Worst smelling wood??

[karri0n]

I've got a big pile of red oak in my yard right now, and it's stinkin up the joint pretty bad. Not sure if it's the "worst" smelling wood, but it sure ain't pleasant.

 

[Wet1]

I've got a big pile of red oak in my yard right now, and it's stinkin up the joint pretty bad. Not sure if it's the "worst" smelling wood, but it sure ain't pleasant.

My neighbors must want to kill me. I have about five cords of freshly split red oak sitting on my property lines, it really kicks you in the nose when you open the door. The stuff smells for a long, long, time. I kind of like the smell of it. For their sake, I hope they do too.

 

[karri0n]

I certainly don't find the smell appealing. My cat went over to the pile and sprayed on it, and I swear it smelled better for a good 15 minutes until that smell wore off.


This stuff is also freshly split, though it's been down for over a year.

 

[johnsopi]

red oak smells like throw-up

 

[TreePapa]

duplicate post removed

 

[Wet1]

I certainly don't find the smell appealing. My cat went over to the pile and sprayed on it, and I swear it smelled better for a good 15 minutes until that smell wore off.


This stuff is also freshly split, though it's been down for over a year.

Hmmm, well I guess you could make a case for it smelling like cat piss!


Red oak will basically not season in log form, it takes a VERY long time to season w/o being split. A round that has been sitting for year or two basically smells just like a fresh green round when split open. Like the smell or not, it's premium stuff once it has seasoned! :coolsmile:

 

[mike1234]

Last fall I cut a dead tree, not even sure what it was, but it was above part of my septic system, in fact I think that is what killed it. 2 months later I moved it into the garage to get ready to burn, and OMGosh did it stink, like the septic system. I took it back out to the wood pile and it is still there, hopefully it'll stop stinking enough to burn it for next season.

 

[bren582]

I find the comments on red oak surprising.. i love the smell of fresh cut red oak or any oak for that matter, I also prefer the smell when burning it.. I just love Oak all around. hickory is up there as well just great stuff..

 

[jotul8e2]

It is interesting to find completely irreconcilable views on the smell of red oak. I ran into this just the other day when my wife commented on how much she liked the smell of freshly split red oak; I find it pretty foul. Of course, there are many varieties of red oak, and it varies with the species, the soil conditions, and so forth.

I have cut a fair amount of black walnut over the years and never really thought about the smell one way or another. I also split the logs out of two black locust trees year before last and remember only that it had an odor so it must not have been too bad.

Another variable is the time of year the wood is being worked. If the tree is full of sap it will have a much stronger odor than it will in the winter.

Mark

 

[TreePapa]

I think Ailanthus aka tree of heaven wins the prize for the worst odor. Smells like a skunk when freshly cut and burnt rubber when burned.

I agree. This is another non-native tree given to us by our asian friends.
We call it stink tree. The leaves resemble a walnut, sort of.

It looks like a tree, but it's really a weed! It (or at least the female trees) have really nasty seeds. About 1/3" balls, stick to and in your shoes, get in everything, pain in the donkey to clean up. A very messy tree. Also the branches seem weak and prone to splitting (on the tree). Our neighbors have this weed, and it is right next to my firewood / compost / trailer parking (used to be where I parked my truck). I can't remember the smell (I've trimmed the branches over my property and used for firewood, but it got mixed in w/ everything else.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[TreePapa]

I don't know what species of wood it was, but a couple years ago, I picked u p a "curb find" of some type of non-native ornamental tree. Dark bark, reddish wood, heavy (green), and I swear to whatever it smelled like pesticide! No, it hadn't been sprayed, the green wood actually gave off a noxious odor that reminded me of pesticide. I noticed it when loading it up, but I thought maybe I could live with it. However, when I got it home to unload, I thought better of it ... after I was done stacking it. I moved it all to the curb, put a "Free Wood" sign on it and prayed that some other sucker would come along. He did, and I prayed he wouldn't change his mind before taking the foul stuff away. He didn't and that nasty stuff left my life, thankfully.

I swear the wood itself gave off a pesticide-like odor. It was awful.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[karri0n]

I like the red oak smell once it's seasoned, or when it's burning. It's the green stuff that has the odor I'm talking about. It definitely smells like the p!ss of a strange animal.

 

[Don Ed]

This thread, although somewhat less educational than many on Hearth.com, has brought a lot of laughs. I'm not sure I have seen the word "piss" used so many times to describe something I usually consider quite relaxing and somewhat dignified...that is, burning wood. Then there was the "bucket of bluegill" comment. As a life-long pan fisherman I am certainly acquainted with the smell of bluegill. Pretty sure I would not want that in my wood pile or my stove!

Thanks for the "smelly" laughs!

DL

 

[Summertime]

The White Oak I have been splitting smells like a Whiskey barrel and I love the smell of it!

 

[lexybird]

i have a load of semi punky wet red oak ,it smells like rotten cat piss and rotting fungus ,worse yet this is in my basement drying out

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

This thread, although somewhat less educational than many on Hearth.com, has brought a lot of laughs. I'm not sure I have seen the word "piss" used so many times to describe something I usually consider quite relaxing and somewhat dignified...that is, burning wood. Then there was the "bucket of bluegill" comment. As a life-long pan fisherman I am certainly acquainted with the smell of bluegill. Pretty sure I would not want that in my wood pile or my stove!

Thanks for the "smelly" laughs!

DL

I meant to lighten the conversation.........