Thread: Red Oak "Odor"

A buddy and I recently scored some dead fall red oak via CL. It was a large tree (nearly 30" at the base) and given the amount of rot and other decay would guess it had been on the ground for two years or more.

As we cut into the trunk and larger limbs there was a very pungent odor. When I got it home and began splitting the odor became more pronounced. I am accustomed to the earthy smell of most woods when split, but this seemed to be even more intense. Even though it has been down for some time it is still quite wet. When I split the large rounds with a wedge, sap / water surfaces.

My wife and neighbor have commented that it smells like dog or horse sh. It is close to the house now as that is where I do my splitting, but will be moved to the far end of my yard to season. As more experienced wood harvesters, processors and burners I have a couple questions.

A. Is this normal with red oak given what I have described?
B. Will the odor dissipate with 2 years of seasoning?
C. Should I leave it uncovered for the first year of seasoning to allow rain and snow to rinse some of the smell away?
D. Will that same odor appear when it is burned?

My wife has already declared if it smells like it does now she will not allow it in the house or in the fireplace. Any insights would be appreciated.

Thanks.

We always say oak smells like pis* when split. The smell will go away after seasoning, and it is well worth the wait.

Yes, oak does have its own odor. Smells like silage to me, and some of the big trunks have a kind of spongy white fungus permeating the heart that seems to make it smell even stronger. The smell will dissipate. I split and stacked two 190-year-old oaks that I had cut in my back yard this past spring, and for a while the smell was intense, but the stacked wood does not smell now. I've burned some of the scraps that were small enough to be dry now, and notice no odor in the house or while burning. I stack in rows with a little air space in between, and cover just the top with thick poly tarps.

I wouldn't keep or burn rotted wood, though. I discarded over two cords of soft, spongy, heart wood from the two oaks. I split away the sound outer wood and stacked it, and stacked separately some that was borderline -- not perfectly clear, but too solid and heavy to throw away. I can't tell you how that wood would have smelled or behaved in the house, but there's no problem with the good stuff.

Jack

lol, oak can have alot of different smells. It depends on where it came from. Once it dries out it should lose most of the smell.

Red Oak does have a distinctive smell.I like it, and yes, it goes away as it dries.Trees that are infected with wilt have their own distinctive odor...fruity-like.It is the means of attracting the beetles that spread the disease.


Wherever A injures or annoys B on pretense of saving or improving X, A is a scoundrel. (Mencken's Law)

Great sig line.Might be my new favorite.

we call it piss oak around here......it will stink your house up!!!


but it burns good....smell gets a little better seasoned.....but it's still there..

As a woodworker I hate red oak. When I mill rough sawn boards it makes my shop smell like vomit. Hence my wife and kids can always tell when I am working with "vomit wood" as they call it.

Yep...most of it stinks, but it's good heat!

Originally Posted by GM_DaddyMac

A. Is this normal with red oak given what I have described?
B. Will the odor dissipate with 2 years of seasoning?
C. Should I leave it uncovered for the first year of seasoning to allow rain and snow to rinse some of the smell away?
D. Will that same odor appear when it is burned?

Thanks.

Answers to your multi-part question

A. Every Red Oak I have ever cut has the strong smell as described, be advised yellow jackets seem to be very attracted to it.

B. It will dissipate, and if you split it it will go much quicker, as the moisture seems to hold it and bark holds moisture.

c.I would season as any other wood, and cover just the top of the pile leaving the sides open for the air to get at it.

D. I have burned better then 10 cords of red oak in my life, and I have never noticed an odor after seasoning, not even during burning.

Originally Posted by jburlingham

Answers to your multi-part question

A. Every Red Oak I have ever cut has the strong smell as described, be advised yellow jackets seem to be very attracted to it.

B. It will dissipate, and if you split it it will go much quicker, as the moisture seems to hold it and bark holds moisture.

c.I would season as any other wood, and cover just the top of the pile leaving the sides open for the air to get at it.

D. I have burned better then 10 cords of red oak in my life, and I have never noticed an odor after seasoning, not even during burning.

Got to agree, the smell can be very strong after a rain.

Originally Posted by jburlingham

Answers to your multi-part question

A. Every Red Oak I have ever cut has the strong smell as described, be advised yellow jackets seem to be very attracted to it.

And flies!

If they put that smell up in bottles, I'd buy a small supply if the price was right.

To me it's sweet ambrosia. My mind associates the smell with gettin out there and gettin it done. Makes me think of lacing up the boots, sharp chains, topping off the oil for once without overfilling, and an empty truck bed that soon won't be.

The perfect compliment to oak whiff is the smell of 2-cycle exhaust. Like a whoopie pie goes better with a bottle of Moxie.

To be sure, fresh-cut red oak smells like an expired jar of Ragu dumped on a sweaty pair of tennis shoes that have been in a gym locker since the Clinton administration.

But I like it.

Always smelled like money in the bank to me.

Woodbooga, I would have to agree with you on that........
It stinks, but it's a good stink, it means heat for the winter, it means getting it done,and It reminds me of times spent with my father.

As far as 2 stroke smoke, that makes me very happy, but not as happy as a Moxie, Whoopie pies are good, but can be too sweet if you eat the whole pie.

A. Is this normal with red oak given what I have described?
B. Will the odor dissipate with 2 years of seasoning?
C. Should I leave it uncovered for the first year of seasoning to allow rain and snow to rinse some of the smell away?
D. Will that same odor appear when it is burned?

Back in the batters box. Figured I'd actually try to be relevant to the OP's questions and not go off on another tangent about rotten pasta sauce, regional soft drinks and the associative olfactory epistemics of a certain fresh cut hardwood:

A - yes.
B - If split definitely. Unsplit oak does tend to retain moisture good. I've never kept it in the round for that long, but left unbucked in length, it'll keep the oak whiff for a good long while.
C - Can of worms. We regularly have cover vs. uncover threads that go on and on. IMO, if your committed to 2 years, you're going to be fine either way.
D - Nope. Entirely different bouquet. Good earthy aroma. Some even fancy oak for meat smoking. I doubt there'd be much interest in oak-smoked meat if the end product was thew taste equivalent of oak whiff.