My son and I are taking down a large Honey locust next week. How long does honey locust need to season?
Taking down a large honey locust next week
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I think they will tell ya two years. I've never had, or dried, any, just BL. Is it dead? There's a dead HL at my neighbor's I'm gonna take down later this year so I'd be interested to hear about drying time as well...
Is it of the thorny variety? Them can be some nasty trees. They bite back.
Treat honey locust the same as you would treat osage. I like two years, but burnable if you can get two summers on it.
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Treat honey locust the same as you would treat osage. I like two years, but burnable if you can get two summers on it.
It has a few thorns on it, but not like some I have seen pictures of. I'm not sure I would want to deal with one of the real thorny ones.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
They can be very hard on chains. I took down a relatively small green Black Locust recently and my full chisel (Oregon LPX) chain was toast. I'm now running a semi-chisel (Stilhl RMC) and will be seeing if that helps prolong the need to constant file. I think I will be dropping and cutting a couple Black Locust trees this weekend. I've heard they become a real pain to cut when they are dead and dry. It's best to cut them when green.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
Green locust, black anyway always seems to take three years to really burn nice. Honey might be different. You need knights gloves like King Arthur's chain link gloves for those thorns.
I think the consensus is that the Stihl chains in general hold up better, but yeah, I've been thinking of using more semi-chisel chain too. I've cut a good bit of dead BL and didn't notice any increased chain mortality...
Just treat it the same as green Oak. taking down a live tree now it is going to be really full of sap so I would count on at least 2 full years. lot of variables in this , size of splits, your weather, location of stacks to name a few. smaller splits will dry faster, removing the bark also speeds things up ( real pia on any kind of wood)
Honey locust with out thorns is a engineered mutation, planted as ornamental for landscaping. wild propagation tends to revert to original thorny condition. BTU wise right near the top on most everyones charts.
Honey locust with out thorns is a engineered mutation, planted as ornamental for landscaping. wild propagation tends to revert to original thorny condition. BTU wise right near the top on most everyones charts.
splitoak
Member
Ive cit quite a bit of BL..i use stihl rs and cant really tell a difference on how fast it dulls...i sharpen every tank or so...BL does not take long to season..get a meter and cjeck it after a year...u mite be suprised
JA600L
Minister of Fire
I agree on the chain issue. It has no mercy for a brand new chain. I have some I'm cutting that has been layed over for a year. I'm lucky of I can get through 3 cuts without re sharpening. You can overheat the chain very quickly. Make sure the saw is lubing the chain as best as it can before you start.
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
Pennsyltucky Chris
Minister of Fire
I had a cord of Black Locust last winter. Seasoned about 10 months before I used it. Burnt pretty well. I did stack it around the stove for about 2 weeks before I burned it, so it was pretty dry. I really liked it, especially stuffed for the night with a couple pieces of Red Oak.
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Locust will take about 3 years to season. When cutting make sure you chain is sharp and you have plenty of bar oil.
splitoak
Member
Tsquini..not sure what mc yur trying to get to..but i have some locust that has been split and heaped for just a few months..its at about 20 percent now..yes it will prolly burn better at 3 years..... but people like me are trying to get three years ahead...BL should be ready in a year or so..give or take...i have a bit to burn 2016 season that was cut this year..it will be ready...also i dont split huge either..im not tryn to anger the dry wood gods but good greif..just sayn
That's great, if you can season locust in a few months you are better than me. It all depends on the conditions.Tsquini..not sure what mc yur trying to get to..but i have some locust that has been split and heaped for just a few months..its at about 20 percent now..yes it will prolly burn better at 3 years..... but people like me are trying to get three years ahead...BL should be ready in a year or so..give or take...i have a bit to burn 2016 season that was cut this year..it will be ready...also i dont split huge either..im not tryn to anger the dry wood gods but good greif..just sayn
I heat all winter with wood in my NC30 to that end MC content of less than 18% on my el cheapo HF meter gets me the btu's I need. Above that MC wise I am just wasting fuel which translates into a whole lot of wasted time and effort in which case might just as well pay the utility co. I would like to choke the living sxxx out of the greedy bxxxxxds on Wall St. though as NG went from $.65/therm to $1.33/therm in 4 mo. (Dec.-March) Wish I could raise my prices like that and still be in business.
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