Splits

[dave schiller]

I've been using charcoal for heat and wood pieces for flavor.  I was derided for not using wood exclusively since I have an unlimited source of free oak.  The wood I've picked of consists mainly of rough cut red oak that's a full 2" thick and varies from 2" wide to 12" wide.  Photo is attached.

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• dave schiller
• Aug 5, 2017

My question for all you stick burners is what size to make the splits for best quality smoke and temperature?  FWIW, I'm using a typical offset smoker like so many we see at the big box stores.  Firebox is about 17" long and 16" diameter.  I don't think it's big enough to handle 6-8" diameter wood split into halves or even thirds.  I'm thinking maybe about 2x2".

 

[sqwib]

Any size will work, but it really depends on your pit and how your fire is burning.
Some pits will have temp fluctuations more than others using varying split sizes.
I sometimes add three or four small splits at a time, other times I toss in a large piece.
It all depends on my coal bed.
Sometimes my temp is holding steady at 250 and there's almost no Coal bed at all, at this point I'll add my smallest splits but a bit more of them, other times when I have a large coal bed I may drop on a hefty split.
It's not uncommon for me to toss on a 5x5x12"split when the coals are plenty

 

[sqwib]

Fire management can seem a bit confusing. For example, I said, "I add a large piece of wood to a large coal bed".
Many would say,"if you have a large coal bed don't add too much wood"
But the key is to have a large coal bed and hardly any flame.
By managing the fire with less flame and more coals, you can maintain the temp with your dampers, the reason being is that the coals need less oxygen than a flame.
If you get too much flame it will choke the fire and start to smoulder because it needs more air to sustain the flame.

 

[joe black]

SQWIB has you going in the right direction. The object of burning wood is to make coals. A large bed needs a large split in order to be reduced to coals when necessary. The small bed needs small splits to begin to actively make coals quicker. With that, if I had a 17" long FB, I would cut wood that is 12-14" long. From that I would make splits from wrist size to fist size. That seems to work well for me. And never forget to pre-heat splits.

 

[hardcookin]

A lot of them pieces shouldn't need split. Starting out get yourself a good bed of coals.
The more you use splits the more proficient you will get with fire management...Stick with it, clean fire.
I would cut them about 12" for length, they don't have to be exact.
That's a nice load of wood!!

 

[dave schiller]

Thanks for the replies.  Most of this wood will be need to be split to some extent, some will be burned as is.  I set up my miter saw with a mark on the ground at 14" so I can rack the wood evenly.  Most of it is now in the 15-18% moisture range, so it'll need some drying time.  For immediate use, the woodyard I got this from sells kiln dried firewood in small batches for $0.13/lb.  I'll use that until my present stash is drier.  Shooting for 10-12%.

 

[cksteele]

best advice i can give is you just gotta  figure it out on your smoker  it takes some experimenting   if you put wood in it and its getting way to hot  or the smoke quality sucks   try smaller splits. i tend to burn smaller splits  i find i can really control the temps  though its a little more labour intensive. but i dont get  huge spikes  with  small splits in my smoker when i get into a rhythm i can keep it in a 5-10 degree temp the whole cook