With a potential ban on the use of creosote in the UK, several UK Power Companies and The UK National Grid, commissioned an extended, independent decay and associated strength testing from 2017 on a range of creosote alternatives.
The new test report published by Freedom, part of NG Bailey and a provider of technical engineering and maintenance services, shows that preservative-treated samples all suffered loss of strength after decay testing, whilst the preservative-treated samples protected with Polesaver sleeves did not lose strength. This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of Polesaver Total Ground-line Barrier Sleeves.
The study had been commissioned to examine the best Creosote alternatives for wood post-preservation in light of the Creosote ban coming into effect in Europe.
Approved for funding by Ofgem under the Network Innovation Allowance Scheme, the test is an extended, accelerated, fungal decay test which generally has good correlation with real life performance.
In the study, three commercially available wood preservative options are compared. All were tested with & without, partial and total barrier sleeves:
- Creosote
- Tanasote (Copper in oil)
- RVP (Copper in oil formulation)
The results of the test showed that treating the stakes with wood preservative and applying a Polesaver total ground line barrier sleeve prevented loss of strength over time.
The results of The APPEAL test report have recently been published on the UK Energy Network Association [ENA] website. Download the PDF here: 2023 – APPEAL POLESAVER report
Summary of Key Data
In this independent, accelerated test, preservative-treated samples were compared with preservative-treated samples fitted with both partial & total ground line barrier sleeves and untreated control samples.
After 48 months the samples were subjected to mechanical break testing to establish the modulus of rupture (strength) of the samples. Most utilities allow for a maximum loss of strength of up to 50% when sizing poles with poles normally being replaced at this point.
The table below shows the comparison of the strength of preservative-treated wood after 48 weeks of accelerated decay testing.
| Preservative Treatment | Strength (MOR) after 48 weeks Preservative treated only | Strength (MOR) after 48 weeks Preservative plus Polesaver sleeve |
| Creosote | 84% | 115% |
| RVP | 82% | 100% |
| TS | 76% | 99% |
