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Thread: Keeping wood free of powder post beetles

  1. #76
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    New Hill, NC
    Posts
    2,568
    Quote Originally Posted by marty shultz View Post
    Well, the temp in phoenix yesterday was 115f. I touched the side of my black truck bed and it was hot (140f at 8:00 am)! I decided to keep the wood in the back of my truck, separate it a bit so air could get to the surfaces reasonably well and cover the bed with clear plastic.

    The temp outside is 120f today. An IR thermometer gun shows the outside of the plastic is 143f. When I stick the gun under the plastic the temp ranges from 178f to 200f.

    The wood ranges in thickness from 1.75" to 2.0" and its core temp was approx 105f when I put it in the truck. The temp inside the bed should stay close to 180 for around 6 hours. Do you think that is long enough to kill the beetles?

    thanks

    Attachment 362437
    Yes, 6 hours at 180 should do it.

  2. #77
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    lufkin tx
    Posts
    2,054
    Years ago I had a beautiful Magnavox steroe 8 years old start dribbling sawdust--guess what.

  3. #78
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    New Hill, NC
    Posts
    2,568
    Quote Originally Posted by marty shultz View Post
    Resurrecting the thread again.

    I cut and milled a walnut tree in AZ 3.5 years ago. The 9/4" wood was air dried for 16 months when I discovered the dust from some type of beetle (powderpost?) I did some research, purchased bora-care and applied it as directed. I was under the impression that the beetles would leave within a year and never return again. I milled some of the wood two weeks ago. The sap wood has significant damage and the beetles continue to make dust.

    I called the technical rep who makes the bora-care. The rep told me there isn't any fool proof way to make the wood beetle free. I believe he said the eggs could be in the wood for 5 years before they hatch and start the cycle up again.

    Not sure what to do now. Someone suggested putting the wood in the attic. The outside temp in phoenix next week is 118 degrees in the shade. My attic will probably be 170 or so. I could put some wood up there for a several days.
    The technical rep is wrong; the "foolproof" method to sterilize lumber is with heat. Properly done It will kill live insects, larvae and the eggs.

    you need to heat the lumber until every bit of it reaches 133f. A hot attic in Arizona should do the trick. Stack and sticker it and put some fans on it to force the hot air across the faces of the boards. Place a temperature sensor with a tell tale indicator by the discharge side of the lowest board.

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