How to Use Wood Chips for Smoking — On a Charcoal or Gas Grill
As you know, water boils at 212 °F (100 °C). All the water must evaporate before the wood can ignite at around 356 °F (180 °C). Soaking wood chips merely delays when the chips start to smoke. Meathead Goldwyn from did some testing and claimed that wood chips only absorb about 6% weight in water.