Worst Smelling Wood

[djones]

Without seeing the wood I'm thinking Poplar, black inside the bark, dark middle after the ants get in there and rut away at it, smells mighty rank when you split it, I've even seen some awfully large larve come out of it, almost 1 1/2" long and very smelly. For the New York area I stand by Poplar. Pics please.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Pictures

View attachment 270845
I let my wife smell it, she gagged. This stuff is rancid. What is it???:msp_confused::confused2::msp_confused:

 

[AIM]

Dead elm.
At least for the first 15-20 minutes then the stench seems to go away and it smells just fine.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I don't think this stuffs stink went away in 15 days. Its not as strong but still there.

 

[djones]

Matt. look at the bark, it's Poplar. Got plenty of it here on the farm, want some ??

 

[MechanicMatt]

Matt. look at the bark, it's Poplar. Got plenty of it here on the farm, want some ??

Great, I just waisted my time hauling and splitting junk. Oh well, I hope the smell goes away by next year. Or Im gonna have one heck of a bonfire outside. Will the smell go away eventually? I guess I can mix that junk wood in with some good hard wood, but if it always is gonna smell.......

 

[djones]

Once it dries it doesn't smell bad at all, it does normaly have a lot of water in it, I've seen a stream of water come out of blocks when I split them, just last month I was splitting some Poplar and it looked just like I hit a gusher, it must have sprayed 4 to 5 ft when the splitter started into it. When I split Poplar the chickens come around because I always turn up large amounts of carpenter ants in the center of the bigger blocks, 1000's of ants at a time and the chickens go crazy chasing the ants around the wood pile, unfortunately I also get them up my pants legs and they bite now and then, when wifey helps she gets all squeamish about it and stops helping. If you have a lot of Poplar you can mill the logs for planking, it's sometimes used for trailer planking because it turns real hard when dried. It's still light weight compared to real hardwood and it will burn, I use it mostly early in the season just to get rid of it. Good luck with the smell for now, just don't bring it into the house to burn just yet. Make sure you split it all up now because it will turn punky if you let it sit till next season without splitting it.

 

[beerbelly]

View attachment 270845
I let my wife smell it, she gagged. This stuff is rancid. What is it???:msp_confused::confused2::msp_confused:

Looks like poplar to me...but what do I know? I eat cabbage & love it.....talk about stink!

 

[tooold]

I'm just finishing up burning some hybrid poplar I cut. That stuff stank when I first split and stacked it but wasn't bad once it dried out. Then when you burn it, it smells like burning old tennis shoes filled with puke. Now that the weather has went cold, it is nice to start burning the oak.

 

[cheeves]

Talking about green wood, not seasoned. My buddy had a lot of trees come down in the last storm. He even went out to TSC and bought a 460Rancher so he could cut it up for me. I was skeptical cause he has a lot of pines, but he assured me there is wood there that took a lot longer to get through than the pines. I show up and load up. Not sure what the one kind is but WHEW, does it STINK when split. Im TALKING HOLD YOUR NOSE AND STAND UP WIND. The middle is a bit rotten, which might cause some fermentation Im thinking, but man does this stuff reek. Im talking like dog barf. Its awfully wet too, water pours out when the maul is sunk into it. So I dunno, what the deal is. Whats the worst smelling you guys have ever smelled?:msp_confused:

Piss oak and locust bark!! Catalpa ain't nice either!!

 

[TreeTangler]

Another vote for poplar. As much as everybody seems to dislike it, it is one of my favorites to burn. It's easy to cut and split, seasons quick and well, and burns hot. Granted I have to fill the stove more, but I have zero creosote problem. When it gets real cold, I'll use some denser hardwoods at night.

As for the smell, I'm pretty biased. I've cut a large amount of what you guys say is stinky wood. I love the smell of all wood, especially when green. Takes me back to my days in the woods. Ahhhh, zero degrees, fresh pine, and burnt diesel. I'm strange though, I also like the smell of basements and gasoline.

 

[Fifelaker]

Matt. look at the bark, it's Poplar. Got plenty of it here on the farm, want some ??

:agree2:

Yeppers that be poplar. The stink will fade in time. We call it gopher wood. Throw in a chunk and gopher another. Let it season and use it during warmer weather as it burns fast and hot.

 

[Fred Wright]

Yep, red oak has a distinctive pew. I like it, it smells like free winter heating to me.

Had a stack of black gum rounds, cut green in the yard this fall. It turned black on the ends. That was a wall of stink, smelled like horse apples.

 

[Bushmans]

Yep looks like poplar to me too. It's pretty much all we burn at deer camp. The woods are full of it and you can burn it a bit green (campfires). Burns fast and hot. Only problem we have is at deer camp we get a lot of the pulpy stuff and it spreads ash over the whole camp. We keep the camper tarped for protection.
This is a pile of poplar and beech we cut during the 2012 season.

View attachment 270913

 

[Fifelaker]

Bushmans about where is your camp located? Looks like I could be close. Oh and I have used that same kindling machine, they do work well.

 

[Bushmans]

Bushmans about where is your camp located? Looks like I could be close. Oh and I have used that same kindling machine, they do work well.

Little town called Comins. Just south of Atlanta on 33 or North of Mio.
The torch is nice when you get in from hunting and its dark and cold. Need heat fast!

 

[MechanicMatt]

I always thought poplar was too soft to burn? You guys burn it? I should just mix it with the hard wood? or burn it in the warmer months, closer to spring/fall. I don't understand what my buddy was thinking when he said this wood took longer to get through than the pine, poplar to me is hero wood - makes your saw look like a hero how fast it goes through it.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Poplar, "popple" locally up here, is butter soft cutting. Technically it's a hardwood, except in your state, which won't even let birch be called a hardwood for firewood purposes (stupid I know, I love birch for firewood).

It's been said, but it burns hot and fast. Good to mix with the super dense stuff like white oak or ironwood, gets the fire going fast and the good stuff keeps it going all night.

Poplar is probably the most common bundled campfire wood I see around here.

 

[stihl sawing]

Red oak smells like extra money in the bank to me.:msp_thumbsup:

 

[IthacaMan]

I always thought poplar was too soft to burn? You guys burn it? I should just mix it with the hard wood? or burn it in the warmer months, closer to spring/fall. I don't understand what my buddy was thinking when he said this wood took longer to get through than the pine, poplar to me is hero wood - makes your saw look like a hero how fast it goes through it.

Im burning some poplar now.I mix when I load the stove,poplar,white oak,and cherry is what is in this part of the stack.:cool2: