Wood too dry?

jokensmoken

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Dec 7, 2016

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Whitmore Lake Michigan

• Jun 19, 2017

• #1

I have a close personal friend that has a hardwood mill shop and has offered me his scraps, dust and chips he generates.
I'm mostly interested in the Oak, Cherry and Maple but am curious...is kiln dried wood too dry for smoking?
Seems I've read somewhere it's not preferred...
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

SmokyMose

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• Jun 19, 2017

• #2

My boss has a neighbor with a mill. All he makes is stakes for construction sites. Primarily Ash. Of course boss gets the slab stuff for his fireplace, but the "offcuts" from the stakes are in the hundreds. Great for fireplace kindling and getting an offset firebox going. I get all I want.

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• SmokyMose
• Jun 19, 2017

I'm not sure that it's kiln dried, but I suspect it is. It fires quick and leaves nice coals. It does burn HOT and fast.
I use it mainly to start the fire and then to maintain heat after wrapping, but it has a nice sweet smell, so I sometimes use it for chicken.
All that rambling done, I don't know why you couldn't use it. You just need to allow for it burning hot and fast and adjust accordingly. Free or cheap Oak, Cherry and Maple? Jump on it [emoji]128512[/emoji]

 

cksteele

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Aug 11, 2016

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Hamiltion Ontario

• Jun 19, 2017

• #3

yeah kiln dried wood burns hot but it doesn't give off much smoke  its ok but not ideal 

 

jokensmoken

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Whitmore Lake Michigan

• Jun 20, 2017

• #4

Right...we used to use it all the time on our open pit pig roaster but never used it for just smoke generation...I'm getting a pick up bed full to haul north to camp because, as you said, GREAT for starting fires and it got me to thinking
Thanks for the reply.

 

Last edited: Jun 20, 2017

jokensmoken

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• Jun 20, 2017

• #5

Yeah, kinda what I was thinking but wasn't sure.
We've used it in the past on a big open pit rotisserie for whole hogs because it did ignite quick, burn hot and makes a nice coal bed and I still use it my little Okie Joe but never on my WSM...I'm taking a load north to camp where we use wood for everything and was just wondering...
Of course, I'm gonna try some unless someone has a specific sound reason not to...
Thanks for the input.

Walt

 

jokensmoken

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• Jun 20, 2017

• #6

Those sticks look exactly like what I've got access to...mine are not as uniform because I get the scrap off the edges of the rough sawn lumber where it's squared up before milling.

 

jimmyinsd

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• Jun 20, 2017

• #7

as long as thats all it is,  it would suck to get a bunch of crap wood mixed in and end up with a crappy tasting smoke.  I thought about a local mill around here,  but they run a lot of pine with their hardwoods and I dont want any pinesol chicken.

 

jokensmoken

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Whitmore Lake Michigan

• Jun 20, 2017

• #8

Right, I agree but this guy only does hardwood milling and he's a really good friend...so I trust him.
But I'm with ya...no pine or cedar...I don't even like using either for kindling.

 

bbqwillie

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• Jun 20, 2017

• #9

What you need to do with kiln dried wood is "age" it. Normally kiln dried wood is way low on water content so it burns hot and fast with little smoke BUT wood, like most things, seeks equilibrium with it's environment. When it reaches equilibrium it is ideal for your smoker. So, how do you equalize kiln dried wood? Easy, just set it outside like you would with green wood and give it 6 to 8 months.

Bottom line is if you have access to free kiln dried wood, take it! set it outside and in a few months throw it in the smoker.

 

jokensmoken

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Whitmore Lake Michigan

• Jun 20, 2017

• #10

Thank you Willie...that's exactly the kind of info I was hoping to get...I've access to more than I could ever use.

Walt.

 

pc farmer

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• Jun 20, 2017

• #11

BBQWillie said:

What you need to do with kiln dried wood is "age" it. Normally kiln dried wood is way low on water content so it burns hot and fast with little smoke BUT wood, like most things, seeks equilibrium with it's environment. When it reaches equilibrium it is ideal for your smoker. So, how do you equalize kiln dried wood? Easy, just set it outside like you would with green wood and give it 6 to 8 months.

Bottom line is if you have access to free kiln dried wood, take it! set it outside and in a few months throw it in the smoker.

Click to expand...

This makes perfect sense.