Fence Savers

[Onoff]

Fence savers...the things that wrap around timber fence posts. I need to knock up two posts and a gate in a fence line. More a privacy than security thing. (I have to get the oil truck to drive into my neighbour's place to get to my tank. It used to be one plot before being divided. One day I'll move the tank!)

I asked in Selco the other day and got blank looks. Are they just a stuck on bit of plastic / felt? Do they extend all the way into the ground? Are they impregnated with any preservative?

I've seen on YouTube someone rollering torch on felt onto the post. I do have some of this aluminised solar shield type stuff:

https://flic.kr/p/2oofNc8

 

[Wozzaaah]

Post savers.
They are plastic sleeves which have the inside coated in a tar-like substance. You slip them over the end of the post and heat them up to simultaneously shrink them and melt the tar.
They are designed to protect the part of the post at ground level that always rots, most goes into the ground and a few inches stays above ground level.
They have a ground level line on them.

 

[gaz1]

if you move the tank you loose your access that you have gained over the years

id keep the access and the deliverys there if its out of your way

if your putting in loads of fence posts just as easy to buy the block of tar have two pots melt the tar in chunks pour over the tar over the new post and catch with the other container

alcan flash comes loose with the sun and i expect the same with the wrap as well

 

[8ob]

All sounds like a bit of a faff, why not extend the fuel tank charge/fill pipe to a more suitable location

Bob

 

[Onoff]

Post savers.
They are plastic sleeves which have the inside coated in a tar-like substance. You slip them over the end of the post and heat them up to simultaneously shrink them and melt the tar.
They are designed to protect the part of the post at ground level that always rots, most goes into the ground and a few inches stays above ground level.
They have a ground level line on them.

Cheers

All sounds like a bit of a faff, why not extend the fuel tank charge/fill pipe to a more suitable location

Bob

Because it's uphill dead centre of a half acre plot. Oil pipe to the house flows downhill. Using the neighbour's drive gets the tanker closer. We get on so never really been an issue.

 

[Kram]

Other options are creosote, that is said to work well. Note you dont see many rotten telegraph poles - it works.

Other is to part burn/char the posts. Nothing eats charred wood.

Or concrete posts with postmix.

 

[gaz1]

Other options are creosote, that is said to work well. Note you dont see many rotten telegraph poles - it works.

Other is to part burn/char the posts. Nothing eats charred wood.

Or concrete posts with postmix.

old way was chard wood and dipped in tar

 

[Ali]

I don’t think they’re much use to be honest, I’ve two posts to replace that I used these on around 8 years ago. I’d hoped for longer, if anything it looks like the bitumen seal broke and they just held water.

 

[Onoff]

creosote

Yep, I've just used some genuine stuff on a couple of 3"X3"s. They're pinus radiata that was used to pack imported machinery from NZ about 25 years ago. I used to bring tonnes home. A few woodworm holes but it'll do.

 

[bricol]

Or concrete posts with postmix.

Not a lot eats concrete! Although hitting it hard with a car, as some twonk did with one of mine, doesn't help them much. But while heavy, and maybe a pain to do right, no worry about having to replace in the normal scheme of things.

 

[Onoff]

I presume, if I used aluminised, torch on bitumen felt I need it to finish 6" above ground?

 

[Kram]

They say its only 2" below ground that rots, however I have removed many posts and the above ground wood is degraded too, its just much slower, well below the strength of a new post.

If you have cresote why are you looking at lesser options?

 

[Onoff]

If you have cresote why are you looking at lesser options?

I'm using creosote and wrapping in the aluminised bitumen stuff.

3D printed caps too!

 

[Porkypine]

I used to stand fence posts in a barrel of old engine oil until required, which worked well, obviously we had access to a load of old oil and using it on outdoor wood was a good way of ''disposing '' of it

 

[Islander71]

A former neighbour said when he was working abroad, they used to cut open 45 gallon drums horizontally, put the fence posts in then fill with creosote, then light a fire under the drum. As the temperature went up it drove off any moisture in the wood, then as it cooled in the creosote it absorbed it deeply into the posts.

 

[Migmac]

A former neighbour said when he was working abroad, they used to cut open 45 gallon drums horizontally, put the fence posts in then fill with creosote, then light a fire under the drum. As the temperature went up it drove off any moisture in the wood, then as it cooled in the creosote it absorbed it deeply into the posts.

We used to get treated posts from the mill, first thing we did was put the pointed end into a 45 gallon drum full of creosote. It made a huge difference to the life span of a post, never heated it though.

 

[Turbo]

We recently put up a d rail fence and I painted the bottom few inches of the posts in bitumen paint so that the painted bit was 6" above ground level.
Don't paint the end of the post, that will allow water to drain out. I also painted the top end of the post as a rain cap.

The guy that erected the fence does it as his full time job and was impressed by my work. I asked him about the post savers and he said they are an expensive waste of time. He said the paint will work better and a lot cheaper.

 

[Porkypine]

I'd always think something that soaked in would be better than just a paint..

 

[premmington]

You can still buy cold tar creosote... About £65 for 25ltrs or a 205ltr drum for about £350.

I have always soaked the bottom of fence posts in either a mix of waste oil and derv/heating oil - or a mix of waste oil and creosote.

I have never tried firing a post to get a charcoal finish.

I got a few low fence posts sq ones in the garden I made some caps for out of lead flashing off cuts. Tin snips and a mallet job. Scalloped edges - look pretty but posts still decaying at the point just above ground level.

 

[brightspark]

i can get drums of it for 30 quid . got 3 drums of it while they can still get it at that price