How long to dry wood


 
John Neuser

John Neuser

TVWBB Fan
I cut down an apple tree last week. It had a nice straight branch about three inches in diameter. I cleaned off the bark and cut the limb into three inch rounds that I then split in half. My question is, how long do you think I have to let it dry before I can use it in the WSM? Do I need to dry it? Any thoughts? Thanks for reading.
 
John, you probably need 6-12 months of drying on your apple wood (though, they may dry faster since you have them chunked.) It's a balancing act as you don't want to over dry them as you won't get much/any smoke from them at that point. If I were in your situation, I'd try a chunk at 3 months and see what it gives you, then go from there.

R
 
Rich G said:
John, you probably need 6-12 months of drying on your apple wood (though, they may dry faster since you have them chunked.) It's a balancing act as you don't want to over dry them as you won't get much/any smoke from them at that point. If I were in your situation, I'd try a chunk at 3 months and see what it gives you, then go from there.

R
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Thanks, Rich. That's a great suggestion. I probably have around 50 - 60 chunks so I can afford to experiment. Oh darn, I guess I'll just have to force myself to smoke something. 😃🤗
 
You can speed the drying time up by putting your chunks in the attic.
Having said that some use green fruitwood with good results. You just have to use less.
 
you can use it straight off the tree, you just have to not use as much as you would if it was dry, I use a lot of hickory bark off of the shag tree's , a little goes a long ways
 
small chunks like that dry pretty fast, you can speed drying up by putting in a warm dry space likes been said or placing some chunks on and around your smoker, give it a month and it should be ok. If you had cut the branches with leaves still attached, it would have respired a lot of moisture through the leaves....
 
Someone on the old forum used a microwave with good results. I never tried, but if you need a few chunks now?
I can't find the old post , but did find this.
20% moisture is good so a moisture meter is advised.
 
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