My wood chunks went up to $8 a box so enough was enough. I found free hickory wood today. The tree went down in January and was cut in February of this year. How long does this need to season before I use it?
My wood chunks went up to $8 a box so enough was enough. I found free hickory wood today. The tree went down in January and was cut in February of this year. How long does this need to season before I use it?
by Triingtolivee
30 Comments
Bottdavid
1-2 years I believe, or you can kiln dry.
ziggy029
Probably at least a year.
Genuine-Risk
Rule of thumb is one year. If it’s split and has good airflow around it
RabidBlackSquirrel
You can split those down further and they’ll dry faster. Minimum one year though.
Get em off the ground too, couple concrete blocks with 2x4s does the trick on the cheap.
zombiebub
The best thing to do is get yourself a pin style hydrometer and test the dryness of the wood. You want it to be at least below 20% humidity, although a lot of people aim for 7 – 10%
RazzalTazzal
You could build a small rack for better airflow, would probably help it dry out a bit quicker
brentemon
A year to 18 mos. But a moisture meter would help.
ReadyFreddy11
Depends on many factors. Including size of split, type of tree, wind, rain, how stacked. Get a cheap moisture meter. Target 18-20% on a freshly split internal surface
hagcel
Yes, at least a year.
Keep it covered during rain or snow, a loosely tied down tarp will do. You still want airflow.
Also, get some 2x4s or 4x4s (or pipes, or branches, or even pallets) and lay them lengthwise under your stack so they aren’t sitting on wet earth. It’s not the moisture here you are worried about here is mold and bugs.
Note that you are not only drying wood, you are creating a spider farm, once the wood is cured you will want to knock splits off the pile, or use gloves when grabbing them. I’ve had more than one black widow run up my hand, and just nope nope nope. . .
If you are a totally nerdy type, get a hydrometer. When we lived off grid and cut our own firewood, it was fun to keep a log of humidity going up and down over the year, since we cut wood in november – february we’d get the full year of weather.
robbodee
On one hand, I’m jealous of your giant pile of wood while I’m over here buying chunks and the occasional bundle of seasoned splits. On the other hand, I hate hickory, so…
Get a cover structure over it, and get some air-flow underneath, and you should be ready to rock & roll next spring, humidity allowing.
rocketcitygardener
About a year – if you burn earlier you’ll get less heat.
sweetnuts416
Around 8 months after it was split. Maybe wait till new year to be safe.
jwdjr2004
You can use them green but they burn better dry.
Fryphax
I kiln dry my wood in the smoker while it warms up. Even fresh stuff will dry out pretty quick.
DTMJThaAcronym
How much is the cost of the tree? Was it from a farm or someone’s land etc?
KDR2020
My brother in law has cherry that’s been sitting for 2 years. I tell him all the time people in this sub would love it
Liftologist70
Look like big splits. Smaller splits will season faster..
anawkwardemt
You can use it now. Sometimes I like to smoke over green hickory because I find that it gives me a different flavor than dry. The flavor is more peppery, and almost reminds me of oak
Ok_Layer_3678
I wood guess a year.
ILikeLenexa
Usually? The wood needs to be dead a year or two.
Some trees fall because they were big dead parts.
docere85
I’d store those on a pallet for airflow
Toozedee
I had a hickory cut down in my yard last winter and stacked and stored under my porch to get away from rain, but didn’t know about the humidity check. Haven’t used mine yet, but any other reccs are appreciated.
GoodChallenge8640
Everyone says to wait a year and while I agree that is definitely the best practice if I have fresh wood I’ll sit my next splits on top of the Firebox while the others burn and it doesn’t produce a bitter or acrid taste that way. Been doing this for years. Seasoned is definitely best but those would also be fine as is
cynicaldoubtfultired
RemindMe! 2 days.
bagelbelly
I did similarly a few weeks ago. Every time I wanted to use my stick burner or have a fire in the fire pit, I’d have to run around town to find dry wood.
So I built this and got a mix of oak and pecan delivered. It’s supposed to hold an entire cord, but I told the guy I didn’t want the second load of wood because I didn’t care for the cut of these. The oak is seasoned, but the pecan will need a while before it’s ready. It’s so nice having a stockpile on hand.
Hello, what is the hydrometer reading? I’ve come here seeking the hydrometer reading.
DisintegrationPt808
if u have other wood to cook with u can do small batches of putting these logs on the smoke box to warm them up will help to dry them
Recliner3
I’m relatively new to smoking. I built my own reverse flow smoker. As part of the firebox I put in a flat plate to the side of the fire grate. Think v shape fire grate made from 10 mm round bar and to the side of that is 6mm plate steel. I put my next few logs on the plate to warm up so they catch straight away. I am in Australia so I don’t have access to Hickory and the like. So I use what is free, a eucalypt called iron bark. Hard as hell and burns hot. Makes a great coal bed. The warming plate gets hot as and dries out the timber in a short time. I have noticed that how hot the timber is dictates how much smoke is produced. A cold piece of dry timber will tender to smoke until it warms up enough to catch. A hot piece will catch fire straight away. This made me think about what sort of smoke I wanted at which part of a cook. I have been putting a cooler pieces on towards the start of a cook to produce more smoke and towards the end of a cook it will be hot splits to catch straight away. It’s just what I have observed while watching the fire and also when making charcoal in a steel drum. Pretty interesting to see and how heat affects your amount of smoke.
30 Comments
1-2 years I believe, or you can kiln dry.
Probably at least a year.
Rule of thumb is one year. If it’s split and has good airflow around it
You can split those down further and they’ll dry faster. Minimum one year though.
Get em off the ground too, couple concrete blocks with 2x4s does the trick on the cheap.
The best thing to do is get yourself a pin style hydrometer and test the dryness of the wood. You want it to be at least below 20% humidity, although a lot of people aim for 7 – 10%
You could build a small rack for better airflow, would probably help it dry out a bit quicker
A year to 18 mos. But a moisture meter would help.
Depends on many factors. Including size of split, type of tree, wind, rain, how stacked. Get a cheap moisture meter. Target 18-20% on a freshly split internal surface
Yes, at least a year.
Keep it covered during rain or snow, a loosely tied down tarp will do. You still want airflow.
Also, get some 2x4s or 4x4s (or pipes, or branches, or even pallets) and lay them lengthwise under your stack so they aren’t sitting on wet earth. It’s not the moisture here you are worried about here is mold and bugs.
Note that you are not only drying wood, you are creating a spider farm, once the wood is cured you will want to knock splits off the pile, or use gloves when grabbing them. I’ve had more than one black widow run up my hand, and just nope nope nope. . .
If you are a totally nerdy type, get a hydrometer. When we lived off grid and cut our own firewood, it was fun to keep a log of humidity going up and down over the year, since we cut wood in november – february we’d get the full year of weather.
On one hand, I’m jealous of your giant pile of wood while I’m over here buying chunks and the occasional bundle of seasoned splits. On the other hand, I hate hickory, so…
Get a cover structure over it, and get some air-flow underneath, and you should be ready to rock & roll next spring, humidity allowing.
About a year – if you burn earlier you’ll get less heat.
Around 8 months after it was split. Maybe wait till new year to be safe.
You can use them green but they burn better dry.
I kiln dry my wood in the smoker while it warms up. Even fresh stuff will dry out pretty quick.
How much is the cost of the tree? Was it from a farm or someone’s land etc?
My brother in law has cherry that’s been sitting for 2 years. I tell him all the time people in this sub would love it
Look like big splits. Smaller splits will season faster..
You can use it now. Sometimes I like to smoke over green hickory because I find that it gives me a different flavor than dry. The flavor is more peppery, and almost reminds me of oak
I wood guess a year.
Usually? The wood needs to be dead a year or two.
Some trees fall because they were big dead parts.
I’d store those on a pallet for airflow
I had a hickory cut down in my yard last winter and stacked and stored under my porch to get away from rain, but didn’t know about the humidity check. Haven’t used mine yet, but any other reccs are appreciated.
Everyone says to wait a year and while I agree that is definitely the best practice if I have fresh wood I’ll sit my next splits on top of the Firebox while the others burn and it doesn’t produce a bitter or acrid taste that way. Been doing this for years. Seasoned is definitely best but those would also be fine as is
RemindMe! 2 days.
I did similarly a few weeks ago. Every time I wanted to use my stick burner or have a fire in the fire pit, I’d have to run around town to find dry wood.
So I built this and got a mix of oak and pecan delivered. It’s supposed to hold an entire cord, but I told the guy I didn’t want the second load of wood because I didn’t care for the cut of these. The oak is seasoned, but the pecan will need a while before it’s ready. It’s so nice having a stockpile on hand.
https://preview.redd.it/c6pv7c0rfvve1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f083d430f0e2b64494545a48e7f0d552eefac115
Hello, what is the hydrometer reading? I’ve come here seeking the hydrometer reading.
if u have other wood to cook with u can do small batches of putting these logs on the smoke box to warm them up will help to dry them
I’m relatively new to smoking. I built my own reverse flow smoker. As part of the firebox I put in a flat plate to the side of the fire grate. Think v shape fire grate made from 10 mm round bar and to the side of that is 6mm plate steel. I put my next few logs on the plate to warm up so they catch straight away.
I am in Australia so I don’t have access to Hickory and the like. So I use what is free, a eucalypt called iron bark. Hard as hell and burns hot. Makes a great coal bed.
The warming plate gets hot as and dries out the timber in a short time. I have noticed that how hot the timber is dictates how much smoke is produced. A cold piece of dry timber will tender to smoke until it warms up enough to catch. A hot piece will catch fire straight away.
This made me think about what sort of smoke I wanted at which part of a cook. I have been putting a cooler pieces on towards the start of a cook to produce more smoke and towards the end of a cook it will be hot splits to catch straight away.
It’s just what I have observed while watching the fire and also when making charcoal in a steel drum. Pretty interesting to see and how heat affects your amount of smoke.
I’d plan to use it next year.
Anyone know the numbers yet?