are 4-inches and longer.....not trying to downplay them because they are nasty. The very tip will break off in your skin and in a day or so its like a piece of glass stabbing at you.

It was actually debated for some time as to what my trees really were....but they have those strange little seed pods that the Black Locust have. Then the local Utilities tree cutter verified what they are. I'm looking forward to burning them for the nice heat - although I must say I haven't noticed an unpleasant smell..... I thought it was rather nice.

Maybe I better get some photos up for you guys to have a look at....

The smell is the smoke outside. Pungent.

 

[nrford]

If you have 2-4" thorns you have Honey Locust. Have never seen thorns longer than about 3/4" on Black Locust. Honey Locust will have thorns on the bole of the tree as well, Black locust doesn't.

 

[jkazak]

If you have 2-4" thorns you have Honey Locust. Have never seen thorns longer than about 3/4" on Black Locust. Honey Locust will have thorns on the bole of the tree as well, Black locust doesn't.

It was a debate for a while just because some of the younger trees had such big thorns.....but the seed pods and no thorns on the trunks verify they are indeed Black Locust. For awhile I thought we had a weird hybrid tree.

 

[jatoxico]

My Black Locust does not have pods. I think it's honey.

 

[Jon1270]

I've got a bunch of locust that came down (live) in the fall of 2012, and which I split about a year ago. The MC is still in the low to mid 20's, so I could probably burn it now in a pinch but it would be both frustrating and wasteful. On the other hand a neighbor had a tree service take down a dead black locust just a few weeks ago and I snagged all of the wood before it got trucked away. Most of that stuff is at 14% already, good firewood right off the stump.

 

[jeffesonm]

Look for standing dead stuff... I just cut down a standing dead honey locus that was 16% and ready to go. As mentioned, even at that % it is slow to start so mix it in with some other stuff when you burn it.

 

[Bret Chase]

The smell is the smoke outside. Pungent.

To me... BL smells like burning gym socks.... but the smell is outside and I'm inside... lol

 

[Bret Chase]

The funny thing is... the trees I cut all appeared dead.... no canopy... no brush...bark falling off... i.e. perfect yet this spring every single one of the stumps sprouted aggressively.... now they are thorn bushes from hell...