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Treatability of five Appalachian wood species with creosote and timbor®

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The work described in this paper culminates an investigation into the treatability of five Appalachian hardwood species. Previous papers have described work using the waterborne preservatives CCA-C and ACQ-B. This paper details the results of pressure treatment with creosote and Timbor®. Six-inch long nominal two-by-four samples of red maple, yellow-poplar, red oak, hickory, and beech were end-sealed and vacuum/pressure treated. Two borate treatments were tested: wrapped in plastic or not wrapped. Measurements were taken of minimum and maximum penetration, percentage of cross-sectional area penetrated, and retention of preservative as determined by gross uptake of solution. Statistical analysis indicated that the duration of pressure periods employed in this and previously described work had no consistent positive effect on treatment. Sample moisture content significantly impacted creosote treatment. While a lower moisture content resulted in greater retentions of the borate preservative it had no effect on the other treatability parameters. Rather, the samples wrapped in plastic for six weeks, at either moisture content, had greater treatability results compared to the unwrapped samples indicating that while a higher moisture content limits the uptake of the preservative, the wrapping in plastic enhances the diffusion of the borate at either moisture content.

Keywords

Timbor®, creosote, hardwoods, wood preservatives, penetration, moisture content

Citation

Slahor, Jeffrey J.; Hassler, Curt C.; DeGroot, Rodney C.; Gardner, Douglas J. 2000. Treatability of five Appalachian wood species with creosote and timbor®. Proceedings of the Ninety-Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Wood-Preservers'' Association ... Scottsdale, Arizona, May 17-19, 1998. Volume 94. Granbury, Tex. : American Wood-Preservers'' Association, 2000: Pages 178-187
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/8873