I bought a load of hickory a couple of weeks ago. I think it's greener than I thought it was. I seasoned my pit with it and now the inside is glossy instead of smudgy looking. Did I load it up with creosote ? The smoke smell is still very strong and there's no fire. If it is creosote, should I scape the inside clean and start over with a more seasoned batch of wood?
Which brings up the next question. I have a bunch of BIG trees in my yard. I'm talking 60 to 75 foot silver maples, ash and a red oak and some smaller crimson king maples (40 to 50 footers). There are always dead branches, some of which are quite large. If they've been dead on the tree for a year are they seasoned when you take them off? My neighbor has a 40 to 50 foot mulberry that has a bunch of dead branches on the bottom , he said I could take all of it I wanted.
I've burned the dead branches from all of the above in my open pit and cooked over the coals, that works fine. I know when I'm burning them they burn clean. With little or light smoke. Would they also work in my smoker? If so, I've got a good summer worth of wood I can collect in a couple of days. Free & I likes free
Which brings up the next question. I have a bunch of BIG trees in my yard. I'm talking 60 to 75 foot silver maples, ash and a red oak and some smaller crimson king maples (40 to 50 footers). There are always dead branches, some of which are quite large. If they've been dead on the tree for a year are they seasoned when you take them off? My neighbor has a 40 to 50 foot mulberry that has a bunch of dead branches on the bottom , he said I could take all of it I wanted.
I've burned the dead branches from all of the above in my open pit and cooked over the coals, that works fine. I know when I'm burning them they burn clean. With little or light smoke. Would they also work in my smoker? If so, I've got a good summer worth of wood I can collect in a couple of days. Free & I likes free