How do I figure out my wood-per-hour rate?

Start by tracking a few cooks. Weigh the wood you load (or count typical-sized splits and estimate their weight), note how many hours you cooked, and divide total wood used by total hours. Over several cooks you’ll get a reliable average for your smoker.

Does wood type matter for this calculator?

Yes for real life, but the calculator itself just uses pounds. Denser woods like oak and hickory burn longer than lighter fruit woods, so your real-world wood-per-hour rate may change when you switch species or split sizes.

Should I include startup wood in the estimate?

Startup often uses extra wood to bring the pit up to temperature. If you want to be cautious, either add an extra hour to your cook time or add a small fixed amount (for example, 1–2 lb) on top of the calculated total to cover startup.

What if I use pellets or charcoal plus wood chunks?

You can still use the calculator by treating pellets or charcoal as the primary fuel and tracking how many pounds you use per hour. If wood chunks are mainly for flavor, you might track them separately or treat them as a small additional per-hour amount.

Is this precise enough for competitions or catering?

It’s a planning estimate, not a lab instrument. Many competitive and catering cooks track real fuel usage over time and then use tools like this to sanity‑check their prep lists with a healthy safety margin.

cooking calculator

Smoker Wood Calculator

Estimate wood needed for a smoke based on cook time and per-hour use.

Results

Total wood needed (lb): 4.00
Wood per lb of meat: 0.50

How to use this calculator

Estimate the total meat weight you’re putting on the smoker, including briskets, shoulders, ribs, or chickens.
Enter how many hours you expect the cook to run from start to finish at smoking temperature.
Enter the amount of wood (in pounds) your smoker usually burns per hour once stabilized. If you’re not sure, start with a conservative guess and adjust over time.
Review the total estimated pounds of wood you’ll need and how much wood that represents per pound of meat.
Round up a bit from the total to build in a safety margin for cold weather, wind, or stalls that extend the cook.

Inputs explained

Meat weight (lb): The combined weight of all the meat you’ll be smoking, in pounds. Include everything on the pit (for example, two briskets and a couple of pork shoulders).
Cook time (hours): The total time you expect the cook to last at smoking temperature, not counting warm-up. Long briskets and shoulders may run 8–16 hours, while ribs and chickens are usually shorter.
Wood per hour (lb): Your smoker’s average wood consumption once you are up to temp, in pounds per hour. Offset stick burners typically use more; insulated cabinet smokers typically use less.

How it works

The calculator assumes your smoker burns wood at a more or less steady rate per hour once you are up to cooking temperature.

You tell it how many hours you expect the cook to last and how many pounds of wood you typically burn per hour on your setup.

Total wood needed is then simply your wood-per-hour rate multiplied by the total cook time in hours.

To give you a sense of efficiency, we also divide that total wood by your total meat weight to show wood used per pound of meat. This helps compare different cooks and tune your setup over time.

Formula

Total wood (lb) = Wood per hour (lb/hr) × Cook time (hours)
Wood per lb of meat = Total wood (lb) ÷ Meat weight (lb)

When to use it

Planning wood supply for an overnight brisket or pork shoulder cook so you do not have to scavenge for fuel at 3 a.m.
Estimating how many splits or bags of wood chunks you need to buy before a big backyard barbecue or catering job.
Comparing different smokers (offset vs insulated cabinet vs drum) by tracking their wood-per-pound-of-meat usage over several cooks.
Adjusting for seasonal changes—such as colder or windier days—that can increase burn rate and total wood usage.
Fine-tuning your fire management by seeing how changes in airflow, wood size, and firebox loading affect overall consumption.

Tips & cautions

Offset stick burners and open pits tend to burn significantly more wood than insulated or ceramic cookers. Start with a higher wood-per-hour estimate if you cook on an offset.
Hardwoods like oak, hickory, and pecan are denser and typically burn longer than lighter fruit woods like apple or cherry. Adjust your wood-per-hour input based on the type and size of splits.
Keep extra wood on hand beyond the calculated total—especially for overnight cooks or days with strong wind or cold temperatures. It’s better to have leftover wood than to run out.
Log what you actually used after the cook and compare it to the calculator’s estimate. Over a few cooks, you’ll dial in a very accurate wood-per-hour number for your specific pit.
If you run multiple small cooks back-to-back, remember that bringing the smoker back up to temp can add extra consumption beyond the simple per-hour rate.
Assumes a relatively steady burn rate per hour; in reality, wood consumption can swing with weather, airflow settings, and how often you open the cooker.
Does not distinguish between different wood species or moisture levels—both of which can have a big effect on how quickly wood burns.
Does not account for the initial start‑up phase, which may require extra wood to bring the pit up to temperature before settling into a steady burn.

Worked examples

Overnight brisket on an offset

You plan to smoke a 12 lb brisket for about 12 hours on an offset stick burner.
From past cooks, you know your pit burns roughly 1 lb of splits per hour in mild weather.
Total wood = 1 lb/hr × 12 hr = 12 lb of wood.
Wood per lb of meat = 12 lb ÷ 12 lb = 1.0 lb of wood per pound of brisket.

Mixed meats on an insulated cabinet smoker

You’re cooking 16 lb total of pork shoulders and ribs for about 10 hours on an insulated cabinet smoker.
Your cabinet uses about 0.35 lb of wood per hour once stabilized.
Total wood = 0.35 lb/hr × 10 hr = 3.5 lb.
Wood per lb of meat = 3.5 lb ÷ 16 lb ≈ 0.22 lb of wood per pound of meat.

Windy day safety margin

On a windy, cool day, you expect your usual 8-hour cook and 0.5 lb/hr burn rate might go up by 25%.
Base total wood = 0.5 lb/hr × 8 hr = 4 lb.
Adjusted total wood with 25% buffer = 4 lb × 1.25 = 5 lb.
You stage at least 5 lb of wood to be safe, and keep a bit more nearby in case the cook runs long.

Deep dive

This smoker wood calculator estimates how many pounds of wood you need for your next barbecue based on cook time, meat weight, and your smoker’s wood-per-hour burn rate. Enter your typical usage and hours to get a realistic total wood estimate, plus wood used per pound of meat.

Use it to plan wood for brisket, pork shoulders, ribs, or any long low-and-slow session so you are not scrambling for fuel in the middle of a cook. Track your results over time to understand how efficient your smoker is and how different weather conditions affect wood consumption.

Whether you cook on an offset stick burner, insulated cabinet, drum smoker, or ceramic kamado, this simple planning tool helps you stage enough splits, chunks, or pellets for the entire cook with a safe buffer.

FAQs

How do I figure out my wood-per-hour rate?: Start by tracking a few cooks. Weigh the wood you load (or count typical-sized splits and estimate their weight), note how many hours you cooked, and divide total wood used by total hours. Over several cooks you’ll get a reliable average for your smoker.
Does wood type matter for this calculator?: Yes for real life, but the calculator itself just uses pounds. Denser woods like oak and hickory burn longer than lighter fruit woods, so your real-world wood-per-hour rate may change when you switch species or split sizes.
Should I include startup wood in the estimate?: Startup often uses extra wood to bring the pit up to temperature. If you want to be cautious, either add an extra hour to your cook time or add a small fixed amount (for example, 1–2 lb) on top of the calculated total to cover startup.
What if I use pellets or charcoal plus wood chunks?: You can still use the calculator by treating pellets or charcoal as the primary fuel and tracking how many pounds you use per hour. If wood chunks are mainly for flavor, you might track them separately or treat them as a small additional per-hour amount.
Is this precise enough for competitions or catering?: It’s a planning estimate, not a lab instrument. Many competitive and catering cooks track real fuel usage over time and then use tools like this to sanity‑check their prep lists with a healthy safety margin.

Related calculators

cooking

Brine Calculator

Compute salt and sugar for a brine based on water volume and brine strength.

cooking

Yeast Conversion Calculator

Convert between active dry and instant yeast amounts.

This smoker wood calculator provides planning estimates only. Actual wood consumption will vary with smoker type, weather, wood species and size, airflow settings, and how often you open the cooker. Always keep extra fuel on hand and follow safe grilling and smoking practices.