Is Black Locust trees any good for firewood?

[Dargo]

I cut down a couple dozen black locust trees that were dead, dying or just dropping too many dead limbs on my driveway. I replaced them with oak trees (about 12-15' tall) that seem to look much better. I pitched all of the small thorny branches into the woods but I kept what amounts to several truck loads with the intent on using it for firewood after it seasons. I've never burned black locust before and just wondered if it is any good to use for firewood. Any experience or comments on the wood?

 

[mbohuntr]

They smell, but are super dense, should make a good fire.

 

[RickB]

Locust makes a VERY hot fire. Mix it with other species first and see how it works in your stove/furnace/boiler.

 

[DennisArrow]

Locust is for btu value the BEST firewood for a wood stove. Very little ash and LOTS of heat for a long time. USE them if you can or find someone to donate them to for it is truly a waste just to trash them...........Dennis

 

[tanglefoot]

Hi Dennis,
The best firewood I've found(and I've used all kinds) is bois'd'arc(osage orange). It's best to use it in an airtight firebox rather than an open fireplace because it pops, sending embers into the room.
Butch

 

[cowboy357]

Like allready said Locust burns very hot . Great for a good wood stove , But I tried it in My insert & it Burns way to hot IMO . Bob

 

[LMTC]

It is excellent, used properly. Black locust is the one with tiny thorns on branch ends, wood has a yellowish cast to it. Honey locust has monster thorns all over the trunk and thorns on branches capable of killing bears :>) Both burn very hot. I've burned in excess of 100 cords of wood where we live now, having stoves in the house and the shop x 24 years.

Locust is in the top tier ( hedge apple, locust, hickory, hawthorn-which doesn't get very big, in that order IMO) for hot burning, but it's almost impossible to start a fire with it. It takes high temps to get it burning, but it can melt a stove if one is not careful. Definitely do not stoke a stove chock full of the stuff as one might with maple, or even ash and oak.

We use 1-2 small rounds (5-6") of locust or those others to toss in the stove on cold nights. We use the larger pieces split the same way, or mixed in with other split wood when it is really cold. It is, as I said, probably 2nd on my list for heat yield. The honey locust seems to burn a little hotter than the black locust, but is way more problematic to cut and clean up with the thorns.

 

[Dargo]

Thanks for the replies. I plan to use it in a high quality wood burner that has a catalytic converter that requires an operating heat from 800 to 1400 degrees. It's relatively easy to control the heat based on the air intake and the fan speed. I just looked at the piles of "firewood sized" locust and it's about 5' high and 30' long from where I piled it with my loader as we cut down the trees.

I have a 15' wide area between two barns that is concreted where I keep my firewood. The reflective heat between the steel barns in the summer is really high there and it dries out firewood pretty quick. I wasn't planning on using any of the locust this coming winter but an older farmer neighbor told me "you can burn locust the day you cut it if you want". Based on that comment, I may try burning some this winter unless he's completely wrong.

 

[ToadHill]

If you need any fence posts, pick up some of the sturr you threw into the woods, locost posts have been known to last 80 years without rot.

 

[MossRoad]

... I wasn't planning on using any of the locust this coming winter but an older farmer neighbor told me "you can burn locust the day you cut it if you want". Based on that comment, I may try burning some this winter unless he's completely wrong.

Wellll, yes and no. It lights up surprisingly easy when still green. But it gives off lots of soot and goo when it is green as well. It plugged my screen at the top of my chimney. Let it cure for a while if you can. When you burn it when it is dry, it is a very neat wood. It burns all the way through and usually holds its shape in the stove for a long time, almost like charcoal briquets. And it burns up almost completely. When burning it I can go several weeks without emptying the ash pan. I burned continuously from Oct - Feb this year and only emptied the ash pan about 7 time in 5 months! Great wood. Pick up a piece of it and feel how heavy and dense it is compared to a similar size piece of any other wood.