Drying wood

Mr1egg

Two part question, how do I change my profile image?

also I bought wood splits and turned them into chunks and put them into milk crates. Now I’m wondering how should I go about drying them out even more. I currently have them under my deck which is dark and not much air flow. Should I leave them out in the sub covered with wood or something? I have about 6 milk crates full of wood. 

Cherry, oak, hickory, apple, sugar maple, mulberry. Thanks for the response kurys

lkapigian

on desktop, click my profile then edit profile drop down , you will see change picture there

I would not cover your "wood" if already under cover, time is the best way to season and will vary upon your location, high humidity areas will take longer than dry climates 

if you are talking about a few splits, a lowest setting on an oven would speed things up, but .........

fishlessman

they cut the logs in the spring and split in the fall so its been drying half a year by now. for a fireplace splits are 18 months drying. you should be good to go, i prefer smoking wood more on the green side....

Kayak

Mr1egg said:

Two part question, how do I change my profile image?

also I bought wood splits and turned them into chunks and put them into milk crates. Now I’m wondering how should I go about drying them out even more. I currently have them under my deck which is dark and not much air flow. Should I leave them out in the sub covered with wood or something? I have about 6 milk crates full of wood. 

Cherry, oak, hickory, apple, sugar maple, mulberry. Thanks for the response kurys

Sounds like you'll be pulling moldy wood out when the time comes to use it.

Mark_B_Good

I have mine up against a chain link fence, with the top and portion of sides covered. Lots of good airflow, keeps the rain/snow off ... and I've raised them off the ground with pallets.  Two years of drying for me.

fishlessman

you could build a wood shed with the milk crates, just need to get it in a dryer area and make a roof. you want the air to enter the sides

typical wood shed build, no trapped air

Mr1egg

Thank you for letting me know how to change my pic… I’ll have to find a new spot, i wood shed wouldn’t really work for me since it’s just 5 milk crates. I might move them closer to the end of my deck for better air flow. 

fishlessman

all you really need with the crates is get it off the ground and keep the rain off it, its basically a wood shed as is

lousubcap

Here's more than you need to know regarding air drying wood:
Air dried wood will eventually end up at about the local atmospheric moisture content-generally in the 10-18% range.  I tried to extract the only applicable page from the below link but it was too jammed up to appreciate.
Anyhow short story long- the below link page 19 will let you know where air dried wood ends up on average for various locale wrt moisture content:
https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr117.pdf  TMI right there and I get it!

Ozzie_Isaac

lousubcap said:

Here's more than you need to know regarding air drying wood:
Air dried wood will eventually end up at about the local atmospheric moisture content-generally in the 10-18% range.  I tried to extract the only applicable page from the below link but it was too jammed up to appreciate.
Anyhow short story long- the below link page 19 will let you know where air dried wood ends up on average for various locale wrt moisture content:
https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr117.pdf  TMI right there and I get it!

In the desert, it eventually dries up and blows away.

Btw, that 66 page document reminds me of Mil-Specs.  I rather enjoyed the read.

lousubcap

@Ozzie_Isaac -  Fast reader and quick study right there.  

Ozzie_Isaac

lousubcap said:

@Ozzie_Isaac -  Fast reader and quick study right there.  

20 years of reading specs, I have learned some tricks 🤣

nolaegghead

Keep them dry so mold doesn't grow on the surface.  Don't worry about water content when smoking - people have been soaking their smoke wood to slow down the combustion anyway.  It "dries" in the smoker.

BigreenGreg

fishlessman said:

Looks like you’re using the Evinrude for a fan.

fishlessman

BigreenGreg said:

fishlessman said:

Looks like you’re using the Evinrude for a fan.

probably all its good for, im a fan of mercs

Mr1egg

Ya I figured some air flow and off the ground will be ok… I guess well see as time goes on… right now they cant get rained on so it should be good. 

littlerascal56

Those 6 milk crates of smoking wood will be fine, out of the rain. They will produce some great flavored smoke on your cooks, no matter what the moisture content is at the time.  BBQ fire won’t care about woods moisture content.

Mr1egg

Some say it makes the food taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

fishlessman

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Mr1egg

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

fishlessman

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

if theres a shag bark hickory around, its a lifetime supply. high bush blueberry is a good source, i prune them every other year, you wont see that either. nice mild smoke

Mr1egg

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food
taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

if theres a shag bark hickory around, its a lifetime supply. high bush blueberry is a good source, i prune them every other year, you wont see that either. nice mild smoke

I’ve read that you can use blueberry bush. Would love to try it but don’t have any around. I just did my best to grab every wood I can get my hands on before buying it off of Amazon or another web sight that rips you off per pound. 

nolaegghead

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food
taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

if theres a shag bark hickory around, its a lifetime supply. high bush blueberry is a good source, i prune them every other year, you wont see that either. nice mild smoke

I’ve read that you can use blueberry bush. Would love to try it but don’t have any around. I just did my best to grab every wood I can get my hands on before buying it off of Amazon or another web sight that rips you off per pound. 

smart move.   to me, unless you live in the desert, buying wood chunks to burn over the internet is like buying dirt over the internet.  just go outside with a saw.

then again, I'm a cheap bastard

Mr1egg

nolaegghead said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food
taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

if theres a shag bark hickory around, its a lifetime supply. high bush blueberry is a good source, i prune them every other year, you wont see that either. nice mild smoke

I’ve read that you can use blueberry bush. Would love to try it but don’t have any around. I just did my best to grab every wood I can get my hands on before buying it off of Amazon or another web sight that rips you off per pound. 

smart move.   to me, unless you live in the desert, buying wood chunks to burn over the internet is like buying dirt over the internet.  just go outside with a saw.

then again, I'm a cheap bastard

Buddy I’m cheap af too… the only wood I want and would consider buying is whiskey barrel wood. But we’ll see. 

alaskanassasin

I can never find peach wood locally in the wild or for sale. everything else I source locally and chunk up with chop saw

fishlessman

alaskanassasin said:

I can never find peach wood locally in the wild or for sale. everything else I source locally and chunk up with chop saw

they prune the orchids in march around here, best time to ask

alaskanassasin

fishlessman said:

alaskanassasin said:

I can never find peach wood locally in the wild or for sale. everything else I source locally and chunk up with chop saw

they prune the orchids in march around here, best time to ask

I have peach trees, they are about 4 years old probably ready for a trim!

Mr1egg

Ally of apple orchards around me and non of them want to sell any wood, kinda annoying. 

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food
taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

if theres a shag bark hickory around, its a lifetime supply. high bush blueberry is a good source, i prune them every other year, you wont see that either. nice mild smoke

I’ve read that you can use blueberry bush. Would love to try it but don’t have any around. I just did my best to grab every wood I can get my hands on before buying it off of Amazon or another web sight that rips you off per pound. 

smart move.   to me, unless you live in the desert, buying wood chunks to burn over the internet is like buying dirt over the internet.  just go outside with a saw.

then again, I'm a cheap bastard

I have all the mesquite I could ever want.  Other than that cactus, palo verde, and ironwood don't really do the trick for cooking.

To be clear, ours is Desert Ironwood, not your midwest/southeast ironwoods that are good to cook with.

nolaegghead

Ozzie_Isaac said:

nolaegghead said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

fishlessman said:

Mr1egg said:

Some say it makes the food
taste bitter if the wood isn’t completely dry? I wouldn’t know and hope I never find out .

dont think you will find that with maple and the fruit woods. with hickory i just use the bark right off the tree.

Didn’t even know you can do that. 

if theres a shag bark hickory around, its a lifetime supply. high bush blueberry is a good source, i prune them every other year, you wont see that either. nice mild smoke

I’ve read that you can use blueberry bush. Would love to try it but don’t have any around. I just did my best to grab every wood I can get my hands on before buying it off of Amazon or another web sight that rips you off per pound. 

smart move.   to me, unless you live in the desert, buying wood chunks to burn over the internet is like buying dirt over the internet.  just go outside with a saw.

then again, I'm a cheap bastard

I have all the mesquite I could ever want.  Other than that cactus, palo verde, and ironwood don't really do the trick for cooking.

To be clear, ours is Desert Ironwood, not your midwest/southeast ironwoods that are good to cook with.

I looked up "cactus smoking", thinking maybe you could burn some of them in a smoker and got about 77M results, mostly about Peyote.