Moisture Retaining Wood?

[Brew BQ]

Do certain woods retain more moisture than others?

The reason I ask is that I bought some "seasoned" wood and it seems to have moisture in it when I'm Qing. Of course some of it could be because we have had an enormous amount of rain here for the past month and a half. So either the wood is not completely seasoned or if it gets wet, it soaks up like a sponge. I was under the impression that seasoned wood would not retain the moisture.

What are ya'lls thoughts and experiences with this.

[Papa Tom]

Yes wood will always absorb moisture. That is why if you lay a straight board on the concrete or ground it warps. Thats why your wood chairs get loose in the winter or wood doors or windows swell and get hard to open or shut in wet weather. It of course will give up that moisture in dry weather.

[droller]

My guess is that wood with large pores, e.g. oak will soak up more water from rain than wood with small pores, e.g. maple. Why don't you keep your wood for Q'ing covered?

Cut off a piece about the size of two softballs and weigh it with a scale that will give you the weight in pounds and ounces. Record the weight.

Place it in a microwave for 2 minutes and then out for two minutes. Then weigh and record.

Do this ten times. It is important to remove the wood after 2 minutes or so!!

Your final weight subracted from your beginning weight will give you the weight of the water removed from the wood. This divided by the beginning weight will give you a rough calculation of the percent of moisture in the wood when you began.