Anybody have any experience burning locust? I have an opportunity to get a pretty fair load ofbit Sunday. I'm just curious if its worth the work.
Oh, it be worth the work. I have never burned it. Not around here. But it is some high BTU stuff from what I have read. Get it.
Wearing thorns I would say to pass it by if you have other respectable wood like oak or hickory available to spend your efforts on. Up against a lesser BTU wood the scale tilts towards dealing with the thorns.
Ryan, if you've never done it, give it a try. It is good wood. Sturdy boots, heavy gloves, bring a rake and pitchfork - they make it easy to move stuff around. Another thing is a machete or corn knife, it makes it easy to skin the thorns off. Another thing to think about is God knows we have a bizillion of those in Kansas, you may find an unlimited supply if you like them. Always try new things to see if something works out. You don't know until you try!
Some ideas on how to deal with the thorns if it's bad. http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/threads/thorny-question.9227/
I agree with Hellbent , give it a go. The wood is great to have once you tackle the nasty part. Can't say I've seen much locust around this way with the thorns. Pics would be cool if you decide to go.
so are we talking black locust or honey locust? I picked up a load of black locust that had no thorns on it, posted pic on here to confirm thats what it was and everyone was in agreement was under the impression honey locust had the thorns, however excuse my ignorance as I am out west where we hardly ever see this Locust , I was just happy to get some http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/threads/little-locust-score-from-c-l.7580/#post-182925
We don't see it here. Would using a long bar on the saw help? Can you reach into this stuff and cut the thorns up? Then move them away with a rake like someone else said? Do the thorns grow on a vine around the tree or right out of the tree itself?
If it has those giant maneating spike thorns it's honey locust. It's great firewood. The spikes are easy to remove, just scrape them off with a hoe, axe blade, your saw bar or even a stick. They come off fairly easily, but watch out! They can penetrate the armor on M-1 tank! The splits take 2 to 3 years to season. And if you get a lot of it of any size; it can be milled to make the most beautiful flooring you've ever seen, among other woodworking projects..
Locust is primo firewood.... BL has thorns also just much smaller and usually on new growth...there are two types of honey locust...with and without thorns...i have some thornless...both are just about 28mill btu
Oh yea, definitly worth it... Just take your time and take the precautions. I've got to get one done in the next month or so myself. But pics are a Bonus for us...
We do not have any here but a few years ago a friend brought us some so we could see. It was black locust and no thorns. It burned great. Just a little harder to get started but then burned a long time with good coaling. The only thing we did not like was the smell of it burning. Nasty stuff. Wife said she wants no more of that so we'll stick with oak.
Black locust definitley has that not so pleasant chemical smell to it. But I can put up with it. Just toss in a piece of cherry for a but of perfume. I don't recall how honey smells one way or another. It's been a few years since it has come my way. But that probably means it's not nasty because it didn't make an impression. It's a completely different species, they are not related to each other.
