I'm finally burning some black locust that my buddy cut down on his property 18 months ago. It more than lives up to its reputation here. That stuff burns super hot. If I'm not careful I burn my chest putting in new logs. The stuff I have is very crackly. Is that normal for locust or is it just not quite seasoned enough? It was measuring below 20%, but there was a lot of variability from end to center depending on where in the stack it was.
I’ve only burned dead locust without bark but did notice last year it had a tendency to crackle and throw sparks a bit. I can live with that given the heat output and coaling qualities it has. When I burn it I just take extra care to load the stove just right so that I don’t have to open the door again until it’s nearing the end of the coaling stage. I don’t want to have to open the door and fiddle around with the poker, risking throwing hot embers out of the stove.
If wood is not dry enough you won't have problems with it burning too hot and crackly; it will be the opposite. If it burns your chest while loading the stove, you are adding wood before you should. Good luck.
Thanks for the confirmations. I should clarify that I'm just burning in our fireplace for enjoyment, not for heat. I also like to futz with the pile which keeps me right up close for too long. I do the same thing with camp fires... Now I just need a another locust to come down in the neighborhood this winter so I can get it stacked for 2023.
It does spark more than other woods. I split some barkless a couple months back and saved the splitter crumbs. As i burned them in the firepit they did have a nice rice crispies effect.
Black locust must be a lot more stringy than honey locust. I just split a small pile of honey locust and it split relatively easy. Heavy stuff too.
