Stinky Burning Oak

February 6, 2009 7:06 PM

Question from/for a friend: What is this oak that I am burning that stinks? Stinks so bad I can't keep it in the house.

My friend uses a wood burning stove for home heating. He says:
I'm trying a new wood burning/heating technique this weekend.
I have lots of new[read: wet] oak that I'm cutting and splitting.
It seems to burn OK wet as long as there's a good fire under it.
This is stinky oak/piss oak, more like puke oak, whereas my "dry" oak is not this type.
So if the sh*t will burn wet, I'm glad to get rid of it, since it will smell up the yard come spring.
Wonder what makes oak like this, so variable is odor.
Some smells really good, kind of like licorice, some so awful you can't have it in the house [think catsh*t!].

posted by Drasher to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Well I cut oak all day today, but it was dry. The dust still smells though, not as bad as lauan, but nowhere near as good as old walnut.

Why burn wet wood?
posted by Max Power at 7:18 PM on February 6, 2009

I don't know about the stink, but burning wet wood is a waste as most of the heat produced is carried off by the moisture. This "cold" damp burn will also coat the chimney with condensed creosote that increases the opportunity and fuel for a chimney fire.
posted by blink_left at 7:25 PM on February 6, 2009

Burning unseasoned wood is actually a very old technique, it's just that it doesn't work very well so nobody does it.
posted by rhizome at 7:32 PM on February 6, 2009

I've smelled this too and I don't know what causes it except that it's not the bark because it still stinks when you take that off It's a really distinct and nasty odor.
posted by fshgrl at 8:10 PM on February 6, 2009

maybe it's red oak, which burns with a stinky odor like that. my dad claims it's not so bad but i think it's really rank.
posted by subatomiczoo at 8:35 PM on February 6, 2009

I think some flavor of red oak coupled with really incomplete combustion because it's wet. I'm guessing at lest part of that stench is tannic acid related, but don't quote me on it.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:41 PM on February 6, 2009

You have red oak. I had a pile of it a few years ago that smelled like vomit when it was still green. After it seasoned for a few months it was fine, though.
posted by deadmessenger at 9:01 PM on February 6, 2009

I was walking down a forested street last week and suddenly wondered if I stepped in dog poop. It turned out to be a nearby freshly sawed up oak tree that had been stacked near the street. I think that smell is from fresh oak's very high tannin content. Seasoning probably breaks down the tannins.
posted by telstar at 9:42 PM on February 6, 2009