I bet I have twice the amount of red versus white oaks on my land... So I have more red I burn than white since I'm pretty much only taken down blow overs or standing dead. Red splits easier and has its own unique odor.. White has a little higher BTU content but the sap wood can get punky if you wait too long to get them cut, split and stacked. Northern red oak's sap wood can do the same as well, scarlet oak not as much. I'll take white oak any time over red, but I take everything anyway... This year I have some big chunky white oak to burn and I'm looking forward to it... Here's the pic of some white oak, 4 years seasoning now. Can't wait for those really cold nights to burn it. When I cut this red oak last year, you could smell it 30 feet away in the garage, smelled like free heat so I liked the smell.
I like either & can usually get it dry in two years, don't mind the smell of Red & like the smell of White. Splits good, Red especially, but heavy to handle green. Best plentiful btu's around here though.
I love both red and white. Especially free stuff. Maybe red is more favorable because of splitting ease. The last score I got of red was only cut for a week. It did smell a bit, but it smells like free heat to me. What really stinks is black locust that's about 4 months cut. That stack stunk for days....
Black locust definitely has a smell too! The red oak stink travels too! I have two cords at the far back corner of my half acre property. When it was fresh split, I could smell it across the street in my neighbors yard. It made for some unpleasant evenings in the hot tub too.
Red and white are excellent firewood if you dont mind the multi year wait for them to be ideally dry enough for peak btu's. Both are common around here, red more so than white. Both have their own distinct aromas. (I personally like the smell of both) Red can be smelled many yards away. My processing area near our house is 100' from the front door and fresh splits can sometimes be smelled from there if the wind is blowing in the right direction. The Pin oak can smell like manure, pungent yes, but i dont mind, Fresh split white oak smells like whiskey, its my personal favorite. Both are easy to hand split IME. Pics of six cords of mostly oak at my friends house. 2/3 white oak. No sparking at all and leave nice bed of coals. Trees can get to be massive if left to grow. Pic of large oak i bucked back in May from my "epic honey hole" post. There were larger oak logs there that i never got to. One was 44" In closing, i would take white over red, just a personal preference. At least half of my 40+ cords is oak.
Biggest oak I have processed was 40+"s in diameter. I won't do any more. People are like but you get 35 splits per round or whatever. And I say and I spent 2x the time I would to get those splits compared to me splitting say 14" diameter wood. Reason n being, is that you can't move it untill it's at least quartered. Takes a combination of noodeling, splitting and pry bars to maneuver it around. Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
My GF grew an indoor herb garden and it was included it the seeds. Both of us hate it (you either hate or or love it) and said it smelled like a stink bug! She gave the plant to her son who loves the stuff! I guess you could say the same about oak!
I go back and forth on bigger rounds. They make lots of splits fast, but i guess having to wrestle the sections in my PU deter me. If i can process on site a bit easier. Ill quarter/sixth big uns to load. Did that last two weeks ago and flipped it to a customer as is.
I cut my first ever load last week and didnt think it had much smell. I did sniff it too. Processed it right away too.
I brought a few fresh red splits in to check moisture because its from a grapple score thats been sitting for three years. My wife came home from grocery shopping with my son and as soon as he walked in he said Tito (german shepherd) pooped. Then she yelled at me cuz she knew what it was.
I’d be thrilled to have a chance at either one. I agree... cilantro tastes like soap. & I like the smell of a skunk. What does that say about me???
To me, an old farm boy, freshly split live red oak smells like corn silage. But the reality is it smells like HEAT
Almost everything I process is Red & White Oak. I don't see a lot of difference, white is slightly denser. I've been around so much, the smell grows on you.
I'm actually surprised at the comments about an unfavorable smell. I've never thought of it as offensive, lol. I will have to take more notice. Smells good to me. As for white or red, I tend to favor white oak.
I enjoy the smell of about any wood I split. Fresh walnut has a distinct smell, too. Sent from my LML212VL using Tapatalk
