# Power Poles for fire wood?



## n6crv (Feb 25, 2011)

Hello, can you see any reason that OLD power poles should not be used for burning? We had some old poles come down in a Ice storm and the Power Co. said we can have them.. They are really old and on the outside bleached white from all the years in the sun. The inside still looks like new and smell like Ceder very heavy wood? Nice tight growth rings and a nice orange color. I know that they used to coat them with creosote but if they were it has long been washed away. 
Thanks for taking the time to answer. 
Don


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## basswidow (Feb 25, 2011)

Aren't they treated with something?  Aresnic?  

That would be my only concern - is the chemical treating,  even a no-no in an outdoor wood burner.


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## shawneyboy (Feb 25, 2011)

I do believe they are heavily treated !  I would not burn them.

Shawn


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## n6crv (Feb 25, 2011)

basswidow said:
			
		

> Aren't they treated with something?  Aresnic?
> 
> That would be my only concern - is the chemical treating,  even a no-no in an outdoor wood burner.



I'm not sure what they put in them. I wounder if there is really anyway to find out? It makes some really nice logs.


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## WhitePine (Feb 25, 2011)

Absolutely do not burn them. Either creosote or arsenic based preservatives *will* be present. Just because the surface appears to be bleached does not mean the preservatives are not still in the wood to some degree.

Burning them will create a health hazard for you and your neighbors. In most places, it is also highly illegal.


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## n6crv (Feb 25, 2011)

THANKS for the reply's.  I will not burn them!
Don


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## shawneyboy (Feb 25, 2011)

Lay them down and stack your cord wood on them....  The rotting process will be minimal for a very long time.

Shawn


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## lukem (Feb 25, 2011)

Old poles are treated with coal creosote. Newer ones used to be arsenic but not sure if that is still in practice.

I remember years ago when my dad accidentally threw a 2" by 10" pole cookie (creosote preserved) in the stove in the shop.  Wow.  Bring a change of shorts if you try it.


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## wvwoodchuck (Feb 25, 2011)

Maybe they can be recycled and used to build a wood shed.


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## firefighterjake (Feb 25, 2011)

As others have said . . . most likely they have been treated with preservatives . . . was wvwoodchuck suggested they would make a humdinger of a frame for a woodshed . . . or if you have a local snowmobile or ATV club you can see if they might want to use them as bridging materials.


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## kettensÃ¤ge (Feb 25, 2011)

You will also find that they will destroy the average chain loop very quickly, unless you use a carbide tipped chain.


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## oldspark (Feb 25, 2011)

Build a stairway to heaven.


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## billb3 (Feb 25, 2011)

they have been treated with a number of things over the years
don't know what they currently use.

I have a pole halfway to my house in the middle of the front yard - I looked up the stamp code once and I remember the first two letters were the type of tree and the next were the preservatives used and then something else, but it was too long ago.
It is over 50 years old and got a new treatment in the buried part - drilled holes for new chemicals and a screw cap to renew and tar paper around the bottom to  help stop them leaching out into the lawn I guess. Supposedly went around looking for poles that are rotting in the ground and treating those that weren't ready to blow over.


I'd use them for construction of a pole barn or something but I wouldn't burn them without knowing for sure whether  doing so was 'safe'.


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 25, 2011)

Used for piling wood on they will last for many, many moons. They may even outlast you! Or, as others have suggested, they make great poles for building a wood shed.


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## rustynut (Feb 26, 2011)

might make good legs for an elevated deer blind ?
rn


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## gzecc (Feb 26, 2011)

Sound like great building materials.


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## n6crv (Feb 26, 2011)

Trouble is the wood is cut into 18" pieces.


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## drizler (Feb 26, 2011)

N6CRV said:
			
		

> Trouble is the wood is cut into 18" pieces.



That really does suck now doesn't it???????????????


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## burleymike (Feb 27, 2011)

Perhaps you can find a lab that will be able to test a sample of the wood.  Some of the really old poles were either treated with coal tar which you will be able to smell or they were not treated at all in some cases.  Usually with CCA you will be able to see the green tint in the wood from the copper.  The only way to know for sure is to get it tested.


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## n6crv (Feb 27, 2011)

They are from some of the first power poles that were installed in town. Was told they are just Ceder and not treated. The cuts sure smell fresh and no green color. Very close growth rings and very heavy wood. The Power Co workers were the ones that said Ceder wood. We had a Ice storm here in Southern Mi. and lost a few poles in the City. We are a Old city and pop of 1,300 is all. There are signs on bugs eating the bottom and that was what made them easy to fall. It would be nice to know for sure what they are. I think I will just stack them and try to find out more. Just to much (nice) wood to dump.


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## WhitePine (Feb 27, 2011)

N6CRV said:
			
		

> They are from some of the first power poles that were installed in town. Was told they are just Ceder and not treated. The cuts sure smell fresh and no green color.



Older poles were treated with creosote, which is a brownish black when fresh. It fades to a light brown or gray over time. There is no green cast. The green is from newer copper-arsenic based preservatives that were used when creosote was outlawed for most uses. In other words, just because you don't see any green does not mean the poles weren't treated. 

Cedar poles that weren't treated with any preservative? Maybe, but I wouldn't necessarily trust the utility company workers to have all the facts at hand.


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## Hardrockmaple (Feb 27, 2011)

In Canada the first round of poles were Cedar, non treated *these are old*, the second generation were Cedar treated with creosote, third generation Cedar treated with environmentally friendly green stuff. Split one, burn it outside in some sort of controlled environment (burn barrel ?), evaluate the smoke, smell, density, color etc. The ones on our private road were replaced last year and some were non treated, my neighbor burnt them in his stove and outside for weinie roasts, skating party bonfires etc. Again, in Canada, if they are creosote treated it is the responsibility of the utility company to dispose of them in a safe manner, they cannot leave them laying on the side of the road to rot away.

Hope this helps.


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## burleymike (Feb 28, 2011)

I have some old railroad ties for fence posts, I found a date nail in one from 1935.  When I cut a notch in that post for a brace the creosote (coal tar) smelled just as fresh as the day it was treated not to mention you could see the tar in the wood.  If they are cedar dating back to the early 1900s they are probably not treated, you would smell the creosote where they were cut.

As previously suggested you can burn some in a barrel outside to determine if they contain creosote.  If there is any you will know by the thick black smoke like tires burning.  However if they contain CCA the ash will have arsenic in it so I would spend the $20 or so to have a lab test it or contact the power company, they should know about their wood.


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## twitch (Feb 28, 2011)

My brother works for the phone company as a lineman and he gave me several pieces of an old cedar pole.  It was not treated and made great kindling.  I trust his judgement, he's been doing that type of work for a long time.  If it wasn't him that told me, I'm not sure if I would have taken them.


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## basswidow (Feb 28, 2011)

N6CRV said:
			
		

> They are from some of the first power poles that were installed in town. Was told they are just Ceder and not treated. The cuts sure smell fresh and no green color. Very close growth rings and very heavy wood. The Power Co workers were the ones that said Ceder wood. We had a Ice storm here in Southern Mi. and lost a few poles in the City. We are a Old city and pop of 1,300 is all. There are signs on bugs eating the bottom and that was what made them easy to fall. It would be nice to know for sure what they are. I think I will just stack them and try to find out more. Just to much (nice) wood to dump.



I guess you could split a few and try them maybe in an outside fire pit.  If no noxious fumes - maybe they could be used?


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## woodmeister (Feb 28, 2011)

28 year lineman here, those old cedars are great for kindling but those and some old chesnuts are the only untreated poles I have come across the rest are great for pole barns or in my case wood sheds.


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## Thistle (Feb 28, 2011)

In my backyard in May 2007 Qwest replaced the old Western Red Cedar powerpole at south edge.They bored a hole about 2 ft west of old one,set the new post & transferred all the cables & lines to it.Meanwhile the old post stayed in the ground until May 2009.They finally came out one afternoon I happened to be home.Pole was near a huge 100 yr+ old Mulberry at the corner of 3 properties,they cut off the top 10ft in 2 pieces where it was pretty weathered & chewed up,to clear some lower branches.I split those top sections for kindling & garden stakes.The remainder was pulled from the hole.I asked them if I could keep everything to save them hauling it off.It was 27 ft long.Removed all the hardware,nuts,bolts etc,thick iron rungs used for climbing (they just screwed out with a few turns.I cut off 2 10' sections,split them into rails & posts for fencing.The remaining 7' of the post was creosote treated & was buried in the ground.It was 12" at small end,15" at large.I ended up milling a 3" x 12" plank out of the center,1 garden bench from the thickest slab & a few smaller pieces from the rest.On the top of post next to the hardware was an aluminum 'tag' stapled to the post,stamped Aug.1928,so the post was a few yrs newer than this house.Those cedar benches etc will probably still be around after this house & I are history.


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## n6crv (Feb 28, 2011)

woodmeister said:
			
		

> 28 year lineman here, those old cedars are great for kindling but those and some old chesnuts are the only untreated poles I have come across the rest are great for pole barns or in my case wood sheds.



Thanks for all the info. That is what I was told they are. They broke right at the ground level. I would of tried to use them to stack wood on, but they were all cut up for me. I did try a small chunk and it burnt fine and coaled really well. Could not smell anything other the Cedar. Again Thanks for the help!!
Don


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