Loaded it with my new l3901. Forks are a real backsaver! Thanks guys! My truck has Timbren load assist bump stops on it. They are not ment to increase towing capacity, rather to keep it level when towing. If they weren't on there, it would have been doing a wheelie!! The trailer is my buddies - he tows a skid steer all over with this F150 on it no problems. We estimated that I had around 4 tons + the trailer in there. Way over the 7k towing capacity. I have to head back for another larger load. Think I'm going to use a friends F250 and dump trailer to relieve the stress off the f150. As for how much I burn a year, I personally burn maybe 3 or 4 cords a year but I also fuel my parents thirsty wood furnace and my relatives who burn on weekends only. We go through probably 10-12 cords a year all together. Like the rest of us, each year your body hurts more but the process is done more efficiently. But I have been very fortunate in my neck if the woods to always seem to have TOO much wood available. I just can't get it all or I would.
Oh yeah. I’ve got my fair share and we had to give all my lady’s black locust away. Great stuff to heat with. The stuff is super hardy. Great grab.
Those are some HUGE black locust logs. The only ones around here that big are towards the hill tops and are difficult to get. The bark falls off pretty easy after it's sat awhile. It does stink when its wet but not as much when it's dry. It's usually about 50% of my stacks and burns great. I never let them go to waste, even if they look completely rotten on the outside, they're still good.
Folks around here burn a lot of black locust as it grows in abundance. Everyone you talk to has a story about waking up to a run-away stove full up locust. I've noticed that it takes a fair while to come up to a full burn when you top off the stove, especially if it isn't really well seasoned. Be careful about topping the stove off right before bed. I've taken carefull note of where my dampener likes to be with different types of locust loads once they get going and set it there before turning in even if it looks like it's gonna smother it, it'll flare right up once it gets going. Difficult to bring back down if it starts to get away from you.
I've hauled quite a few loads like that with F-150. Might want to take a little tongue weight off. Just take your time. This load of hickory and white oak was weighed. 7220# net and trailer weighs 3400#. Pulled it about 15 miles, no problem.
Smells like a stinky ketchup to me when splitting it wet but that’s likely to vary with soils, locale and whatnot. It sure does get dirty easily but I blame that on how dang heavy it is.
Any wood can burn so hot it can warp,break welds,etc. Know your stove n wood n you are fine..... What I like about locust...is the burn time...last pretty good.
If you give a fire enough air, you bet it will. The longevity of the black locust burn is what makes it much more likely. I think I’ve read some pretty butt-puckering stories here and had a few scares myself. Well Seasoned Really had an eye opener.
That might have been the time I fell asleep with the stove wide open? The whole thing was orange! My son smelled the glowing iron and woke me. I damm near had a heart attack!
That was when I lived in Pennsylvania. The stove stayed with the house. Besides for having almost to good of draft, the stove was in great shape when I moved
Thanks for all the info! Sounds like I definitely don't want to pass up the remaining wood that I have yet to grab. I have ALOT of splitting to do...... I have a few cords of ash, a few cords of sugar maple, and now all this locust. Best get busy. I really need get me a dump trailer. I feel like I would use the heck out of one and not just for firewood. Need one that wouldn't be too much for a 1/2 ton pickup fully loaded.
I was at a customers site then other day asking for directions to their receiving dock, as it was strangely missing. (Apparently it was at a different building) I was totally distracted by the woman telling me where to go looking at the locusts over her shoulder and thinking if I could drop them without getting caught behind this store
Mostly the bark I think. I have had it get putrid on me before on logs that were left laying in a wet area. And yes, I mean Putrid...far worse than the 'vomit' smell from red oak when its wet. Slimy, nasty and stinky. I have never noticed it being much more pungent than other species while burning...maybe a more acidic smell? And yes, aside from Osage, I doubt there is a more coveted wood for heat in the East.
I finally got a load of BL out of the Bronco this morning. Decided to strip all of the bark off it with the splitter. No nasty bark to deal with in 3 years! A crapload of extra work, but I think it was worth it. I put the first wheel barrow load of bark in the woods before I realized just how much there and gonna be and just piled ot in the fire pit. each of those rows is .7 of a cord. I ended up with about 1/3 cord. So all that bark was nearly .2 of a cord!
