Hickory

It's like the basic rule of the "fire triangle" To get combustion you need three things, heat, fuel and oxygen. You will still get "minimal" combustion in the smoldering effect with little oxygen input which is what you want. More O2, more fire! Trick is to keep down the oxygen.

 

I have "never" covered my firewood in 40 years! I bakes in the sun outside. Wood "wicks" when drying and some simple physics makes it happen, heat expands, cool contracts. Put air across anything and it will dry, perfect example: hanging your clothes on the line. The only time my wood is covered, (and only so it doesn't get wet or snowed on) before it comes into the house, it goes into our winter wood shed. I have 4 and 5 year old wood outside right now with a moisture content of around 10%

 

Smoker #5. All have been built the same way. I usually get 5 to 8 years out of a tank, they rot out and I build another.

 

Noted! But I was making a point also about soaking wood, it may get wet externally, but it will still be dry inside.
Got long winded!

 

I can, but why? The main reason why I changed it was because we had an @$$HOLE of a CO and "SUPER" politically correct, and didn't want ANYONE to have any affiliation in any forums or social media. I do not do face book or any such stuff but this individual would scan the forums and have our XO report anything military related. I was senior enlisted and was told that, "Quote" It would be best for you to not advertise your affiliation with the USCG. Basically the Command didn't want any thing coming back on them. I think he saw the site one time after over hearing a conversation I was having with someone about firewood and burning in the shops. I said Ok and carried on! I wasn't about to lose a pension or get busted back over some so trivial. Anyway, thats it in the nut shell.... I was a HP and coded welder all my life so it fit as well.