Wood is dead after three months?

[Fsonicsmith]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1iNlVI13rY

At the 36 minute mark of this interview the proprietor of Primitive Pits/Workhorse claims that wood for smoking "is dead" after three months. He either states or implies that by then it is dry and no longer has optimum moisture content.
I suppose that after optimal seasoning of the wood there is likely a three month window where the wood is at it's very best but to say that it is dead after that period of time?
Thoughts?

 

[bschoen]

I expect it is true, I probably can't taste the difference though.

 

[Newglide]

I've had a similar experience. If the wood is cut then split soon after it dries rather quickly.
I have some apple that I cut and split the same day and it was dry in a few months, same with some red oak. I guess weather and how you store it make a difference

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I prefer to not split my logs till I'm ready to use it.

 

[gcs]

You know...there's a lot of territory between absolute perfection and completely useless.

It's wood, it burns, it smokes, it'll work.
Frankly I can't tell the difference and I'd wager the majority of people couldn't either.
Don't make yourself crazy over some of this stuff, :grin:

 

[mike243]

Cut your tree’s down after the leafs are off and sap is down, cut split burn

 

[1MoreFord]

The guy says it's starting to rot among other things.??
If it does it was either bad to start with or he killed it himself by storing it wrong.
Wood Does Not go bad by itself in three months if properly cared for. It does not even get dry here in the South in three months split or not. I also question his statements about 5-10% air dried wood. Kiln dried wood is 6-8% and he's saying air dried can be less than that??? The BS flag is raised.

 

[Itsdone]

He is right. Send me all your 3 month old dead post oak wood please.

 

[Fsonicsmith]

The guy says it's starting to rot among other things.??
If it does it was either bad to start with or he killed it himself by storing it wrong.
Wood Does Not go bad by itself in three months if properly cared for. It does not even get dry here in the South in three months split or not. I also question his statements about 5-10% air dried wood. Kiln dried wood is 6-8% and he's saying air dried can be less than that??? The BS flag is raised.

You pretty much nailed my thoughts. So did GCS. Imho, it needs to be seasoned enough to burn, my rule of thumb being 9 months to a year since the logs were first cut. Then it is good for quite a while assuming you don't live in the desert. The guy has a motive-he wants to bring to market a new product-his own blend of wood. A corollary to "serchez la femme" id "serchez le greenback".

 

[PGarSD]

Depends on the wood but, I doubt any fresh-cut wood will be ready (much less "dead") in three months without a kiln or one of the fancy "tents" people build to dry wood faster.



I have oak split down to coke can size, outside in decent sun/wind exposure, and it's still at over 20% moisture a year later. That's living in relatively dry San Diego with a top cover only on it when rains expected. I expect it'll be where I want it by the end of the summer (~15% is where I think I've read it's seasoned without being too dry). So, it depends on the wood but, it looks like I need 18 months just to get oak down to 15% and I expect it'll be good for at least a year after that.



That reminds me, I really need to get another 1/2 cord now so it's ready when my current wood runs out.



And, if someone feels 15% is too low, I'm all ears.

 

[mchar69]

Different woods dry at different rates. I just used cherry split last summer in my stick burner and it. smelled. awesome. Tasted good, too!

 

[Itsdone]

Different woods dry at different rates. I just used cherry split last summer in my stick burner and it. smelled. awesome. Tasted good, too!

Last time i tasted wood, i got a splinter. I stick to tooth picks for my wood fix now.

 

[Lahawk1]

I used to keep lots of different cooking woods (no fruit woods) on pallets under my wood shed. I would use a moisture meter to check how dry they were. I noticed that when the moisture dropped below about 15% the flavor they produced was close to the same regardless of wood type. Once they were below 15% they went to the firewood racks. I also do not buy kiln dried wood for the same reason. If I was cooking with my Karubecue the wood with moisture below 22% would not be used. Moisture content between 25% and #30% is the sweet spot for me on all my cooks.

 

[SkaterSmoker]

On my 1975, oak that’s 6-12 months split, anywhere from 15-25% moisture in the middle of the split, gives a great sweet smoke flavor. Any drier, the smoke flavor is less noticeable.

 

[Itsdone]

On my 1975, oak that’s 6-12 months split, anywhere from 15-25% moisture in the middle of the split, gives a great sweet smoke flavor. Any drier, the smoke flavor is less noticeable.

Im no wood expert, but i would say with confidence that drier wood ignites quicker and burns cleaner, so smoke flavor is going to be lighter.

 

[Maylar]

I'm no wood expert, but i would say with confidence that drier wood ignites quicker and burns cleaner, so smoke flavor is going to be lighter.

Perhaps the same could be said about pellets?

 

[Charny]

Why, just yesterday I was staring at a piece of Cherry wood and saying "You are dead to me!"

Fortunately, it did not respond.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I'm just never going to use up all the wood in my stack in that amount of time. There's no way. I honestly haven't been able to tell much difference between kiln dried, the wood in my stack when it was new, and the wood in my stack now that it's REALLY seasoned. I know when it's really seasoned, my pit just runs.