Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-08-09
DAILY HINTS ON
FARM TOPICS
Creos0te as . Preventive for Fence
POetS.
By K. A. Kirkpatrick

Posts.
Creosote Is a greenish brown oil
slightly heavier than water. 1t burns
readily when heated to q very high
temperature. Like most coal tar
products. 1t has a strong odor dis
agreeable to some people. There
are several grades Of creosote on the
market and 1t Is very hard to tell
which 10 the best grade unless the
chemical or distilation analysis Is
made.
The Non-pressure Process for Posts.
The non-pressure of open tank
process should be uses in treating
fence posts. It IL one of the least
expensives treatments where creo-
sote il used. The plant consists OF
either n or two tanks. II 1t Ia to
be used from year to year, and d
large number OF posts, say $4,000
are to be treated. the tank must bt
large. Other wise, q small portable
plant which chm be taken from farm
to farm Is much more suitable for
the work. Such an outfit complete
would consist OF a tank az feet in
diameter and az feet deep and q
rectangular tank AXIS feet, two
large iron hooks for handling the
wet posts and a thermometer capa.
Die Of registering 800 degrees FIR
II steam Is available for heating pur'
poses from q traction engine, q
creamery boiler, or a mill boiler Of
any kind, the tank should be made
of IA gauge galvanized iron and re-
inforced with Y inch angle iron. A
gridiron coil of IN inch pipe is made
for the inside Of the bottom Of the
round tank and a single pipe of the
same size is run around the inside
Of the bottom Of the large tank. The
pipes are connected with the boiler
and zach fitted with two globe valves
one where the pipe enters the tank
the other where 1t leaves 1t. If the
round tank can be set In the ground
. foot, 1t will greatly facilitate the
handling of the posts. Some kind
Of an apparatus must be made for
the large rectangular tank that will
keep the posts under the oil. Wood
is lighter than oil and q large por-
Aton Of the posts will float II not
held down.
II no steam IL available. the same
kind of tanks may be used, but they
must be Of black iron and must be
90 arranged that q fire can be built
under them. This will necessitatS
building a brick fireplace on which
the tanks can be raised or digEinA
out a fire box in the ground under
them. In either case some provision
must be made to support the botj
toms Of the tanks. Two old railroad
rails will do we'll for this purposeI
1t is advisable to set the tanks On a
hill side II possible to avoid Nftinn
the posts 50 high. Where only . small
number Of posts are treated just
n tank should be used. In .thia
case, use only the round tank. IL
Will be much cheaper, and more adj
visable for several farmers in some
club OF association to own ono large
plant @ the work can be done much
cheaper. more effective. and. much
more quickly.
Green timber cannot 30 treated
because II IL full Of water and the oil
cannot 30 IN. until The water has
come out Hence, The timber must
A-thoeoukhk leaeeaslT III. bark;
The lOuAd Lahn 40 uarL4y AA-~4 u.
pil and heated until the oil has reach1
ID . temperature Of PIP degrees FIR.
or the same temperature ~ boiling
water. and kept there during the
process OF treating. Whom the posts
are heated in this way. the air In
the cells expands and part Of 1t 10
driven out. The length Of time for
leaving the posts in the hot oil var
les from 80 minutes to 3 hours, &C.
cording to the species and the condi-
ton of the timber in relation to
seasoning.
The posts are then removed to the
rectangular tank in which the oil
Ia maintained at a temperature Of
40 degrees FIR. The lower temper
AZURE in this tank causes the air re-
naming in the cells to contract and
the partial vacuum thus formed Is
nlled with oil. This causes the oil
to be drawn into the post. With
this treatment q penetration of Y to
n or more inches cal be obtained.
When the round tank alone is used,
the posts r treated in the same
manner, with the exception of the
cold oil treatment. The posts are
allowed to stay in the cylindrical
tank until the oil has cooled down
to the temperature of about 100 de-
grees. FIR. Only the butt ends of
the posts al be treated In q cylin-
drical tank, unless both ends Of the
posts are dipped. The simplest form
Of treatment Is a single cylindrical
tank equipped with a 4 foot U pipe
L inches in diameter. The III"
pipe should extend out about 4 feet
from the tank and should be con-
nected neal the bottom of the tank
and one foot from the top. In heat
Ing this kind OF tank, the ire Is
built under the outer end Of the ~"
tube. This tank a be made Of IA
gaugue galvanized iron. The entire
outfit should not cost more than
$15 100. ..
The following species Of wood for
posts are recommended for treat
nent: Cottonwood, poplar, ash, elm.
oak. maple, and willow. A method
Of treating posts that Is not very
expensive Is Just dipping the butt end
of the post in hot oil for a few min,
utes or applying two coat Of hot