Seems most the threads I read on burning Locust are that it's a great wood. I don't burn it often but every time I have problems. I've now got 4 year old split/stacked and top covered Locust in a stack mixed with oak. The oak burns great with normal secondaries and a nice hot stove temp (450F top and 400F sides). The Locust is a different story. Even on a hot bed of coals it's hard to get lit and i get almost no secondaries. It pretty much goes straight to coals and the stovetop never gets above 300F. I know everybody is gonna yell "wet wood" and "unseasoned wood" but this was split/stacked top covered for 4 years and the oak mixed up in the SAME STACK burns great! I don't even own a moisture meter since my wood dries for so long. One idea: We had a super humid summer this year, maybe the Locust absorbed moisture? What gives??
With the small amount of BL that I've burned, I found it to not flame, as with other woods. I always mixed oak and BL in the stove. Seemed to burn and have long lasting coals that way.
I’ve been burning it here sporadically this year. 90% of it burns great, but every once in a while I run into a piece that’ll get charred black on the outside but never seem to get going. I end up packing other wood around the offender and eventually it’ll burn up. No clue here as to why that is either. The only locust I have ready this year is all dead barkless that the MC has been verified on a few pieces too...
Are your pieces rounds with bark-on, or splits? One thing in my experience burning it is it likes a lot of air to get going, so typically I leave the air wide open longer than I normally would. I’m sure our stupid-wet summer here in New England didn’t help either. My wood sits inside beside the hearth for at least 12 hours before it sees the stove too, so that the checking on the ends is noticeably more pronounced. Maybe that’s a factor?
Yes lots of Bark on the splits. The splits are a bit bigger than normal but they have been drying 4 solid years and the Oak is split big too. I have not tried warming it by the stove, that's a good idea.
One possibility is that it’s so dense & dry that it goes to coals rather than burn. I run into this occasionally with Osage but it is usually really old & hard stuff ( 30-50yo) As Eric Wanderweg said you probably need more air to get things moving along, if the air gets turned down too much, too soon older Osage doesn’t like it. I have zero experience with Black Locust only Honey Locust.
I have had 4y/o Honey Locust that still wasn’t to 20%. Honey Locust might be the hardest starting stuff I have burned.
Black locust is a different beast. The black locust that I've burned has been started with a small, 2 split, ash fire and 3 or 4 splits of locust. It burns with little or no flame, at least not like other wood. It burns with a blue flame like a well tuned natural gas burner. If it is making good heat don't fret over the kack of flame.
Unfortunately its not throwing much heat. It acts like wet wood. Almost no secondaries, little flame and poor heat. It pretty much just goes to coals and then ash. When I have wet wood it would leave coals but this at least turns to ash. But 4+ year old split and covered wet wood??
The more air thing makes the most sense, especially since its a cat stove that I tend to run with low air
That's odd, I've never had that happen and I've burned a bit of it over the years and try to use it last it gets so freakin hot. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Looks like BL, the stuff I have doesn't have the darker center wood. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Yes BL from your pics. It is such a dense wood that running low air might be part of your problem. I'm not to familiar with the cat stoves. Your mix of dry oak and locust sounds like it should be a hot fire to me. I've cut,split,sold and burnt hundreds of cords of locust and only if not dry will it disappoint. Good luck .
I agree, honey is the hardest starting I deal with. I also season it 4 years. I was assuming honey was what this thread was going to be about but I was wrong. I’ve never had any issue with BL. Lights off easy, under 20% in less than 2 years. Its the best wood I have in my stacks.
