Whoa not so fast!

[Richie]

Everyone here rages on the fact that black locust seasons in a year. I was burning some one year stuff (even though I knew better). The cat was stalling and a terrible mess on the glass. I go out today and moisture meter it, it is sitting at 28-29%. If people are not liking locust I know why. It takes time to bring it to perfection. I am in PA and I know different geographies lend different results however my two year stuff is between 20-22%. It really takes three years to make locust scream and I am lucky to have 5 year stuff that is outrageous.

 

[D8Chumley]

I haven't been fortunate to find any locust in my scrounging. Yet... Haha

 

[smokedragon]

None of that for me either. It is funny how some wood takes longer than others, but it all depends on the area and geography. Love my meter.

 

[PDXpyro]

I have no idea why-- maybe it's a regional thing, or just a quirk of the particular season of cutting, but for me the three or four lots of BL I've gleaned have seasoned very quickly. For instance, I now have some that was stacked and split around 1.5 years ago: tracked a couple pieces by weight, and the splits had weight-stabilized within six to eight months of stacking, barely fluctuating an ounce or two since then. Around 15-16 mm now.

And yes, the wood in question was all from living trees.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I love black locust, I picked out the thinnest splits that I had, to burn this year, under 20% MC is the only way to go when burning this species in order to get its full effect....

 

[blades]

bigger the split longer it takes to dry out. If you do not have space to let sit for 2-3 years sometimes longer( lot of variables ), split small.

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't have enough experience with it to know how it does in this location. Most of the stuff I've gotten so far has been dead. I have just let it sit, now everything's got two summers at least. I don't know any other dense woods that dry quick, so I'm assuming fresh-cut would need 2 yrs here...

 

[Bigg_Redd]

It really takes three years to make locust scream and I am lucky to have 5 year stuff that is outrageous.

I have not found this to be the case. Of course I'm not burning it in a cat stove but I have no trouble with BL or GL that's less than a year old.