Okanagan Pellet Odor

[schmeg]

What you smell is the White Spruce that they use in the spruce/pine blend. If you google the slang "cat spruce"
it will come up with a wiki definition of cat spruce as White Spuce which is widely available from west to east coast of Canada and Northern U.S.
It got its slang "Cat Spruce" because the young immature needles on the tree secrete a sap that has a distinct odor that resembles cat urine.
The tree is a very full looking tree, so it makes a great candidate for a Christmas tree (oops! Holiday tree for those P.C.ers) until you get inside.
That smell will fill the dwelling with a similar smell as Okies. Some people don't seem to mind it. Some think I'm daffed because they have never heard of
Cat Spruce. I'm surprised someone else hasn't heard of that term.

 

[Doocrew]

They can't smell any worse than the Appling County.

 

[Excell]

That,s probably the dead bugs that are killing those trees . Some of our saw mills up here you can't get within a half mile of them before you can't stand the smell .
It probably stays in the saw dust .Until it is burnt .

 

[staplebox]

I like the smell - definitely don't smell bad. Open bags smell fine and 3 tons in the garage smell good too.

 

[Havlat24]

That,s probably the dead bugs that are killing those trees . Some of our saw mills up here you can't get within a half mile of them before you can't stand the smell .
It probably stays in the saw dust .Until it is burnt .

I wasnt aware of the mountain pine beetle was in manitoba.... actually it has just gotten into Alberta...

 

[23westwood]

I was waiting for someone else to comment about this. I thought I was the only one that noticed the stink because of all the positive comments about these.

I have 4 tones of Okanagans. I started burning about a month ago and I agree that the pellets do burn hot with little ash. The odor problem doesn't seem to with the fresh unburned pellets in the bag. The odor problem comes when burning.
The first day I had my stove burning the whole day while I was at work, I came in the house and it had the smell like someone threw up in the house. I don't know what cat spruce smell like but is it similar to puke? I couldn't figure it out what it was because I never had this smell last year from the cheap Greenway pellets that I burned.
This year I went with Oakanagan's because of the high recommendations on this site. The Okanagan odor problem is noticible when you are out of your house for a couple of hours while the stove is burning and come back inside. You do seem to get used to the smell and don't notice it anymore after about 20 minutes but I can imagine what people are thinking when they first come into the house
Just to make sure I wasn't crazy, I picked up 10 bags of Barefoot pellets and burned the 10 bags in a row with no odor at all.

I also have 2 neighbors and 2 relatives that purchased Okanagans on my recommendation and all have noticed the smell. We all like the heat and low ash but the smell is a bit much and these will probably not be considered for next years order.
I know there is a lot of joking about this with BTU and his marketing department but when my Okanagans are gone I will be switching to Barefoot or Lignetics.

 

[Lousyweather]

mine smell like fresh lasagna

 

[QuadraBurner]

I haven't noticed any dead animal smells from mine, nor has my wife. Like other have said, if she noticed it I would have heard about it! Maybe some animal actually died in a batch of pellets and it affected just that batch. Just a thought... If that's the case I would be curious to hear how they burn compared to the non-dead animal pellets. Maybe they are on to something!

 

[jtakeman]

I haven't noticed any dead animal smells from mine, nor has my wife. Like other have said, if she noticed it I would have heard about it! Maybe some animal actually died in a batch of pellets and it affected just that batch. Just a thought... If that's the case I would be curious to hear how they burn compared to the non-dead animal pellets. Maybe they are on to something!

Ok...busted...this is how they get rid of the dead beavers in Canada...it also comes in salmon, moose and bear scents...they only bring out the Xmas tree pine smell the for holiday season........ :roll:

Animal fat = Higher BTU values?

 

[23westwood]

Keep joking BTU.

I already know of 16 tons of Okanagans that won't be ordered again next year. I know that's a small amount but when you hear something negative about a product you are selling it would be nice to hear that the company is looking into it.
My only advise to people considering these pellets is to buy a few bags, let it run 24 - 72 hours in your stove to see if you notice a vomit smelling odor.
Maybe this is related to a bad batch sold in the MA area because that is where most of the other odor posts came from.

 

[rottiman]

Keep joking BTU.

I already know of 16 tons of Okanagans that won't be ordered again next year. I know that's a small amount but when you hear something negative about a product you are selling it would be nice to hear that the company is looking into it.
My only advise to people considering these pellets is to buy a few bags, let it run 24 - 72 hours in your stove to see if you notice a vomit smelling odor.
Maybe this is related to a bad batch sold in the MA area because that is where most of the other odor posts came from.

Glad I was smart enough not to pay $6.99 a bag for them up here...................

 

[HEMI]

i still can't seem to understand how someone would be able to smell the pellets when burning, wouldn't the stove have a leak if this was happening?

 

[slls]

What you smell is the White Spruce that they use in the spruce/pine blend. If you google the slang "cat spruce"
it will come up with a wiki definition of cat spruce as White Spuce which is widely available from west to east coast of Canada and Northern U.S.
It got its slang "Cat Spruce" because the young immature needles on the tree secrete a sap that has a distinct odor that resembles cat urine.
The tree is a very full looking tree, so it makes a great candidate for a Christmas tree (oops! Holiday tree for those P.C.ers) until you get inside.
That smell will fill the dwelling with a similar smell as Okies. Some people don't seem to mind it. Some think I'm daffed because they have never heard of
Cat Spruce. I'm surprised someone else hasn't heard of that term.

I have heard of cat spruce before, my late father-in-law told me about cat spruce.

 

[Lousyweather]

They are speaking of the odor of the raw pellet itself....most likely not the smoke, etc. You would smell it when the product is poured into the bin. Its not just okanagan's, but many brands can have odd odors......I dont really care what they smell like.....I burn them for their heat, not how they smell.....not to downplay it, but, I dont buy them for how they taste either, nor how they feel in my shoes, nor how pretty the bag looks....

 

[jtakeman]

They are speaking of the odor of the raw pellet itself....most likely not the smoke, etc. You would smell it when the product is poured into the bin. Its not just okanagan's, but many brands can have odd odors......I dont really care what they smell like.....I burn them for their heat, not how they smell.....not to downplay it, but, I dont buy them for how they taste either, nor how they feel in my shoes, nor how pretty the bag looks....

I agree, Lignetics have a funny smell to them at times from the lignin they use as a natural binder(very strong in some batches). And the Inferno's had a bad chemical smell I thought. I had some pellets that had gotten damp and they had a musty smell to them. Not quite like vomit but pungent. After I filled the hopper I dumped some fresh ones on top to hid the bad smelling ones.

 

[geek]

burning my 2nd bag of Okanagan (first time ever) and no bad odor smell at all.

..

 

[CanadaClinker]

i still can't seem to understand how someone would be able to smell the pellets when burning, wouldn't the stove have a leak if this was happening?

...... I agree with Hemi...... I smell nothing at all in the house all the time the stove is 'burning'...... maybe only a hint of smoke for 30 sec. at startup...... I put a 'orange' potpori in the pellet 'chest' to freshen it up a bit too ....... (I guess I could buy one of those 'tree' air freshners if I needed too for the chest)........... cc :lol:

 

[Excell]

i still can't seem to understand how someone would be able to smell the pellets when burning, wouldn't the stove have a leak if this was happening?

Some people store their pellets in the house i think they are talking about before they are in the stove. I noticed mine have a slight odor as well .

 

[countk]

i still can't seem to understand how someone would be able to smell the pellets when burning, wouldn't the stove have a leak if this was happening?

...... I agree with Hemi...... I smell nothing at all in the house all the time the stove is 'burning'...... maybe only a hint of smoke for 30 sec. at startup...... I put a 'orange' potpori in the pellet 'chest' to freshen it up a bit too ....... (I guess I could buy one of those 'tree' air freshners if I needed too for the chest)........... cc :lol:

Totally agree with both of you! I detect a smell when the flames first begin, because that should be the only smoke you see, if any.
Love the smell of Okies and most softwoods! Burning Ligs now and they smell okay.

 

[staplebox]

I don't want to repeat myself but....

I've got 3 tons of these O pellets in my one car garage and it smells fine in there. Just a hint of a pine/wood smell which is fine.
I usually have 1/2 an open bag or so near the stove and that smells fine too.
I don't get any pellet or wood burning smell while running the stove. MAYBE a brief whiff of burnt wood smell at start up but thats it.

You shouldn't be able to smell anything when the stove is running if your exhaust is set up properly. If you smell something like a dead animal you may want to check you OAK or exhaust pipes to make sure you don't have an actual dead animal in there. Maybe something crawled into the hole you cut in the house or into the stove itself?

I can't see how 100% compressed wood could smell like anything bad. I have 2+ cords of black locust (notoriously bad smelling wood) in my yard and recently moved a weeks supply into the basement - and even that doesn't smell bad after drying.

 

[CanadaClinker]

i still can't seem to understand how someone would be able to smell the pellets when burning, wouldn't the stove have a leak if this was happening?

Some people store their pellets in the house i think they are talking about before they are in the stove. I noticed mine have a slight odor as well .

......Excell.......he said on page 2........

"I have 4 tones of Okanagans. I started burning about a month ago and I agree that the pellets do burn hot with little ash. The odor problem doesn’t seem to with the fresh unburned pellets in the bag. The odor problem comes when burning."

..... this gets back to ....... there shouldn't be any smell from the exhaust coming into the home ....even if it did smell bad...... only the neighbours should complain........ cc :lol:

 

[Havlat24]

Keep joking BTU.

I already know of 16 tons of Okanagans that won't be ordered again next year. I know that's a small amount but when you hear something negative about a product you are selling it would be nice to hear that the company is looking into it.
My only advise to people considering these pellets is to buy a few bags, let it run 24 - 72 hours in your stove to see if you notice a vomit smelling odor.
Maybe this is related to a bad batch sold in the MA area because that is where most of the other odor posts came from.

23westwood...I'm not trying to offend you or anything, just having some fun. When I visited the mill this summer, all I saw being used for raw fiber was the planner mill shavings that were so blonde in color, all curled up and smelled so good you swore you were in the middle of a pristine forest. There were no smells of dead animals or dead anything for that matter. The mill has been getting their fiber from only two sources, both sawmills about 10 miles away from the plant for over 10 years and have produced several 100's of thousands of tons of product over those years. There is NOTHING added to the pellets, they are 100% wood.

When I got out of school in the summer's I worked in a western cedar mill and loved the smell of the fresh cut wood. My future wife on the other hand, couldn't stand it.

It could very well be that the mill did get into some timber that is this "cat spruce" that is mentioned here. There is just no way for us to be able to trace that back and if this was the case and you did get some of that ...then I am truly sorry...but there is no way to fix something like that since ALL pellet mills are dealing with waste material or raw fiber that is only good for pulp or pellet use. The vast majority of people that use our pellets seem to be extremely happy with the smell, how they burn, how little ash is left over and will buy it again year after year....others may not..

I guess this is something like perfume or Men's aftershave. Personally the smell of musk turns my stomach, but some men and especially ladies find it very pleasant...Thank goodness we have choices in this country and if you find our pellets not to your liking, you certainly have at this point many others to choose from. I don't like to lose any clients, but we also realize that we can't please 100% of the population 100% of the time. You have probably heard me say on here many times, to try a few bags of the product before you commit to several tons on ANY pellet, ours included before shelling out $800+ for the season.

We feel we provide one of the very best pellet products on the market that is available in the NE area today and many seem to agree. Sorry to lose you .......

Thats a little bit much to stomach. I work in mills, and the smells coming from wood day to day are not always pleasant and anything from walking through a pristine forest.

Its possible that Balsam Fir/Alpine Fir was included in the raw material. These species have a disgusting odor like the one desribed here.

 

[hossthehermit]

They are speaking of the odor of the raw pellet itself....most likely not the smoke, etc. You would smell it when the product is poured into the bin. Its not just okanagan's, but many brands can have odd odors......I dont really care what they smell like.....I burn them for their heat, not how they smell.....not to downplay it, but, I dont buy them for how they taste either, nor how they feel in my shoes, nor how pretty the bag looks....

Bought 3 ton of Maine's Choice this year 'cuz the Old Gray Mare thought the bags were cute. "Oh, look, Honey, it looks like us"

 

[Sinbad]

i still can't seem to understand how someone would be able to smell the pellets when burning, wouldn't the stove have a leak if this was happening?

Some stoves hoppers heat up the pellets before they go through the agurer and cause a smell. It is not the actual burn.

 

[trogers]

Good Morning,
Just wondering if any of you are having a problem with a severe permiating odor coming from Okanagan pelletts purchased this year? This is the first year that I have used them. Looking for the source, I had my main heating system gone over with a fine tooth comb, looked for a possible dead animal and the source came down to the pellets. The pellet stove is my secondary source for heat. I used Dry Creek for years and never had this odor before.

I'm betting there is an actual dead animal somewhere in the house!