# Struggling with Wood



## shawnwatson (Jul 29, 2016)

Hello fellas!  New member with a question here:

I'm using wood sourced from my local Albertson's and it's made me smoking experience extremely frustrating, to say the least.  The brand is "Barbeque Wood Flavors- Grillwood Mini Logs".

It doesn't seem to matter where the dampers are, the stuff won't stay lit for nothing!  It'll fire off on an open damper and within 30 seconds of closing the lid on the fire box, it's gone out.  Over and over and over.  By this time I've got tears rolling down both cheeks from blowing into the coals to get it relit and the thing will catch and go nuclear and I spend the next 15 minutes with the lid open to keep it under 300*.

Once in awhile, I'll get a piece that catches from the flame of the others and will respond predictably to damper changes but 90% of the time, I nearly exhaust my lungs blowing on coals and it's sucked all the enjoyment out of running a smoker.  I bought a little hatchet and have tried all sizes and I get the same results.  This junk either won't light or goes plum crazy and when it goes nuclear, I slowly start closing the damper and it just goes out and we start all over.

I live in a little town with few resources but there's got to be a better outlet for wood.  What say you?  Online source, maybe?  We have a Lowe's but they carry the same stuff as Albertson's.  I called the local feed stores and they say they don't have anything.

It's just an el-cheapo, horizontal smoker but it should have plenty of damper.  At least I would think...

Shawn


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## pit 4 brains (Jul 29, 2016)

Welcome to the SMF!

Although you explained it well, I can't put a finger on your problem.

How many times have you used this smoker? Any of them successful? The reason I ask that is because I knew someone who added a firebox to a Chargriller and didn't remove the knockout plate. It didn't work well.

I personally try to keep the orange flames to a minimum when I'm smoking or else the temps spike really high. I've made a habit of pre-heating my wood on top of the firebox before adding it. This allows it to get to combusting temp a little quicker without smoking real bad.

Are you in a real humid environment?

Can you post up some pics of your rig and maybe even a fire?


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## timstalltaletav (Jul 29, 2016)

For online wood, you might want to check Craigslist or eBay.   I know I've seen ads selling boxed up splits and chunks.  Might be a bit pricey for shipping but if you can get it for the right price it could balance out.

An example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251419619126


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## joe black (Jul 29, 2016)

I'm not familiar with that wood and you didn't say where you're located.  Locally cut wood from fireplace suppliers or from tree cutters is a good start, if you have a source.  Sometimes the wood you get in packages at the grocery or a big box store is so dry that it's of little use.  Also, good flavor wood can be gotten from orchards.

I like to start a good fire of Royal Oak lump to get a really good bed of coals and when they are fully involved, I add a couple of pre-heated splits and close the CC doors.  When the CC is up to cooking temp or a little higher, I put my meat on, add another couple of splits and a few chunks of flavor wood.  An offset cooker works within a range of temps and not at a specific temp.  My smoker likes to run at 250-275*, so when the temp is down to about 250, I add a couple of pre-heated splits.  As they catch good the temp will go up to 275-280* and then settle back to the cooking range.

Always per-heat your splits on top of the FB.  This insures that they will ignite very rapidly and not allow a significant heat drop.  Also, the quick ignition will keep the wood from smoldering, and not causing excess smoke which creates creosote in the CC and bitter meat results.

Good luck with this.  There are also some very good fire/heat management videos on you tube.

Keep smoking.  Good fire management is the result of much practice.   Joe


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## smokeymose (Jul 29, 2016)

Definitely a head scratcher, Shawn. Do you have your stack wide open? No Albertsons around here and I don't know what that is. Like Joe said, the wood in those bundles may be a little dry but that wouldn't make them go out. I use them for heat once you have the meat foiled, but I cut them into two or three pieces. Maybe the splits are too big? Is there a door on your fire box you can just open instead of just the intake adjuster?


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## Bearcarver (Jul 29, 2016)

Hi Shawn,

Your Profile doesn't say where you live, but aren't there any Fruit Tree Orchards anywhere around your town?

They trim every year & often either give the trimmings away or sell cheap.

Bear


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## bbqnerd (Jul 29, 2016)

Have you been using this smoker for a while?   I started on an el cheapo, and I had do do quite a bit of modding to get it to run right ash builds up so quick in those, and they are practically impossible to keep running without the mods.  Just do a youTube search for "brinkman smoke n grill modifications" to get some ideas.  I used several mods from different videos, and I got mine to run like a champ.  If you wanna know the ones I did, just ask.  More than happy to share.


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## pit 4 brains (Jul 29, 2016)

I stopped by our Albertson's on the way home from work to pick up a chuckle. I looked down that isle and my store here does not carry that particular wood, or any wood for that matter, just charcoal and pressed fire logs, etc.

I looked at the website and it said that the wood is kiln dried so I can that once it goes, it goes!

My wood is kiln dried also but it's done by the Arizona sun.

Wish I could help more, but I need more info..


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## thebig1 (Aug 3, 2016)

Shawn, I too am new to smoking, only having gotten into it in the past 3 months or so.  I have an offset smoker and use wood also.  I have ran into the same problems as you.  Light it up, it starts ripping, damper everything down and my temp begins to fall and it smokes itself out.  I've found that I need to leave my side door open instead of closing it.  Anywhere from an inch to fully open is how I adjust it.  That's my damper.

Maybe give this a try and see how it works.

Chad


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## smokeymose (Aug 3, 2016)

I've been smoking for a while now (electric to gas and now wood) and I'll have to admit that stick burning is a whole different animal. Everything from types of wood to outside temps and wind can change things a lot. I've had to leave the firebox door open and I've had to close the damper almost closed. Is it a hot sunny day or cloudy? Makes a difference. That's why we camp out by the smoker. I got a wireless remote Maverick so I could walk away and still mind the temps. You'll learn the quirks of your smoker. It's all part of the game. 
Don't give up, and smoke on :grilling_smilie:

Dan


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## jake77 (Aug 4, 2016)

I have a off set smoker as well and have found that if I use charcoal for the start and then add the wood once the charcoal is going good the temp stays pretty stable I get the hickory dunks from wall Mart, apple, and peach from the local orchard


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## cliffcarter (Aug 4, 2016)

ShawnWatson said:


> Hello fellas!  New member with a question here:
> 
> I'm using wood sourced from my local Albertson's and it's made me smoking experience extremely frustrating, to say the least.  The brand is "Barbeque Wood Flavors- Grillwood Mini Logs".
> 
> ...


First part of the problem is that most of the wood that you have is not seasoned enough to burn in a minimum airflow environment. What you need to do is keep the air intakes open so the wood will burn, if this means that your pit temps are 300° or better so be it. There is nothing that says that BBQ has to be at 225° or any other temperature for that matter. I routinely cook at temps of 300°-350° in my CharGriller, just realize that unless your pit is well modded to regulate temps across the cooking area you will have varying temps along the cook chamber with the hottest being on the firebox side and cooler temps on the exhaust stack side. I use these zones to my advantage and cook ribs on the stack side, poultry in the middle and sausage, wings' ABTs and so forth on the hot side.

*Joe Black's *comment about heating the splits on top of the fire box prior to putting them in the fire box to burn is a good practice. I take it a step further and heat mine inside the fire box-













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__ cliffcarter
__ May 3, 2012






IMHO the bottom line is if this is your only wood source, for now, then you will have to keep the air intake damper on the fire box open and live with the temp spikes, IMHO it's not a deal breaker but a learning opportunity.

Good Luck.


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## joe black (Aug 4, 2016)

jake77 said:


> I have a off set smoker as well and have found that if I use charcoal for the start and then add the wood once the charcoal is going good the temp stays pretty stable I get the hickory dunks from wall Mart, apple, and peach from the local orchard



Yes...a good bed of coals is criticle to keeping a good, clean fire.


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## smokeymose (Aug 4, 2016)

I think cliff may have a point. I have a CharGriller 6125 and it seems happiest at 260 to 280 and will run hotter if I let it. Maybe you're trying to keep too low a temp when you don't really need to.


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## hardcookin (Aug 4, 2016)

I think sometimes you have to let the smoker run where it's comfortable. Instead of fighting for a certain temp.
My offset runs comfortable between 260 - 275. So that's where I let it run.
Could I run at 225 sure but it would be more work maintaining that temp.


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## jake77 (Aug 4, 2016)

Mine likes to run around 230 -260 I just keep the wood and an eye on it. For the bigger stuff it takes longer but just adds to the flavor


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## thebig1 (Aug 5, 2016)

Thank you fellas, perhaps that's where I'm making my mistakes.  As a new guy to smoking maybe I shouldn't be so concerned about cooking exactly at a certain temperature.  I'll tell you, it is nerve racking and isn't the most fun.  I camp out right next to the smoker and watch my temps constantly.  Maybe I should just feed it to keep it going and allow it to cook, even if it is over the temp.  Maybe that'll lessen my stress of trying to be absolutely perfect.

Chad


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## Bearcarver (Aug 5, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> Thank you fellas, perhaps that's where I'm making my mistakes.  As a new guy to smoking maybe I shouldn't be so concerned about cooking exactly at a certain temperature.  I'll tell you, it is nerve racking and isn't the most fun.  I camp out right next to the smoker and watch my temps constantly.  Maybe I should just feed it to keep it going and allow it to cook, even if it is over the temp.  Maybe that'll lessen my stress of trying to be absolutely perfect.
> 
> Chad


That's right:

In all of my Step by Steps, I tell what temp I used. That doesn't mean it has to be that temp. It just is used as a reference.

If you would use a smoker temp that's higher, it would take a shorter amount of time. Lower temp---Longer Time.

With some things you should not go too much higher or lower, like sausage (much higher could be bad).

And large items, like Butts or Briskets (Lower could be bad).

Bear


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## thebig1 (Aug 5, 2016)

Bearcarver said:


> That's right:
> 
> In all of my Step by Steps, I tell what temp I used. That doesn't mean it has to be that temp. It just is used as a reference.
> 
> ...


Thanks Bear, this is one major aspect that gets my stress fired up while smoking and makes it less fun and more of a chore.  Of course I wouldn't fire the box full but I do sit there and go back and forth with the draft to cool it down when it's too hot.  But then I find that it cooled too much so I add another stick, but now it's too hot again, and so on and so forth.

See when you're a new guy trying to figure this out you follow the directions put forth by such artisans of the smoker such as yourself and others.  You don't deviate but now I'm realizing that it's ok to begin to break out of my shell.  I think that I'm going to do something this weekend so we'll see how that turns out. 

So even if it's higher in temp, example 20-30 degrees higher, just smoke for internal temperature and that's it.  This smoking thing just got easier.

Chad


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## Bearcarver (Aug 5, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> Thanks Bear, this is one major aspect that gets my stress fired up while smoking and makes it less fun and more of a chore.  Of course I wouldn't fire the box full but I do sit there and go back and forth with the draft to cool it down when it's too hot.  But then I find that it cooled too much so I add another stick, but now it's too hot again, and so on and so forth.
> 
> See when you're a new guy trying to figure this out you follow the directions put forth by such artisans of the smoker such as yourself and others.  You don't deviate but now I'm realizing that it's ok to begin to break out of my shell.  I think that I'm going to do something this weekend so we'll see how that turns out.
> 
> ...


Your learning curve may be higher with your smoker than with my Electric Smoker, but you'll get it in no time.

And Yes---Most of the time Internal temp is the target, and you can get there in different ways.

That's with a few exceptions, like using too high a Temp on sausage, because you could cook the fat out.

So keep on Smoking, and learning---And take some notes for future references-----You'll be Fine!!

Bear


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## thebig1 (Aug 5, 2016)

Thanks Bear!  How about I just come down there and learn from you directly? LOL


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## akdutchguy (Aug 5, 2016)

I've been smoking for a while now. When I first started I was always trying to maintain the perfect smoker temp. After driving myself nuts trying to maintain the "perfect temp". I got frustrated and stopped smoking for a while. After doing some more reasearch and realizing that internal temp was way more important than I started smoking stuff again. Meat smoking is really dynamic. There is a lot of stuff that changes how fire reacts. The air temp and humidity. Wind speed and direction. Learning how do deal with it and make adjustments accordingly was fun for me. You will get your smoker tuned in and start pouring out some of the greatest food your mouth has ever tasted. The people on this forum have tons of information. Ask questions. Take notes on your smokes. Find the patterns and enjoy it. Welcome to the addiction. 
Jason


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## Bearcarver (Aug 5, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> Thanks Bear!  How about I just come down there and learn from you directly? LOL


LOL----I'd be totally lost with any kind of smoker except an electric.

You could actually teach me, but I'm not interested in anything but electric due to not getting around real good.

However, if you never saw this, check it out---You can get a lot of info from these:

Just click on *"Bear's Step by Steps"*.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Aug 5, 2016)

Bearcarver said:


> LOL----I'd be totally lost with any kind of smoker except an electric.
> You could actually teach me, but I'm not interested in anything but electric due to not getting around real good.
> 
> However, if you never saw this, check it out---You can get a lot of info from these:
> ...



Yes Sir, I'm a subscriber.


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## shawnwatson (Aug 7, 2016)

Thanks for all of the replies, fellas.  I've been under the weather and didn't receive any notification that anyone had responded anyways.

Health permitting, I'll try to post up some pics of my set-up and answer your question.

Thanks!

Shawn


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## cksteele (Aug 12, 2016)

im new to the whole stick burners too i used to have a weber  smoky mountain.  but i had similar problems  but i experimented a lot without cooking anything just making and maintaining the fire. what i found was i reduced the size of the wood i was  burning. you need to "match the hatch"  so to speak  with the size   of your smoker.  what i did was i  bought some fire bricks  put   them in the base of the firebox,  then i put a bunch of lit lump  charcoal as the base then i stack a couple  small pieces of wood  like a log cabin   to get them going once  the coal bed is hot enough and going you wont  have any issues  keeping the fire lit and the wood burning.  i use white oak well seasoned for a year  plus i keep my firebox door wide  open for good airflow with the smoke stack wide open  













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__ cksteele
__ Aug 11, 2016


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## shawnwatson (Aug 17, 2016)

Thanks for the ideas, fellas.

I had some luck placing my next chunk on the firebox until it was time but that still didn't cut it.  Last Sunday, I was able to get it to run right around 300* for just over an hour and, just like that, it went out and I killed my kitchen torch trying to fight it so I just finished the pork in the oven.

Some of you guys mentioned sourcing wood from local orchards and it dawned on my lightning-fast mind that I'm surrounded by pecan orchards.  Can you use that stuff right away or does it somehow need to be seasoned?

Here is my little set-up, although the damper stays wide open now...













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__ Aug 17, 2016


















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Shawn


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## thebig1 (Aug 17, 2016)

I'm new at this too and some may think that this is trivial, but the first thing that I noticed when looking at your pictures was that the grate in your firebox is pretty much sitting in your ash. The wood/fire isn't getting any air flow.

I noticed the same thing in mine and turned the grate 90° to allow more air and have had better success. 

Also, you may want to think about getting yourself a box for in your firebox to hold your fire in instead of on the grate.

Chad


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## shawnwatson (Aug 17, 2016)

You're correct and I didn't realize it was a problem until after I had snapped those pics.  Another thing that helped with ash content was starting the fire from kindling instead of on a bed of coals. Good catch, though and thanks.  I sure appreciate you guys offering your help!

Shawn


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## cksteele (Aug 17, 2016)

i wouldn't worry about the ash  a good coal bed is a must though , i  used to elevate  my coals with a grate but always had trouble  keeping temps up. then i saw  a video on frankins bbq  he cooks right on the coals and doesn't elevate  his fire. so i tried it  and it really works better i can  maintain 275  temps the whole cook now with ease, as long as you have good airflow  into the  firebox  you wont have any trouble im always poking and adjusting the fire every 15-20 min now  maintaining temps


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## thebig1 (Aug 17, 2016)

cksteele said:


> i wouldn't worry about the ash  a good coal bed is a must though , i  used to elevate  my coals with a grate but always had trouble  keeping temps up. then i saw  a video on frankins bbq  he cooks right on the coals and doesn't elevate  his fire. so i tried it  and it really works better i can  maintain 275  temps the whole cook now with ease, as long as you have good airflow  into the  firebox  you wont have any trouble im always poking and adjusting the fire every 15-20 min now  maintaining temps


Like I said before, I have raised the level of my grate so that it gets more air flow underneath and doesn't smother from the lack of air.  But now I'm running into the problem, that I believe is a result of this, that it's almost too high because I'm having to burn the box pretty hot so that my cooking chamber heats up.  I also have to leave the firebox door open quite a bit for air flow or my fire will smother in it's own smoke.

Why didn't I just buy an electric smoker? LOL


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## cksteele (Aug 17, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> Like I said before, I have raised the level of my grate so that it gets more air flow underneath and doesn't smother from the lack of air.  But now I'm running into the problem, that I believe is a result of this, that it's almost too high because I'm having to burn the box pretty hot so that my cooking chamber heats up.  I also have to leave the firebox door open quite a bit for air flow or my fire will smother in it's own smoke.
> 
> Why didn't I just buy an electric smoker? LOL


sounds like you're losing a lot of heat somewhere if your firebox is super hot but the cook chamber isnt ,  but looking at your smoker maybe one issue is your not getting enough  of a draw  through the smoker.  id suggest maybe trying to extend the size  of your smoke stack  so you increase the convection  through the chamber ( id say  at least another foot)  also trying to get a better seal on the  smoke chamber door so there is less heat loss  might be a option  too, also if the  wood you're using is kiln dried  its going to burn way hotter  then  naturally seasoned wood because  its dryer. if you're surrounded by pecan  wood thats great if you can get your hands on some thats been seasoned  for prob at least a year  even better


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## thedood (Aug 17, 2016)

Are the coals falling down between the grates so the sticks arent getting enough heat? Maybe lay some expanded metal over the grate to create a tighter grid that holds coals but allows the ash to fall through.


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## joe black (Aug 17, 2016)

At least a piece of expanded metal.  Better would be a charcoal basket.  Start your smoker with lump charcoal to establish a good bed of coals.  When the coal bed is established, put in a couple of pre-heated wood splits.  When the splits are going good, close the CC doors and let the CC heat to just above your desired cooking range.  Add a couple more heated splits, your flavor wood and your meat.  When the temp approaches the lower end of your cooking range, add 1 or 2 more splits.  Then the temp should quickly go up to your upper range again.

The two main things needed for good fire management are a good bed of coals and pre-heated wood.  Keep plenty of fresh air and adjust the heat with your fire.  Learning good fire management takes lots of practice.

Good luck and good smoking,   Joe


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## shawnwatson (Aug 18, 2016)

I was doing the coal bed thing for awhile and it worked well for the first hour or so.  Then they would start dying down and I had to transition to straight wood and that caused problems and I still had five hours to go 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






.  I bet that problem goes away with some decent wood to burn.

And yeah, my grate is wide enough for the coals to fall through so I was taking a long screwdriver through the damper and clearing a trough.  That definitely helped but I could surely use a better grate or something.

If I was able to get my mitts on a pile of pecan wood from the orchard, is there anything I can do at home to make sure it burns well, "seasoned"?

Shawn


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## cksteele (Aug 18, 2016)

ShawnWatson said:


> I was doing the coal bed thing for awhile and it worked well for the first hour or so.  Then they would start dying down and I had to transition to straight wood and that caused problems and I still had five hours to go
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 try to get your hands on  some aged pecan wood  not green wood. if there is that many pecan orchards around you id check the local firewood  dealers  im sure if pecan is plentiful in that area  they will have seasoned pecan  also check craigslist  etc


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## shawnwatson (Aug 18, 2016)

Yeah, there's got to be _something_ around here besides that garbage from the grocery store.  I just need to get off my lazy arse and look.  Thanks for the tip.

Shawn

Edit:  I rarely see pecan as the recommended wood and I don't believe I've ever had anything smoked with it.  How is it, flavor-wise?


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## cksteele (Aug 18, 2016)

ShawnWatson said:


> Yeah, there's got to be _something_ around here besides that garbage from the grocery store.  I just need to get off my lazy arse and look.  Thanks for the tip.
> 
> Shawn
> 
> Edit:  I rarely see pecan as the recommended wood and I don't believe I've ever had anything smoked with it.  How is it, flavor-wise?


 yeah  there are tons of guys selling wood in online classifieds like craigslist,but some are sketch  but just take your time  10-12+  months  or more is usually good for well seasoned aged wood. 

 we dont have pecan  in my area  but its supposed to be a real nice sweet  wood,  its actually a member of the hickory family so its  good stuff real good on chicken and pork from what i hear people say


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## shawnwatson (Aug 18, 2016)

Cool, thanks.

I just spent an hour trying to reach our local orchards and they either had phone numbers that didn't work (typical of this town) or, in one case, "the owner takes it all up to his cabin in the mountains."

So I called our most popular smoke house and he laughed at my pecan orchard experience like they'd already been down that road.  He said they work with a couple of tree-trimming outfits in town. They buy three or four cords at a time and let it sit for six months before using it.  Their website says they use pecan only so I suppose it's good enough for me!

I'm also surrounded by mesquite (which I love!) but I'll be damned if I'm going to walk around with the snakes, scorpions and cactus to bag it up.  I'll give craigslist a try next.  Maybe we're making progress...

Shawn

Edit: Now here could be a really dumb question: if all I can get my hands on is green pecan, can I split it up and "season" it up in the oven at, say, 180* for awhile and get where I need to be?


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## joe black (Aug 18, 2016)

ShawnWatson said:


> I was doing the coal bed thing for awhile and it worked well for the first hour or so.  Then they would start dying down and I had to transition to straight wood and that caused problems and I still had five hours to go :102: .  I bet that problem goes away with some decent wood to burn.
> 
> And yeah, my grate is wide enough for the coals to fall through so I was taking a long screwdriver through the damper and clearing a trough.  That definitely helped but I could surely use a better grate or something.
> 
> ...


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## smokeymose (Aug 18, 2016)

ShawnWatson said:


> I was doing the coal bed thing for awhile and it worked well for the first hour or so.  Then they would start dying down and I had to transition to straight wood and that caused problems and I still had five hours to go :102: .  I bet that problem goes away with some decent wood to burn.
> 
> And yeah, my grate is wide enough for the coals to fall through so I was taking a long screwdriver through the damper and clearing a trough.  That definitely helped but I could surely use a better grate or something.
> 
> ...


I just use charcoal to initially get the wood burning. After that it's all wood unless you get distracted and lose your fire.
I would love to have a supply of Pecan!!!


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## thebig1 (Aug 28, 2016)

Lesson: Today I'm doing a butt and ribs. I am smoking around 275. I have noticed that it's almost impossible to keep temps that high with using only cherry splits. Oak and/or maple are the best way to go with cherry chunks added.

Oak and maple also burns more thoroughly and leaves a better bed of coals whereas cherry splits tend to burn out and smother prior to burning to coals.


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## joe black (Aug 28, 2016)

I'm not a scientist by any means, but just from my experience, I don't use fruit wood for heat.  I probably use oak about 75% and pecan 25% for cooking heat and cherry and apple for flavor.  I have some pear that I have found to be somewhat like apple but very mild, however it burns very hot.  So, I save it for chicken or other times when I need extra heat.

Good luck with it.  Joe.   :grilling_smilie:


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## thebig1 (Aug 28, 2016)

Well Joe, aren't you just the scientist. Lol

Sorry Joe, I'm pretty lit up. It's 10 am somewhere. Lol


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## cksteele (Sep 2, 2016)

according to the BTU scale  on wood, hardwoods like  white oak has a BTU per cord of 26  vs cherry which has a BTU  of 18.5  hickory had a BTU  per cord  of around 30  as do most hard maples.  fruit woods are good for short cooks  but long ones  a nice hardwood  is best for  long even heat


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## thebig1 (Sep 2, 2016)

cksteele said:


> according to the BTU scale  on wood, hardwoods like  white oak has a BTU per cord of 26  vs cherry which has a BTU  of 18.5  hickory had a BTU  per cord  of around 30  as do most hard maples.  fruit woods are good for short cooks  but long ones  a nice hardwood  is best for  long even heat



Honestly, I never knew that.


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## wimpy69 (Sep 3, 2016)

http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/


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## pcjack (Sep 23, 2016)

Welcome to the best information hub on smokers/cookers anywhere!

I use what I can get my hands on, most of the time I get truckloads of free oak, usually more than I can use in a while.  I typically run smokes at least twice a month, always have a reason to have friends over for a Sunday game and beer..  :o)

To be honest, I have several resources for wood at really cheap prices, may times free.  First place I go to is a tree trimming company my boys occasionally work for.  Tree  trimming companies have to get rid of the wood they cut.  Many times, they take it to the dump, which means they have to pay to get rid of it.  This is where the magic happens.  I tell them if they have the wood type and size profile I need, they usually respond with a confirmation they will have what I need available.   I then let them dump a stack on my driveway every so often and I split it myself and rack it.  I have two 8-ft wood racks in my back yard and cycle in wet wood while burning the seasoned wood so I always have a supply ready to smoke with.  FREE WOOD ROCKS!   For my smaller electric smoker (when I need near total hands-free or just really small batch cooks), I have a barrel trash can that I keep my small smoking chunks in.  When I need to fill this, I rent a small splitter and spend a day just making small chunks for this smoker.  

On facebook, there are groups like yard sale groups and man cave groups, may times tree trimming companies offer a free drop off of wood to your driveway if you're close to a job, this way they don't have to pay to take it to the dump, unless of course they take it home and split it themselves and sell it on Craigslist or something similar.  Be careful though.  Sometimes they cut these monster oak trees and dump huge wood pucks that are so big,  you cannot split without renting a jumbo splitter and they're usually really really hard wood.  Many times, those large chunks do not burn as well as the logs up to 12" or 14" in diameter, properly split.  I won't take the huge pucks anmore, unless I am doing a big fire for the boy scout camping trips (I was a leader for 10 years)   At that cost/time to split the huge pucks, just buy a truckload of pre-split wood for $100 from someone on CL.  It usually costs me about $50 to $75 for a splitter rental anyway, depending on which size i have to get.  Second thing to be careful of:  If they're dumping free wood in your yard, do not leave it there for days.  You don't want moldy wood and I have seen where the termites find the wood within a week or two and start eating it.  If it is too close to your house, when you remove the food source, they look for another one.  You don't want that food source to end up being your house!

Hope this helps.  Good luck!
James


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## smokenmyeyes (Oct 1, 2016)

I also just started using only wood with my new reverse flow smoker, my issue is mainly controlling the smoke. I normally keep the stack full open or 3/4 open and the fb damper full open. It seems like to much smoke, this is b4 I add any Wood for flavor. The wood is seasoned oak & hickory.  Don't feel alone in the struggle, and don't give up.lots  of people here willing to help


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