# Drying Honey Locust...



## brenndatomu (Jan 22, 2014)

I just took down 3 "Sunburst" Honey Locust trees. Fortunately, they were a type of hybrid thorn-less landscape trees. I found this variant on BTU charts (seems 'bout the same as other locust) but I couldn't find anything on how long it's gonna take to get this stuff to firebox ready moisture levels. Anybody mess with these before, I plan on getting CSS as soon as the latest "polar vortex" goes away. Any other relevant advise...?


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## iceman7668 (Jan 22, 2014)

I took one out last year for a guy in town. I will let you know next year. I am on a 2 year rotation with my wood. Its nice to have enough wood to let it age for 2 years before burning. I am liking my Oak a lot more by letting it sit this long. I thought it was good at 12 months, but I now know I was mistaken!


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## jimbojango (Jan 22, 2014)

It'll burn right now half ass decent. If you live where its "really cold" the moisture will freeze out of the wood in 2 or 3 weeks on 10 or below weather and make it decent. Give it a couple months if you split it and you'll probably get 80% efficiency out of it. I don't like to burn it because my are NOT hybrid and have a good god gaggle of thorns and if i'm going to get poked, i'm gonna use hedge.


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## turnkey4099 (Jan 23, 2014)

brenndatomu said:


> I just took down 3 "Sunburst" Honey Locust trees. Fortunately, they were a type of hybrid thorn-less landscape trees. I found this variant on BTU charts (seems 'bout the same as other locust) but I couldn't find anything on how long it's gonna take to get this stuff to firebox ready moisture levels. Anybody mess with these before, I plan on getting CSS as soon as the latest "polar vortex" goes away. Any other relevant advise...?



I planted a row of them around 30 years ago. One of them reverted to type and sprung the thornes after about 20 years. It didn't survive the day I saw them.

Harry K


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## farmer steve (Jan 23, 2014)

i took one down for my neighbor several years ago and other than tought to split crotches (we've all had some of those) it dried well and burnt good after about a year.i just found a piece in the ugly pile and split it up and threw it in the stove.not quite as good as black locust but close.


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## blades (Jan 23, 2014)

Normal drying cycle about same as Oak, 2 years on the lite side 3 for optimum


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## jhoff310 (Jan 23, 2014)

Thornless burns great. I picked up 3 cords in July (hottest damn day of the year.) I'm planning on burning it in 15/16 season. being locust, it can sit for a long time before it rots. I'm burning some now that has been on the ground for 9 years...still solid minimal rot/ants around the edge.

Jeff


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## ray benson (Jan 23, 2014)

I have cut one down in our yard 24" dbh and a couple in town that were quite a bit bigger. Very hard heavy wood, split easy. Each tree was cut in the summer and burned 6 to 8 months later like most of my wood since the late 1970's.


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## sunfish (Jan 23, 2014)

2-3 years stacked off the ground. Powder bugs get to it bad here, so I usually pass on it. But I did just cut three large ones because they were hanging over my shop.


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## brenndatomu (Jan 23, 2014)

Great, good info guys, thanks! Sounds like I'll just put it into the 2-3 year rotation like everything else...probably some of the heaviest wood (well, in the winter anyways) I've ever cut, gonna be interesting to see how it burns!


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## brenndatomu (Jan 23, 2014)

turnkey4099 said:


> I planted a row of them around 30 years ago. One of them reverted to type and sprung the thornes after about 20 years. It didn't survive the day I saw them.
> 
> Harry K


Yeah, these trees had some sucker lookin sprouts on 'em, I was wondering if given a lil more time if these wouldn't turn to malformed thorns. The trees (3 of 'em) range from 10 - 15" DBH. Maybe 20 years old?


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## autoimage (Jan 23, 2014)

2yrs min for me. it burns hot too so its great to mix it with ash


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## Chris-PA (Jan 23, 2014)

We had a very large one taken out and it darn near heated our house for the winter. I let it dry for the year.


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## Sagetown (Jan 23, 2014)

Honey Locust are probably the hottest burning trees in my area, and as previously mentioned, you can burn them immediately after cutting. I've cleared areas on my ranch and noticed that a brush pile containing some of these trees will catch up hot - hot - hot - and burn completely down within the day.


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## 3fordasho (Jan 23, 2014)

As suggested give it a good two years. I'm burning some that I cut 3-4 years ago - the powder post beetles have made a mess of it... a powdery mess.


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## tld400 (Jan 24, 2014)

I'm burning one that came down in hurr. Sandy that was just under 60 inches at the base. It burns great and I don't see any need for it to dry longer. Fairly large splits don't sizzle at all. I've been mixing honey locust white oak and cherry together and it puts out awesome amounts of heat for a lot of hours.


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## haveawoody (Jan 24, 2014)

In Ohio count on 3 years before it is properly dry.

It's a low moisture wood but takes a long time to dry to the middle and to loose deep fibre moisture.
It will burn as green wood but nothing like properly dry will.
Burning it green will lower the btu to about 1/2 and create about 5x creosote.

Stack and wait and it will easily out heat the best white oak or hickory.
It will still be pretty much as heavy as it is now in 3 years and look like little happened to the wood but the fire will tell a different story.
When it's brutal cold out reach for your dried locust and stay real warm inside.


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## brenndatomu (Jan 24, 2014)

haveawoody said:


> Stack and wait and it will easily out heat the best white oak or hickory.
> When it's brutal cold out reach for your dried locust and stay real warm inside.


If it will out heat Hickory, then I'm excited to try it. I'm 99% out of my Shaggy Hickory,  love that stuff! But the white Oak that I'm starting into has been a disappointment. I mean, it's fine, but the Hickory was a good bit better, heck, I think the red Oak I had last year was better. Been drying the white Oak 3 years, saving it for a real cold Jan, well here we are, and wauhn wauhn wauhhh, not impressed! 
Hope the Locust doesn't leave me out in the cold 'round Jan. '17!


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## haveawoody (Jan 24, 2014)

brenndatomu,

I hear lots of people say they are not impressed with white oak and I think the reason is it's one of those woods that likes air changes as the coals grow and quantity of wood burning changes.
I always burn white oak when I'm around to fiddle a bit with air settings, unattended white oak I agree isn't the best, attended white oak is real nice.
Red oak is much more user friendly.

The btu level of honey locust is about the same as shagbark but IMO locust is a wonderful firewood a bit better than shagbark, locust creates a firebox full of red hot burning coals and throws out heat like little else.
I'm sure once you start burning locust it will be #1 on the scrounge list 

If you are burning white oak now and have a day when your around the stove try the air settings a bit, check in every hour or so and get the rolling blue flame fire going again with a little more or less air and I'm sure you find it a much better heat producing firewood.
Not to much you can do at night but pick an average air setting and hope for the best with white oak.

Let me know how it goes with your white oak air fiddling because I think we have a couple different white oak species here so it might be a local thing only.

I'm burning black locust and rock elm now and with the cold and 100 mile hr wind it's needed tonight LOL


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## brenndatomu (Jan 24, 2014)

I'm using it in my Yukon furnace now, maybe a lil bit in the stove this weekend. I'll have to play around with it a bit. Sounds like a good wood to use in an "autopilot" burner like the Kuuma Vaporfire or one of the gasification boilers that use O2/temp sensors. Thanks woody!


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## z50guru (Jan 24, 2014)

I like the stuff. Burns real good, but unlike its cousin Black, it tends to leave quite a bit of lumpy ash behind. Keep it dry as possible. The sap wood rots fast. Enjoy!


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## Sagetown (Jan 25, 2014)

I've noticed several of you keep wood 3 years. It doesn't last long back here in Southeastern Oklahoma. To much moisture, and insects. A couple of years in the woodstack, and it becomes a mess.


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## brenndatomu (Jan 25, 2014)

Sagetown said:


> I've noticed several of you keep wood 3 years. It doesn't last long back here in Southeastern Oklahoma. To much moisture, and insects. A couple of years in the woodstack, and it becomes a mess.


I would venture a guess that your local environment drys wood down to burnable levels in a couple years easily. Certain kinds of wood won't last beyond a year or two around here also, at least if left unsplit. 
A good example of needing 3 years (+) I put a load of white Oak in for the overnight fire last night, most of it is dry as can be, but had a sizzler last night.


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