Request - Tricky Wood Identification

[jjrdotfyi]

Hi all!

Our house and wood stove chimney is relatively close to our neighbors to the east (great folks). The other day, they noticed an acrid, sour burning smell making its way into their house. I'd had our wood stove burning for ~3 hours with no smells or issues, but just put this log on (see pic below) and, sure enough, it stunk like mad outside by the chimney. I yanked the log out of the stove and let it cool down outside safely - continued to smell awful as it smoldered.

The next day I split a bit off to check the moisture content and get a shot of the grain:

Anyone have thoughts on what wood this could be? It looks like ash to my untrained eyes, but I've been burning barkless ash for a while with no smell issues. Could the bark have caused the stink?

The chimney is a straight shot up, out the roof, and we've had excellent draft whenever using it - I suspect that's why I couldn't smell a thing from inside of our house while it was catching.

Long-time listener, first-time poster. Thanks to this community for guiding much of the install for our farm-rescued Jotul Firelight 12 and chimney:

 

[StihlKicking]

This one is tough since the log is partially burned. From what I can see I’m guessing it’s some sort of hickory. Possibly pignut or mockernut.

 

[ScottLewis]

Looks like ash. I burn lots of ash and it doesn't smell badly. Weird.

Does the fresh-split wood stink?

Hickory smells good, it is the primary wood used for BBQ.

 

[MRD1985]

Looks like hickory to me

 

[Murray01]

Where did the wood come from? Possibly doused with something? Maybe insecticide, herbicide?

 

[troutbeer]

Some particularly stinky wood species that come to mind are Boxelder, Willow and Elm. If the wood wasn't wet, my bet is that it's one of those three.

 

[Woody Stover]

Some particularly stinky wood species that come to mind are Boxelder, Willow and Elm. If the wood wasn't wet, my bet is that it's one of those three.

Hmm, online pics of Willow look similar to what the OP posted..

 

[jjrdotfyi]

Looks like ash. I burn lots of ash and it doesn't smell badly. Weird.

Does the fresh-split wood stink?

Hickory smells good, it is the primary wood used for BBQ.

The fresh-split wood doesn't have any real smell. Really puzzling!

I took some small pieces of various wood species we have seasoning out back & got them burning to see if anything smelled close to this, no luck.

Where did the wood come from? Possibly doused with something? Maybe insecticide, herbicide?

I'm thinking this is part of it - when we first installed the stove, we got a batch of assorted wood from a less than reputable seller. Part of the reason we've started chopping and seasoning our own!

Some particularly stinky wood species that come to mind are Boxelder, Willow and Elm. If the wood wasn't wet, my bet is that it's one of those three.

Yup, this wood pile was tarped after at least a season of drying. We've had a good experience burning that ash, so I tried to pull those out to burn first, but maybe this mystery piece snuck in.

Thanks all for the comments! I'll update if I learn anything new.

 

[Woody Stover]

Here's a pic I found online of Willow bark. Note the pale yellow showing through in some spots, similar to what's seen in the OP's pics.

 

[bigealta]

The diamond bark suggests Ash as a good possibility.

Ash Tree Identification - Colorado State Forest Service

The Colorado State Forest Service provides a video, moblie app and interactive images to help identify ash trees, an important step in mitigating emeral ash borer (EAB) infestation.

csfs.colostate.edu

 

[Dieselhead]

Willlow is light as a feather that should help decide if it’s a possibility