COMPARISON CI WOOD PRESERVATIVES IN MISSISSIPPI POST

AGRICULTURE RQUivl

•COMPARISON CI WOOD PRESERVATIVES

IN MISSISSIPPI POST STUDY

(11962 Proems ;Report)'

fobruary 1962

No. 1757

,FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY

MADISON 5 WISCONSIN

IINITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FOREST SERVICE

In Cooperation with the University of Wisconsin

COMPARISON OF WOOD PRESERVATIVES

IN MISSISSIPPI POST STUDY

(1962 Progress Report)

by

J. OSCAR BLEW, Jr. , Technologistand

JOHN W. KULP, Technologist

Forest Products Laboratory, 1— Forest ServiceU.S. Department of Agriculture

Summary

Experimental untreated southern yellow pine posts installed from 1936 to1938 at the Harrison Experimental Forest, Saucier, Miss. , had an averagelife of 3.3 years. Untreated longleaf pine posts installed in 1949 had anaverage life of 2.3 years, while those treated with a No. 2 fuel oil and withWyoming residual petroleum oil have an estimated average life of 5 and8 years, respectively. Of southern yellow pine posts installed from 1936to 1941, those treated with borax-boric acid have all failed with an averagelife of 10.6 years and those treated at the groundline and top withOsmoplastic have all failed after an average life of 11.2 years. Poststreated with the following preservatives and installed from 1936 to 1941 havehad failures totaling 10 percent or less of the number installed and shouldlast 39 years or longer on an average: Pentachlorophenol, 3 percent and4.8 percent in crankcase oil?; copper sulfate and sodium arsenate appliedby double diffusion; and zinc meta arsenite. Posts in test in 1936 to 1941treated with other preservatives have an estimated average life of 8 to38 years.

-Maintained—Maintained at Madison, Wis. , in cooperation with the University ofWisconsin.

?Crankcase oils may contain chlorinated naphthalenes, which are reported tobe a contributing cause of "X-disease" (hyperkeratosis) in cattle. Theseoils are therefore not recommended for preservative treatment of woodwith which cattle may come in contact.

Report No. 1757 (Revised)

•Introduction

During late 1936 and early 1937, the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, incooperation with the Southern Forest Experiment Station and'the then existingBureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, started a service test at theHarrison Experimental Forest, Saucier, Miss. , on posts treated with24 wood preservatives. A report by Wirkal contained a description of thepreservatives and treatments used in the original installation of posts in aline approximately 8 miles long. This report also described the installationand presented the results of the test after 3 years of service. Additionalposts were added to this line during the years 1938 and 1941. A report byBlew± in 1947 described these additions and presented the condition of allposts in the 8-mile line after approximately 5-1/2 to 10 years of service.During April and May 1949 the study was expanded to include posts treatedwith 44 preservatives and untreated controls that were installed in a plot onthe Harrison Experimental Forest. Various commercial companiescooperated in this work by furnishing the preservatives and by contributingto the cost of making the treatments and of installing test posts. Annualprogress reports• issued since 1950 describe the condition of the posts in thetwo installations.

This progress report deals with the condition of the posts at the time of theDecember 1961 inspection, or after 21 to 25 years of service in the line,and after 12-1/2 years in the plot installation. The report also brieflydescribes the materials and treatments used and the procedure followed ininspecting the posts.

Posts

All of the posts used in this study were of round southern yellow pine thatconsisted mostly of sapwood. Those treated in 1941 with Osmoplastic and bydouble diffusion were cut and treated while green on the Harrison ExperimentalForest. All other posts were cut at McNeill, Miss., and were shipped to the

3 •_Mirka, R. M. Comparison of Preservatives in Mississippi Fence-PostStudy. Proceedings of the American Wood-Preservers' Association,1941, pp. 365-379.

-Blew, J. 0. Comparison of Preservatives in Mississippi Fence-Post StudyAfter 10 Years of Service. Proceedings of the American Wood-Preservers'Association, 1947, pp. 26-41.

-Blew, J. 0., and Kulp, John W. Comparison of Wood Preservatives inMississippi Post Study (1961 Progress Report). Forest ProductsLaboratory Report No. 1757, January 1961.

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Forest Products Laboratory for treatment. The posts to be treated withOsmosar were freshly cut and shipped green; the others were peeled,sprayed with stain-control chemical, and air dried before shipment. Theposts installed in the line from 1936 to 1941 were 7 feet in length and from2-1/2 to 7 inches in top diameter. Those installed in the plot during 1949were of longleaf pine 6 feet in length and from 2.8 to 5.3 inches in topdiameter. These posts were peeled, dipped in a stain-control chemical,and shipped to the Laboratory for air or kiln drying. Many of themrequired repeeling, before treatment, to remove inner bark. The differentdiameter sizes were distributed as uniformly as practicable to each of thetreatments used in the study.

Preservatives and Treatment

Tables 1 and 2 show the preservatives used. Table 1 includes 26 preserva-tives or treatments and also untreated control posts set in the line from1936 to 1941.

Forty-four preservatives or treatments and untreated control posts areincluded in table 2 for the posts set in the plot during 1949.

In the line installation were included four nonpressure treatments: Steepingwith mercuric chloride; full-length Osmose treatment of green posts withOsmosar; treatment at the groundline and at the immediate tops of theposts with Osmoplastic; and full-length double-diffusion treatment of greenposts with copper sulfate and sodium arsenate. The remaining treatmentsin the line installation and all treatments in the plot installation were bypressure impregnation. In the pressure treatments, the oils were appliedby the Rueping empty-cell process, and the waterborne preservatives wereapplied by the full-cell process.

Minimum, maximum, and average preservative retentions are shown intables 1 and 2. Borings taken from posts following each pressure treatmentshowed, for the most part, either complete or nearly complete penetrationof the sapwood. Exceptions were noted, however, in the posts pressure-treated for the 1936 installation with coal tar, with 10 percent of coal-tarcreosote and 90 percent of used crankcase oil, with lignite coal-tar creosote,with water-gas tar, and with No-D-K (hardwood-tar creosote). In thesetreatments, a high percentage of the posts bored showed penetrations of lessthan 60 percent of the sapwood depth. Borings taken from the posts treatedby steeping in mercuric chloride all showed poor penetration of thepreservative. Penetration measurements were not made on the posts treatedwith Osmosar, those treated by double diffusion, or those treated withOsmoplastic.

Report No. 1757 -3-

•Installation of Posts

The posts, at the start of the test, were set from late 1936 until February1937 in a line approximately 8 miles long on the Harrison ExperimentalForest, Saucier, Miss. The posts were grouped into 100 units, each ofwhich included 1 post of the different treatments selected at random, and,for the most part, 1 untreated control post. It was possible to install only65 untreated posts at the same time the treated posts were installed, andthe remaining 33 were set during November and December 1938. Theposition of the treated posts and of the untreated control post within eachunit was also randomized. During 1941, two additional treatments wereadded to this line, with 1 post from each treatment being installed in eachof the 100 units. The line installation was originally designed so that about70 percent of the posts of each treatment were set on the drier, well-drained sites of the area (pine hills or dry hardwood sites), 20 percent inmoist soil (pitcher-plant areas or any area with fluctuating water table), and10 percent in swamp or standing water.§- A careful check during severalpost inspections, which included both extremes of dry and wet weather,indicated that the segregation according to dry, damp, and wet sites variedslightly with the different treatments but was generally about 65 percent,18 percent, and 17 percent, respectively.

In the line, 100 posts were originally installed for each preservative ortreatment. The number of test posts has since been reduced for sometreatments by fire loss and pilferage, or by other removals not occasionedby decay or termite attack.

The posts in the more recent installation on the Harrison ExperimentalForest were set in a comparatively dry site during April and early May,1949 (fig. 1). Twenty-five posts were installed for each treatment, alongwith 25 untreated control posts. These posts were installed in a plot by therandomized block method, by which the plot was divided into 25 blocks, eachcontaining 1 post from each treatment and 1 untreated control post, selectedat random. The posts were set 3 feet apart in rows, and the rows were3 feet apart in the blocks.

-Throughout the report these sites will be referred to as "dry," "damp,"and "wet," although these terms are relative and apply only to theMississippi test area.

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• The soil in the general area of Saucier,fine sandy loam with a pH of 5.0 to 5.5.during 1949 the soil pH is 4.98 to 5.04.test area is 60 inches.

Miss., is reported to be a NorfolkIn the plot with the posts installedThe average annual rainfall in the

Results to Date

During the December 1961 inspection, as in the previous inspections, eachpost was given a moderate push by the inspector, under the force of whichit could usually be expected to break off if decay or termite attack hadprogressed to a critical point. If it broke off, the cause of the failure was

determined.

Conditions of Posts Installed from 1936 to 1941

The conditions of the posts installed from 1936 to 1941 are shown in table 1and are discussed, according to preservatives and treatments used, in the

following paragraphs.

Untreated control posts. --The 65 untreated control posts set from late 1936to February 1937 had an average life of 3.1 years, and the 33 installedduring November and December 1938 had an average life of 3.7 years. Theaverage life of all untreated posts in the line was 3.3 years. The untreatedposts installed in well-drained, comparatively dry soil had an average lifeof 2.6 years and failed mostly because of decay and termite attack. Thoseinstalled in moist soil and in swamps or standing water had an average lifeof 4 and 4.8 years, respectively, and failed mostly because of decay. Someof the posts set in water remained serviceable for more than 5 years andfailed mainly because of top decay. The untreated posts were removed as

follows:

Years after installation 1 2 3 4 5 6

Number (cumulative) removed 3 33 60 79 93 98

Acid copper chromate (Celcure). --Acid copper chromate is prepared fromcopper sulfate and sodium dichromate in an acid solution. Approximately22 percent of the posts treated with this preservative have been removed,mostly because of decay. The estimated average life of the 87 test posts is33 years. The 19 posts removed had an average retention of 0.90 pound percubic foot; the average retention for the posts installed was 0.92 pound percubic foot. Twenty-eight percent, 7 percent, and 12 percent of the posts setrespectively in dry, damp, and wet sites, have been removed. Removalsto date are as follows:

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•Years after installation 1 3 4 5 9 12 16 19 20 21 22 24Number (cumulative) removed 1 2 3 5 6 7 9 10 12 15 17 19

Beta-naphthol, 5 percent in organic solvents. --Ninety-seven percent of theposts treated with beta-naphthol solution have been removed. The estimatedaverage life of the posts is 14 years on the basis of the time when 60 percentwere removed. The average retention of preservative solution for the postsremoved was 6.2 pounds per cubic foot, the same as that for the 100 postsoriginally installed. Removals have been due principally to combined decayand termite attack. One hundred percent of the posts installed in dry anddamp sites, and 83 percent of those installed in wet sites have been removed.Removals to date are as follows:

Years after installation 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13Number (cumulative) removed 3 6 16 22 27 34 39 42 51 55

Years 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24Number 65 71 79 83 87 89 91 92 94 95

Borax-boric acid. --All posts treated with borax-boric acid have beenremoved after 20 years, and the average life of the 97 test posts is 10.6years. Forty-six percent of the posts failed because of combined decay andtermite attack, 36 percent because of termite attack, and 18 percent wereremoved because of decay alone. The 63 posts installed in dry areas had anaverage life of 9.8 years, while 17 posts in damp areas and 17 in wet areashad average lives of 11.0 years and 13.2 years, respectively.by years are as follows:

Removals


Years 15 16 17 18 19 20Number 87 90 91 93 94 97

Chromated zinc chloride. --Chromated zinc chloride contains not less than77.5 percent of zinc chloride and 17.5 percent of sodium dichromate. Fifty-two percent of the posts treated with this preservative have been removedbecause of decay or combined decay and termite attack. The estimatedaverage life of the posts in test is 26 years. The average retention ofpreservative in the posts removed was 0.84 pound per cubic foot, or slightlyless than that for the installation. Seventy-five percent of the posts installedin damp sites have been removed and 47 percent have been removed fromboth the dry and wet sites. Removals to date are as follows:

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Years 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24Number 30 32 35 37 39 43 44 49

Coal tar. --Thirty-six percent of the posts treated with coal tar have beenremoved because of decay or combined decay and termite attack. Theestimated average life of the posts is 29 years. The average retention ofcoal tar in the 34 posts removed was 5.8 pounds per cubic foot, as comparedwith an average of 6. 5 pounds for the posts installed. Of posts installed inthe dry, damp, and wet areas, 44 percent, 27 percent, and 12 percent,respectively, have been removed. Removals to date are as follows:


Years 20 21 22 23 24 25Number 16 19 28 30 33 34

Coal-tar creosote. --The coal-tar creosote used was of American Wood-Preservers' Association Standard 4 e-grade. Eighteen posts treated withthis preservative have failed mostly because of decay. These posts had anaverage preservative retention of 5.4 pounds per cubic foot, compared withan average of 6 pounds for the installation. The estimated average life ofthe posts is 34 years. Six posts were removed from damp sites, one froma wet site, and 11 from dry sites. Removals to date are as follows:

Years after installation 13 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Number (cumulative) removed 1 2 3 4 5 7 10 13 15 17 18

Coal-tar creosote 50 percent and used crankcase oil 50 percent. --Eleven poststreated with an average of 4.1 pounds per cubic foot of 50-50 solution ofcreosote and crankcase oil failed because of decay. On the basis of 12percent of the posts having failed, the average life of the 92 posts in test is38 years. Ten posts were removed from dry areas and one from a wet site.Removals to date are as follows:

Years after installation 12 17 19 20 24 25Number (cumulative) removed 1 5 6 7 10 11

Coal-tar creosote 10 percent and used crankcase oil 90 percent. --Eightypercent of the posts treated with a solution of 10 percent creosote and90 percent crankcase oil have failed, principally because of decay. Sixtypercent of the posts failed in 11 years, the estimated average life. The

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79 posts removed had an average solution retention of 5.8 poundsfoot, as compared with an average of 7.1 pounds for the original iOf all posts installed in dry, damp, and wet sites, 85 percent, 82and 59 percent respectively, have failed. Failures to date are as

per cubicnstallation.percent,follows:

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Years 14 15 16 17 18 21 22 24Number 66 67 70 72 73 74 78 79

Crankcase oil. --Of the posts treated with automobile crankcase drainings, 94percent have been removed, mostly because of decay. The estimated averagelife is 8 years since 60 percent failed at that time. The average retentionof oil in the removed posts was similar to that for the installation. All ofthe posts set in dry areas, 80 percent of those set in damp areas, and81 percent of those set in wet sites have been removed.are as follows:

Failures to date


Years 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24Number 68 73 75 77 80 82 84 86 87 88 89 90

Fluor chrome arsenate phenol (Tanalith). --Fluor chrome arsenate phenolcontains sodium chromate, sodium arsenate, sodium fluoride, anddinitrophenol. Forty-nine percent of the posts treated with this preservativehave been removed, mostly because of decay or combined decay andtermite attack. The estimated average life of the 95 posts in test is 27 years.The 47 posts removed had an average preservative retention of 0.33 poundper cubic foot or approximately the same as the average for the installation.Forty-eight percent, 59 percent, and 47 percent of the posts set on dry,damp, and wet sites, respectively, have been removed.are as follows:

Removals to date

Years after installation 7 8 9 12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 25Number (cumulative) removed 2 3 4 6 10 13 19 21 29 32 34 42 44 47

Lignite coal-tar creosote. --Forty-three percent of the posts treated withlignite coal-tar creosote have failed, principally because of decay orcombined decay and termite attack. The estimated average life of the 97posts in test is 28 years. The average retention of preservative for the42 posts removed was 3.0 pounds per cubic foot, or considerably less thanthat of 6.3 pounds for the posts installed. Forty-six percent of the posts

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installed in dry areas have been removed; 35 percent and 41 percent,respectively, have been removed from the damp and wet sites. Removalsto date are as follows:


Years 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24Number 23 26 28 30 32 36 38 40 42

Mercuric chloride. --Fifty-two percent of the posts treated by steeping inmercuric chloride have been removed, principally because of combineddecay and termite attack. The estimated average life for the 99 postsinstalled is 27 years. The preservative retention of the 51 posts removedwas 0.11 pound per cubic foot, or similar to the average retention for theinstallation. Fifty-eight percent of the posts installed in dry sites havebeen removed; 41 percent and 39 percent respectively, have been removedfrom the damp and wet sites. Removals to date are as follows:


Years 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Number 31 36 38 42 45 48 51

No-D-K (hardwood-tar creosote). --Seventy-one percent of the posts treatedwith No-D-K have been removed, mostly because of decay or combineddecay and termite attack. The estimated average life of the 100 posts intest is 21 years. Eighty-eight percent of the posts set in dry areas, 50 percentof those set in damp areas, and 32 percent of those set in wet areas havebeen removed. The average retention of preservative for the posts removedwas 6. 0 pounds per cubic foot, compared with 6. 6 pounds for the installation.Removals to date are as follows:


Years 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Number 33 36 37 48 54 55 58 59 62 67 68 69 71

Osmosar. --The Osmosar preservative was reported to be a mixture ofsodium fluoride, dinitrophenol, potassium dichromate, sodium arsenate,and gum arabic. Sixty percent of the posts have been removed to date,mostly because of decay or combined decay and termite attack. Theestimated average life of the 95 test posts is 25 years. Sixty-one percent

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of the posts set in dry sites, 63 percent of those set in damp sites, and53 percent of those set in wet sites have been removed.are as follows:

Removals to date


Years 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Number 33 35 40 44 49 50 54 57

P. D. A. (phenyldichlorarsine) 0.84 percent (by weight) in gas oil. --Seventy-six percent of the posts treated with P.D.A. in gas oil have been removed,because of decay and termite attack. The estimated average life of the94 posts in test is 21 years. The average retention of preservative solutionin the 71 removed posts was 5.7 pounds per cubic foot, or slightly less thanthe average retention for the installation. Of the posts installed in the dry,damp, and wet areas, 83 percent, 69 percent, and 50 percent respectively,have been removed. Removals to date are as follows:


Years 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25Number 30 36 42 47 51 56 58 66 70 71

Pentachlorophenol, 4.82 percent (by weight) in used crankcase oil. --Onepost treated with this preservative was removed from a dry area after17 years of service because of decay. This post was treated with 4.6 poundsof solution per cubic foot.

Pentachlorophenol, 3.02 percent (by weight) in used crankcase oil. --Of the86 posts treated with 3.02 percent of pentachlorophenol in used crankcase oil,6 have been removed from dry sites because of decay. The average retentionof preservative in these 6 posts was 3.9 pounds per cubic foot, which islower than that of 6.4 pounds for the posts installed. Removals to date areas follows:

Years after installation 8 13 19 24 25Number (cumulative) removed 1 2 3 4 6

Sodium dichromate. --Eighty-six percent of the posts treated with sodiumdichromate have been removed, for the most part because of termite attackor combined decay and termite attack. The average retention by theremoved posts was 0.90 pound per cubic foot, nearly the same as that forthe installation. The estimated average life of the 96 test posts is 18 years.

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• Eighty-three percent of the posts set on dry sites, 100 percent of those seton damp sites, and 78 percent of those set on wet sites have been removed.Removals to date are as follows:


Years 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25Number 50 55 61 64 68 71 76 80 83

Sodium chromate.--Eighty-four percent of the posts treated with sodiumchromate have been removed, principally because of termite attack orcombined decay and termite attack. The estimated average life of the 88posts in test is 16 years. For the 74 posts removed, the average retentionof sodium chromate was 0.97 pound per cubic foot, or slightly greater thanthat of 0.93 pound for the installation. Ninety-one percent of the posts setin dry areas, 82 percent of those set in damp areas, and 65 percent of thoseset in wet areas have been removed. Removals to date are as follows:


Year 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 24Number 49 51 59 62 64 65 66 71 74

Tetrachlorophenol, 2.9 percent (by weight) in used crankcase oil. --Twentypercent of the posts treated with 2.9 percent of tetrachlorophenol in usedcrankcase oil have failed because of decay. The estimated average life ofthe 92 posts in test is 34 years. The 18 posts removed had an averagesolution retention of 5.7 pounds per cubic foot; that for the installation was7.1 pounds. These removed posts constituted 28 percent of those installedin dry areas and 7 percent of those in damp sites. There have been nofailures in the wet sites. Removals to date are as follows:


Tetrachlorophenol, 4.83 percent (by weight) in used crankcase oil. --Fourteenpercent of the posts treated with 4.83 percent of tetrachlorophenol in usedcrankcase oil have failed in dry sites due mostly to decay. The estimatedaverage life of the 93 posts in test is 37 years. The posts removed had anaverage solution retention similar to that for the installation. Removals todate are as follows:

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•Years after installation 18 19 20 21 22 23 24Number (cumulative) removed 2 3 4 6 8 10 13

Water-gas tar. --Approximately 12 percent of the posts treated with water-gas tar have failed because of decay and combined decay and termite attack.The average life of the 93 test posts is therefore estimated to be 39 years.One post failed ill a damp site, two in a wet site, and 8 in dry sites. Theaverage retention of preservative in the 11 posts was 4.0 pounds per cubicfoot, compared with the average of 6.3 pounds per cubic foot for theinstallation. Removals to date are as follows:

Years after installation 14 -16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Number (cumulative) removed 1 2 4 6 7 8 9 10 11

Zinc chloride. --Fifty-three percent of the posts treated with zinc chloride,with an average retention of 0.98 pound per cubic foot, have been removedbecause of decay or combined decay and termite attack. The estimatedaverage life of the 96 posts in test is 26 years. Forty-six percent, 69 percent,and 65 percent, respectively, of the posts set in dry, damp, and wet areashave been removed. Removals to date are as follows:

Years after installation 5 8 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Number (cumulative) removed 1 2 3 9 15 18 23 25 32 34 38 39 45 51

Zinc meta arsenite. --Zinc meta arsenite is prepared from arsenious acid,zinc oxide, and acetic acid. Two posts treated with an average retentionof 0.40 pound of this preservative per cubic foot were removed from drysites. The first failed about 20 years and the second after 22 years service.

Copper sulfate and sodium arsenate applied by double diffusion. --Five poststreated with copper sulfate and sodium arsenate, applied by double diffusionhave failed because of decay or combined decay and termite attack afternearly 20 years. Three were located in dry sites and one each in dampand wet sites. Removals to date have been as follows:

Years after installation 12 16 18 20Number (cumulative) removed 1 2 4 5

Osmoplastic (groundline treatment). --The Osmoplastic used was reported tocontain sodium fluoride, dinitrophenol, potassium dichromate, refined coaltar, and coal-tar creosote. All of the posts treated with this preservativeat the groundline zone (a 15-inch band extending 3 inches above and 12 inchesbelow the groundline) and at the immediate tops have been removed afternearly 20 years of service. The average life is 11.2 years. Fifty-fivepercent of the posts failed because of combined decay and termite attack,


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32 percent because of decay, and 13 percent because of termite attack. Theaverage life of 63 posts located in dry sites is 10.0 years, of 18 posts indamp areas is 10.1 years, and of 18 posts in damp areas is 10.1 years, andof 18 posts in wet areas is 12.6 years. Removals by years were as follows:

Years after installation 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 20

Number (cumulative) removed 1 3 6 13 19 23 39 54 68 74 82 85 94 95 99

Condition of Posts Installed in 1949

General information on the composition of the preservatives used in thepressure treatment of the posts installed in 1949 is given in table 2. Thattable also shows the condition of the test posts at the December 1961inspection.

All of the untreated control posts failed after approximately 3-1/2 years ofservice. Their average life was 2.3 years. Failures were mostly becauseof combined decay and termite attack. Removals were as follows:

Years after installation 1-1/2 2-1/2 3-1/2

Number (cumulative) removed 13 20 25

Fifty-six treated posts failed because of decay and combined decay andtermite attack after approximately 12-1/2 years of service. The number(cumulative) removed by year and preservative is given in table 3. Theestimated average life for posts treated with the No. 2 fuel oil is 5 yearswhile that for the posts treated with Wyoming residual petroleum oil is8 years.

Summation of Results

A summary of information obtained during the 25 years since the beginningof this study follows:

(1) The untreated posts installed during 1937 and 1938 had an average lifeof 3.3 years. The untreated posts set in swamps failed mostly because ofdecay and lasted an average of 4.8 years. Those set in damp soil (outsideof swamps) also failed mostly because of decay, after an average life of 4.0years. Those set in well-drained, comparatively dry soil failed because ofcombined decay and termite attack after an average life of 2.6 years. Theuntreated control posts set in 1949 in a dry site had an average life of2.3 years.


(2) Two sets of treated posts have now been removed after 20 years of service.Those treated with an average of 0.92 pound of borax-boric acid (50-50) per

•cubic foot had an average life of 10.6 years and those treated with an averageof 0.34 pound of Osmoplastic (at the groundline and on the top end) had anaverage life of 11.2 years. In addition to these, and on the basis of removalsto date for posts installed from 1936 to 1941, those treated with the followingpreservatives and retentions are estimated to have an average life of 8 to21 years: Posts pressure treated with beta-naphthol in oil, 10 percent ofcoal-tar creosote and 90 percent of used crankcase oil, crankcase oil alone,No-D-K (hardwood-tar creosote), P.D. A. (phenyldichlorarsine), sodiumdichromate, and sodium chromate. Posts given the following treatments areestimated to have an average life of 25 to 39 years: Posts pressure treatedwith acid copper chromate (Celcure), chromated zinc chloride, coal tar,coal-tar creosote, 50 percent of coal-tar creosote and 50 percent of usedcrankcase oil, fluor chrome arsenate phenol (Tanalith), lignite coal-tarcreosote, tetrachlorophenol (approximately 3 percent and 5 percent) in usedcrankcase oil, water-gas tar, and zinc chloride; posts steeped in mercuricchloride; and posts treated full length with Osmosar. Posts pressuretreated with pentachlorophenol (approximately 5 percent and 3 percent) inused crankcase oil, and zinc meta arsenite, and those treated by the double-diffusion process with copper sulfate and sodium arsenate should last longerthan 39 years on an average, but have not yet shown a sufficiently highpercentage of removals to warrant an estimate on possible average life.

(3) The failures of untreated and treated posts to date, on the basis of postsinstalled under the three site conditions, have occurred earlier in the dryand damp areas than in the swamps.

(4) The posts installed during 1949, except for petroleum oil-treated controls,have not been in test long enough to indicate important differences in thepreservatives. Posts treated with No. 2 fuel oil and those treated with theWyoming residual oil are estimated to have an average life of 5 years and8 years respectively since 60 percent failed in that time.

Although some of the posts installed during 1936 and 1937 were pointedafter treatment to facilitate driving in wet or damp sites (this practice shouldnot be encouraged), few if any post failures can be charged to this factoralone. In most cases, the pointed part of the post was submerged in wateror water-soaked soil so that decay and termite attack at the pointed sectionwere not the controlling factors in its life. Furthermore, the posts were -mostly of sapwood, which was generally well penetrated by the preservative,and cutting of such treated wood was less serious than it would be with poorlypenetrated posts.

•Report No. 1757 -14-

• The results obtained in this particular test are not necessarily indicative ofthe performance that can be expected of the preservatives under other condi-tions of exposure. Furthermore, they should not be considered as indicatingthe service life to be expected from the preservatives applied to otherspecies or applied by other methods. Waterborne preservatives usuallyperform better under conditions not favorable to leaching than when used forthe treatment of wood installed in contact with the ground or water.

Some of the waterborne preservatives appear to be performing well in thistest, but the fact that others are performing less satisfactorily does notindicate that they will not provide adequate protection when used under drieror more favorable circumstances. Adequate retentions and penetrations arenecessary for a high degree of protection with any preservative, and itfollows that high retentions and heavy concentrations of preservative usuallyperform better than low retentions and low concentrations. For thepreservatives included in tables 1 and 2, Federal Specification TT-W-571grecommends the following minimum retentions for lumber and posts:

Preservative Minimum retention (Pounds per cubic foot)Lumber and structural timber

In contact with Not in contact Poststhe ground or with the ground

fresh water or water

Coal-tar creosote 10.0 6.0 6.0

Creosote petroleum solution(50-50) 12.0 7.0 7.0

Pentachlorophenol, 5 percentin petroleum 10.0 6.0 6.0

Copper naphthenate, 0.75 per-cent copper equivalent inpetroleum 10.0 6.0 6.0

Acid copper chromate (Celcure) . 1.00* .50 1.00

Ammoniacal copper arsenite(Chemonite) .50* .30 .50

Chromated zinc arsenate(Boliden salt A) 1.00* .50 1.00

Chromated zinc chloride 1.00* .75 1.00

Copperized chromated zincchloride 1.00* .75 1.00

Fluor chrome arsenate phenol(Tanalith and Osmosar) . 50* .35 .50

*Occasional exposure to water or constant exposure to the ground in areas ofmoderate rainfall.

Report No. 1757 -15- 2. -21

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Figure 1. -- Test posts installed during 1949 in a plot at the HarrisonExperimental Forest, Saucier, Miss.

Z M 110 295

•

•

SUBJECT LISTS OF PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY int

FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY

The following are obtainable free on request from the Director, Forest ProductsLaboratory, Madison 5, Wisconsin:

•

List of publications onBox and Crate Constructionand Packaging Data

List of publications onChemistry of Wood andDerived Products

List of publications onFungus Defects in ForestProducts and Decay in Trees

List of publications onGlue, Glued Productsand Veneer

List of publications onGrowth, Structure, andIdentification of Wood

List of publications onMechanical Properties andStructural Uses of Woodand Wood Products

Partial list of publicationsfor Architects, Builders,Engineers, and RetailLumbermen

List of publications onFire Protection

List of publications onLogging, Milling, andUtilization of TimberProducts

List of publications onPulp and Paper

List of publications onSeasoning of Wood

List of publications onStructural Sandwich, PlasticLaminates, and Wood-BaseAircraft Components

List of publications onWood Finishing

List of publications onWood Preservation

Partial list of publicationsfor Furniture Manufacturers,Woodworkers and Teachers ofWoodshop Practice

Note: Since Forest Products Laboratory publications are so varied in subjectno single list is issued. Instead a list is made up for each Laboratorydivision. Twice a year, December 31 and June 30, a list is made upshowing new reports for the previous six months. This is the only itemsent regularly to the Laboratory's mailing list. Anyone who has askedfor and received the proper subject lists and who has had his name placedon the mailing list can keep up to date on Forest Products Laboratorypublications. Each subject list carries descriptions of all other sub-ject lists.

•

COMPARISON CI WOOD PRESERVATIVES IN MISSISSIPPI POST

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