Impact of Rainwater on Seasoned Firewood

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This map shows ranks for total precipitation since September 1 across the Northeast US. Meteorological fall ends tomorrow. The 1s mean wettest on record, 2s second wettest, etc. November ranks are even more impressive. Have to believe this has had an impact, on wood stacks, basements, septic tanks, etc.

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White oak has lighter bark and it has small scales. Oh and white oak is tougher to split.
 
Red oak often has a tangy oaky smell. Some even say like a sour or piss-like smell. White tends to smell sweet or like vanilla. Red oak has a short ray fleck (1/4"-1/2"), while white oak tends to be longer (3/4"-1.5"). Flecks are the small lines in oak when viewing the face of the grain when split (not the cut end).
 
FaithfulWoodsman said:
Red oak often has a tangy oaky smell. Some even say like a sour or piss-like smell. White tends to smell sweet or like vanilla.
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Great point--I usually find the "sniff test" to be easy and reliable. The red oak around me tends to smell like fermented fruit. It happens to be among my favorite smells. Others claim to dislike it so maybe there are regional variations because of soil or climate, but in any event it's pretty easy to differentiate from white oak.
 
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Those who dislike it may be dealing with swamp oak, it smells like cat piss. Most red oak smells quite nice, IMO.
 
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