# Where does everyone get there wood??



## njlungbuster

I'm curious as to where everyone gets their woods for their smokers. Do you buy it online in bulk? On craigslist? A specific store? The Home Depot by me only sells bags of the shavings and for my new UDS i need to have chunks correct? Thanks for your help.


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## jrod62

Around here I get it at Lowes, home depot, rural king and walmart.

I use the AMNPS In my mailbox mod that on my UDS.

 http://www.amazenproducts.com/


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## smokermark

Fruita Wood Chunks (my personal favorite), Maine Grilling and Smokinlicious are all dependable sources.  JN Firewood is good also.


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## linguica

When I buy my yearly firewood I pick out the fruit woods they mix in the oak-almond mix. Plus everyone in the neighborhood knows that I will remove a fruit tree at no charge. That provides plenty of apple wood.


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## njlungbuster

Ok good to know.


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## linguica

njlungbuster,

Very funny....compare your avatar to mine. My general rule is too never hunt anything that might get pissed off and decide to hunt me.

You on the other hand don't seem to be bothered by that scenario.


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## njlungbuster

Nah because I look at it this way. I love hunting so much that if I go out while I'm doing it, I go out happy.


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## bama bbq

Western Brand from Lowes, Publix, Walmart, etc  http://www.westernbbqproducts.com/index.html


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## dward51

I've cut my own when I had 3 very large hickory trees that were struck by lightning.  I have a friend with a pecan grove and another with an apple orchard. Both give me blow downs and limb trimmings for free. BIL had a huge red oak die this summer and I'm in the process of working on getting that cut up now.   So, right now I have about 2 cords of dried hickory and 3/4 cord of dried red oak for the fireplace.  I will chunk up a straight grained section for smoking when needed.  I'm out of white oak which has a milder flavor so I'm looking for a local freebie of white oak right now.

I've will also use Western brand chunks from the various local big box stores when I'm out of any of the above, I've used whiskey barrel stave pieces also (love those, but they are expensive).

If you don't have the time, equipment or knowledge to cut your own trees and process them into firewood or chunks, you might talk to a local arborist or tree removal service.  If all you want is a log or two to split up and cut into chunks for smoking, they may just give you some.  If not, I'm sure they will sell you any quantity you want for a reasonable price.  It will probably be green and need to dry for at least 6 months before use in food smoking though.   That is how a lot of the local BBQ joints get their smoke wood around here.

Also our local landfill accepts logs and trimmings for free.  They usually set the logs and bigger limb portions off to one side as they are available for anyone to take and split up for free also.  Might call your local landfill, especially if government run, as they love to see stuff used.  Before I owned my own equipment, I used to get logs there and split them up for free firewood.


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## njlungbuster

Yeah I've got the word out to some people that I'm looking for some fruit woods as well as nut trees etc. we'll see if I hear back.


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## rawbutah

Tree Services are a good place to ask. I have two companies that know i will take any hardwoods, and they just dump it in driveway.  kinda nice nice to come to home to new pile of plum or apricot!  also some cabinet and door shops will give you scraps that work perfectly.  I cut out the glue joints and burn a chunk on the propane grill just to make sure it smells ok (untreated). I get lots of alder that way which is hard to come by here in Utah and my favorite for fish...  Good Luck!


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## njlungbuster

Never though of cabinet companies. Good advise. Thanks


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## scott pearson

no idea what you have available in your neck of the woods, in my corner of the tropics i am limited in my selections, i have used smoker trays of hickory and mesquite from twotreesproducts.com out of canada, they were ok but had to use many of them for what i was doing and for cold smoking it just wasn't great to maintain temperature for the tray to work it would drive up the temperature of the smoker to a place i didnt like.  Recently i found a source of charbroil wood chunks, they were massive chunks and i cut them up to maybe six or eight smaller pieces, I was limited to apple wood or mesquite, they also have some whiskey barrel and tabasco chips, The chunks were awesome, i started a small fire in the corner of my smoker then stacked the smaller chunks on top and along the front of my firepan, four chunks lasted me eight hours that way, my smoker is a simple setup, 6 feet tall, witha  door that has a four inch opening at the bottom for a firepan.  no holes drilled in the sides to limit the amount of air as i do much cold smoking.  i lose about half the smoke i create probably by having the pan pulled out a little, but it keeps my temperature under 90 degrees, and i live in the tropics so thats a tradeoff i can manage.  As for the whiskey barrel and tabasco chips, i used the tabasco chips yesterday to smoke some ribs at high heat.  smoke flavor for a one hour cook and smoke was good, just didnt really get much of a tabasco hit like i was hoping.  Anyway, am sure the others advice is better to suit your needs, i just thought i would share my experience.  happy smoking...


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## njlungbuster

Well I called around to a bunch of tree companies and they all said they don't give away any wood. What the heck?? They all wanted to charge me by the log. I really hate all the douche bags in this state.


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## ocsnapper

Most time I have to get my wood at the big box stores... But I just found a supply for peach wood at a price you can't beat FREE the guy said take all you want  then his wife tells me take it all... I told them that when I run out I'll be back. The pile was ten feet tall by twenty feet long and went back 15 feet.. Anyone on the eastershore of Maryland looking for some PM me and I'll give you the contact info.


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## parman

In Ca I go a place called Firewood of my Ranch. It's in L.A. and they have hickory, red & white oak, pecan, mesquite, walnut, cherry, apple and almond. The wood fired pizza places use alot of

the almond wood. They special cut it so its almost uniform in size. They sell by the bag and by the pallet.  I don't know if they have other distribution places but you could google...


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## diggingdogfarm

Check craigslist.
Be careful with bagged retail chips and chunks, they can be musty and moldy.


~Martin


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## bluebombersfan

jrod62 said:


> Around here I get it at Lowes, home depot, rural king and walmart.
> 
> I use the AMNPS In my mailbox mod that on my UDS.
> 
> http://www.amazenproducts.com/


I use the same pellets for my MES


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## dewetha

I recently purchased some pecan from an ebay guy who chops it himself. he packaged them in a box splits about 12" long. they worked out great and will buy them again. especially since pecan isn't for sale locally.

there might be something to using wood that isn't local or typical store bought flavor like Hickory or mesquite.it gives my food a little something different without being overwhelming


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## tom c

I get my wood from Do-IT-Best Hardware Store http://www.doitbest.com/search-+60026.dib   They carry Texas Smoke Barbeque Wood I order what I want on line and it is shipped to the nearest Do-It-Best Hardware Store free.


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## atcnick

I have a stick burner.  And I'm lucky enough to have a tree trimmer buddy that calls me and asks if I want a pecan or hickory or whatever they just downed that he thinks I may want.  


-Nick


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## aussie rod

How is peach wood for smoking.

Orchard 2 hours away is going to cut 5500 trees.

Have to call him today and try to get a truck load.


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## garand555

I get my wood with a chainsaw.  I have just under 1/2 cord of oak that I've acquired over the past month or so of sniffing around the mountains.  Yes, I have a woodcutting permit.  I have an apple tree, two peach trees, two plum trees, a fruitless dwarf plum tree and a cherry tree, which all get pruned, and I use that wood.  One of my neighbors also has an apple orchard, and he doesn't use the wood when he prunes the trees.  Next time I'm down around the White Sands Missile Range, I'm going to look for some Mesquite too, though it's not anywhere near as big as the stuff you can get in Texas.

Edit:  Aussie, Peach is decent, IMO.  It's a lighter flavor than Apple and the smoke itself has a very pleasant toasty aroma.  The food that comes out tastes decent and the actual smoking process is delightful due to that aroma.


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## thsmormonsmokes

I get wood from my girlfriend.

No, really.  Her dad owns a fruit orchard so I get lots of cherry and apple wood any time I want.

And peach wood is great.  Any fruit wood makes good smoke wood.


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## fagesbp

Hurricanes have kept me with a good supply of pecan. If I want any others I buy chunks and chips at a big box store.


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## thsmormonsmokes

RawBUtah said:


> Tree Services are a good place to ask. I have two companies that know i will take any hardwoods, and they just dump it in driveway.  kinda nice nice to come to home to new pile of plum or apricot!  also some cabinet and door shops will give you scraps that work perfectly.  I cut out the glue joints and burn a chunk on the propane grill just to make sure it smells ok (untreated). I get lots of alder that way which is hard to come by here in Utah and my favorite for fish...  Good Luck!


Don't you run the risk of getting treated lumber from cabinet shops?  Maybe this is my ignorance talking, but I thought wood used in those applications was typically treated with nasties that you wouldn't want to burn in a smoker.

Also, good to see another Utahan on the board.


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## sqwib

njlungbuster said:


> Well I called around to a bunch of tree companies and they all said they don't giv?e away any wood. What the heck?? They all wanted to charge me by the log. I really hate all the douche bags in this state.



After the recent storm there's a ton of downed trees I just snagged a few pieces off of a downed oak.
Just be careful where you take it from


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## smoke happens

Pellets from Todd now 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Used to buy the bags of chips from Lowes or Home Depot and they worked fine for me.


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## danbono

Hi Try these guys..They are in Elizabeth NJ. http://www.lipsmakinsmokers.com/products.asp?cat=17

If your in the area  you can pick up..

On line try this one:http://www.fruitawoodchunks.com/

Dan


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## njlungbuster

Thanks Dan. Elizabeth is all the way up north but I may have to make a trip up there if it gets to that point.


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## danbono

Hi I got 2 orders from :http://www.fruitawoodchunks.com/  both were good, mostly friut wood.

If you have to  go up to Elizabeth give them a call or E-mail, he mention something about  cash discount.

Dan


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## timberjet

if you get chunk wood locally make damn sure the wood you use to smoke is properly seasoned. you don't want green wood. No bueno. I season mine for a full year before use.


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## gm-orangewood

If anyone is interested, I've got access to several tons of orange wood here in FL. I'm in the process of curing it and dividing it into chips, chunks and logs. I'm trying to determine what a good rate is per pound?


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## parman

Get as much as you can! Great stuff to smoke with. I was going to volunteer to help until I saw your from down under!!


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## flash

I am lucky enough to live in the Country and have access to much Oak and Cherry wood. Close by are others with Pecan. I rarely buy any wood anymore.


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## wiseguy

I have been getting bagged stuff from Lowes.  I pruned an oak in my yard recenly and cut up some chunks for the Thanksgiving feast.  Water Oak I think ... there are about 60 varieties that grow in coastal Ga.  Didn't work as well as I had hoped.  Maybe chunks were too big, didn't get much smoke from them.  Not even the thin blue.  Oh well ... back to the drawing board.


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## ocsnapper

aussie rod said:


> How is peach wood for smoking.
> 
> Orchard 2 hours away is going to cut 5500 trees.
> 
> Have to call him today and try to get a truck load.


Hey there peach is a lite, sweet flavor to the meat when it's smoked. If you want a little more just toss in some hickory  or mesquite wood every now and then to add more flavor.


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## aussie rod

Thanks for the information.

Just got a lead on few ton of chipped pecan and few logs. 

What do yo pay for a ton of log in the USA?


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## garand555

aussie rod said:


> Thanks for the information.
> Just got a lead on few ton of chipped pecan and few logs.
> What do yo pay for a ton of log in the USA?



Normally, at least in my area, buying wood by weight is only for small quantities.  Once you get up to tons, people normally sell by volume, and I'm pretty sure price is going to vary depending on what state you live in.  A standard measure that it's sold by is the cord, which is 4'x4'x8' (1.22m x 1.22m x 2.43m.)  If you were to buy a full cord of bucked up, split and cured oak, it might be $400-$500 where I live.  That might weigh in around at 3,300lbs (1500kg.)  A full cord of pine might be $120-$150.  $200 is about what I'd expect somebody to sell a cord of Juniper for.  Funny thing is, some people will sell  that same cord of Juniper by the wheel barrow load, and they can jack their prices up and they might make $300-$500 from a lot of small sales.  You do get a bulk discount.  Except for oak, I've never seen woods suitable for smoking sold by the cord where I live, so I cannot comment on things like hickory, apple, cherry, etc...  Around here, you normally get a lot of that stuff by pruning or removing somebody's tree when it needs it.  They sell it in small quantities at Lowes and Home Depot.  Though I don't normally buy that stuff, but Home Depot has hickory listed at ~$7 for a 5lb bag.  

FYI, the exchange rate right now is ~1.0486 USD to 1.00 AUD.


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## ocsnapper

garand555 said:


> Normally, at least in my area, buying wood by weight is only for small quantities. Once you get up to tons, people normally sell by volume, and I'm pretty sure price is going to vary depending on what state you live in. A standard measure that it's sold by is the cord, which is 4'x4'x8' (1.22m x 1.22m x 2.43m.) If you were to buy a full cord of bucked up, split and cured oak, it might be $400-$500 where I live. That might weigh in around at 3,300lbs (1500kg.) A full cord of pine might be $120-$150. $200 is about what I'd expect somebody to sell a cord of Juniper for. Funny thing is, some people will sell that same cord of Juniper by the wheel barrow load, and they can jack their prices up and they might make $300-$500 from a lot of small sales. You do get a bulk discount. Except for oak, I've never seen woods suitable for smoking sold by the cord where I live, so I cannot comment on things like hickory, apple, cherry, etc... Around here, you normally get a lot of that stuff by pruning or removing somebody's tree when it needs it. They sell it in small quantities at Lowes and Home Depot. Though I don't normally buy that stuff, but Home Depot has hickory listed at ~$7 for a 5lb bag.
> FYI, the exchange rate right now is ~1.0486 USD to 1.00 AUD.


Glad I don't live near you, a cord of seasoned oak is @$150 to $180, pine or mixed $100 up around me...


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## zayne

There is plenty of Oak and Pecan around here on land owned by friends and family. I cut my own and gather twigs and thin branches to break up for the charcoal grill/smoker. We have a fig tree in the backyard. I buy bags of hickory, apple and cherry chips/chunks from various common outlets, for now.


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## smoking b

garand555 said:


> Normally, at least in my area, buying wood by weight is only for small quantities. Once you get up to tons, people normally sell by volume, and I'm pretty sure price is going to vary depending on what state you live in. A standard measure that it's sold by is the cord, which is 4'x4'x8' (1.22m x 1.22m x 2.43m.) If you were to buy a full cord of bucked up, split and cured oak, it might be $400-$500 where I live. That might weigh in around at 3,300lbs (1500kg.) A full cord of pine might be $120-$150. $200 is about what I'd expect somebody to sell a cord of Juniper for. Funny thing is, some people will sell that same cord of Juniper by the wheel barrow load, and they can jack their prices up and they might make $300-$500 from a lot of small sales. You do get a bulk discount. Except for oak, I've never seen woods suitable for smoking sold by the cord where I live, so I cannot comment on things like hickory, apple, cherry, etc... Around here, you normally get a lot of that stuff by pruning or removing somebody's tree when it needs it. They sell it in small quantities at Lowes and Home Depot. Though I don't normally buy that stuff, but Home Depot has hickory listed at ~$7 for a 5lb bag.
> FYI, the exchange rate right now is ~1.0486 USD to 1.00 AUD.


Oak, cherry, hickory, walnut, locust, & maple are all sold for firewood around my neck of the woods.


ocsnapper said:


> Glad I don't live near you, a cord of seasoned oak is @$150 to $180, pine or mixed $100 up around me...


I'm glad I don't live near either of you! Wow! I cut my own with my trusty 372xp but a friend of mine sells an 8 foot pickup load for $50 & there are several people that sell for $80/cord & one guy that gets $100/cord. Those prices are for well seasoned hardwood...


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## garand555

Smoking B said:


> Oak, cherry, hickory, walnut, locust, & maple are all sold for firewood around my neck of the woods.
> 
> I'm glad I don't live near either of you! Wow! I cut my own with my trusty 372xp but a friend of mine sells an 8 foot pickup load for $50 & there are several people that sell for $80/cord & one guy that gets $100/cord. Those prices are for well seasoned hardwood...



It's an hour and a half drive to the nearest fuel wood cutting areas that aren't private land, and those only allow 5 cords per year.  It's 3 1/2 hours to the Gila where no permit is required in some parts of the forest, it's already bucked up and they don't care how much you get.  Problem is, I'd use $150 worth of fuel to take the truck and trailer down there and I would not want to put more than about 2 cords on the trailer and maybe a little more than 1/2 cord in the bed.  When it comes to oak, it's either going to be scrub oak that we get, which actually burns pretty good but is a lot of work to sniff out, or it is imported from out of state.  Bottom line is even it it is from in state, shipping raises costs!


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## wiseguy

My dad talks about a buddy of his on gulf coast of FL that uses Bay to smoke fish.  I have never heard of anyone using Bay ... anybody out there use Bay?  Technically I think it is Bay Laurel tree ... not the shrub that bay leaves come from the spice jars.


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## aussie rod

Thanks for the info. Give me something to work on.

Is orange wood or other citrus woods good. Have heard conflicting stories.high creosote. Maybe they did not let it dry enough.

Grey box is $2-300 a ton.Good hard wood


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## flash

wiseguy said:


> My dad talks about a buddy of his on gulf coast of FL that uses Bay to smoke fish.  I have never heard of anyone using Bay ... anybody out there use Bay?  Technically I think it is Bay Laurel tree ... not the shrub that bay leaves come from the spice jars.


Actually it is the same.

http://www.vintagegardengal.com/2009/09/29/bay-laurel-tree/


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## wiseguy

Interesting ... I've been wrong all these years ... finally had reason to go look in depth.  I have Lobblolly Bays.  When burned the wood pops shooting sparks and cinders in every direction.  http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/News columns/3BayTrees.htm


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