Can you tell ... by the smell?

[OldLumberKid]

We have a few folk regular burners around here, and I like the smell of a good wood fire. But every once in a while, as I pass a home nearby, well, the smoke does not smell that good, in fact it smells a tad on the muddy, murky side.

Can you tell by the smell if someone's burning damp or mouldy, fungusy wood?

 

[firefighterjake]

Most likely they either are burning seasoned wood and have the air control set back so it is a smoldering creosote generating machine or they're attempting to use their wood stove as a trash incinerator and are burning plastic and whatever else they can cram into the fire box.

 

[Jon1270]

The smell does depend on what's burning, but some woods have unpleasant smells even when they're dry and burning fairly cleanly. Black Locust isn't the greatest, and I've read here that Tree of Heaven smells pretty bad.

 

[Coach B]

Black Locust isn't the greatest, and I've read here that Tree of Heaven smells pretty bad.

Ha! That's the exact combo burning in my OWB right now. What can I say, you burn what you got. Had not paid much attention to the smell.

 

[adrpga498]

I agree about the smell of locust isn't the greatest but the heat, ease of splitting far out weighs the smell issue in my book.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I think we are all on the same page with the smell of black locust coming out of the chimney....
Having scrounged a lot of wood this past year, I keep the cedar and pine for the the outdoor fireplace, it really makes the neighborhood smell really good... Last spring a bud and me were sitting if front of it drinking beers, was a chilly spring so it felt really nice, when I would throw some rounds of maple in, you could actually smell maple syrup....

 

[Woody Stover]

I think we are all on the same page with the smell of black locust coming out of the chimney

I didn't think my BL smelled too bad but the bark is off of it. When splitting it, it seems the stench is between the bark and the wood. That said, burning BL smells nowhere as nice as Cherry or River Birch....

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Maybe it is in the bark, the bark on BL it the thickest that I have
Ever seen on all of the woods that I have

 

[Applesister]

The inner bark of Black Locust is toxic.
The smoke always burned my eyes, but as far as stinky woodsmoke I do believe lichens and moss and molds and fungus does contribute to bad smelling wood smoke.
Also if trees have blights or cankers that have become systemic, this latter problem is what creates the worse smells.
I have cut elm, cottonwood and aspen that is very sweet and fruity and I have cut the rankest of those species.
Apple with fire blight is foul smelling.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

When I was a young lad, the smoke smell out of chimneys was much the same as if you were standing by an outdoor fire. In today's stoves there is a different smell. But I don't think you could tell if someone was burning moldy or wood with fungus on it. Even if they were, that does not necessarily mean the wood was bad. It could just be some on an end or wherever.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

All good, but BL seems to have a very distinct smell that is on the. Unpleasant side when burning.....

 

[Paulywalnut]

I can tell when Walnut is being burned and very dry seasoned oak and maple. I love BL but the smoke is strong. I burn a lot of it and mix it with something else, then it's not too bad

 

[Fifelaker]

I wonder if wood is like diesels? I know I could tell if it was a Cummins, Detroit or a Cat by the smell of the exhaust, all burning the same fuel.

 

[billb3]

I've turned the air down on my own stove too soon and been outside and smelled that awful smoldering smell and wondering who in the neighborhood was doing that looked up at my chimney and gone back in and gave it some air to get it going again.
I have really dry wood and it still can happen. It smells awful and often there's no need for it.

I've been outside right after putting some yellow birch in or pine and beyond those three things my woodstove smoke is unremarkable, which is fine with me.

 

[BrotherBart]

I can usually tell the species, the split size and the stove top temperature. And what is cooking for dinner.

 

[billb3]

Are we still discussing wood stove smoke ?

 

[CenterTree]

Can anyone here tell the difference (without looking at the chimney) from an older smoke dragon stove and a newer EPA stove just by the SMELL? Consider it that the 2 stoves are burning the SAME wood.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Can anyone here tell the difference (without looking at the chimney) from an older smoke dragon stove and a newer EPA stove just by the SMELL? Consider it that the 2 stoves are burning the SAME wood.

Yes... My next door neighbor has a smoke dragon, trails of white smoke, all the time, smells nice most of the time, I know when he is burning black locust....
My insert, smokes when starting up and on re loading with. Not so optimal wood, but no trails of white smoke, just noticeable white smoke at a minor degree....

Sorry, I mis read, his chimney smokes........a lot ..... Smell has nothing to do with it, sight determines it IMHO

 

[CenterTree]

Yeah. I am wondering strictly from a SMELL aspect.

Wondering if the secondaries in the EPA burn off (burn away) any of the odor from the wood/smoke.

Does a smoke dragon have a "fuller", stronger odor from the same wood?

 

[BrotherBart]

Most of the time when the 30 is rolling, outside I just smell the hot stainless steel smell from the liner.

 

[Wood Duck]

Can anyone here tell the difference (without looking at the chimney) from an older smoke dragon stove and a newer EPA stove just by the SMELL? Consider it that the 2 stoves are burning the SAME wood.

I can. A modern, secondary burn stove - when it is burning hot and you're getting a good secondary burn - doesn't smell like wood smoke. It smells like a coal burning stove to me. I think this is because the wood smoke particles and gases are burnt up in the secondary burn stage, leaving mostly CO2, hot water vapor, and hot air.

 

[Bocephous]

I've been burning a lot of beech lately and recently hit a "vein" of maple in the stack. My wife says it's a lot more "incensy."

 

[OldLumberKid]

Yes... My next door neighbor has a smoke dragon, trails of white smoke, all the time, smells nice most of the time, I know when he is burning black locust....
My insert, smokes when starting up and on re loading with. Not so optimal wood, but no trails of white smoke, just noticeable white smoke at a minor degree....

Sorry, I mis read, his chimney smokes........a lot ..... Smell has nothing to do with it, sight determines it IMHO

White smoke means a new Pope has been chosen.

Thanks for all the interesting answers. And trust to toss one in there, I've had some store-bought european birch (while I was waiting for my stash to season) that smelled great, really fragrant.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I wonder if wood is like diesels? I know I could tell if it was a Cummins, Detroit or a Cat by the smell of the exhaust, all burning the same fuel.

Now that is Talent!

 

[Fifelaker]

Now that is Talent!

Not really, 3 completely different smells.