Timber protection claims should be based on evidence.
That’s why we have invested in two accelerated testing facilities at our Gloucestershire headquarters, giving us greater capacity to investigate how timber and timber protection systems perform under challenging conditions.
Our new facilities include an accelerated fungal testing cellar and accelerated weather testing chamber. These allow us to investigate the performance of treated and untreated timber, barrier protection products and other protection systems under controlled conditions.
Putting timber protection to the test
Our Polesaver testing programme is designed to help us understand what happens to timber when it is exposed to the conditions that can ultimately lead to deterioration and decay.
We will be investigating performance against:
Moisture
Fungal Decay
Weathering & environmental conditions
Our testing is conducted against recognised test methods, including ENV 807 and AWPA E14/22.
Fungal Cellar Test
The fungal cellar can accommodate up to 40 samples at a time. Accelerated testing means that one year in the fungal cellar is equivalent to approximately five years in the field, allowing up to a decade’s worth of data to be gathered in just two years.
Key Features
State of the art fungal cellar testing
Temperature maintained at 27°C (80.6°F)
High wood and soil moisture content of 90% to accelerate the decay process
Calibrated data logging for real-time monitoring and recording
Periodic reporting to assess relative decay and water uptake
TOUR THE Fungal Cellar TEST FACILITY
Weather Testing Chamber
The weather testing chamber is designed to evaluate decay prevention and fire protection barrier systems. It can accommodate up to nine samples at a time.
Accelerated testing means that 500 hours in the chamber is equivalent to approximately one year in the field, allowing a year’s worth of data to be gathered in less than one month.
Key Features
Chamber temperature maintained at 50 °C (122°F)
High-intensity UVA exposure
Calibrated data logging for real-time monitoring and recording
Weekly reporting to assess performance
Testing in accordance with ASTM D4329 weathering testing standard
TOUR THE Weather TESTing Chamber
Why accelerated testing matters
Field trials remain an important part of understanding timber performance and Polesaver continues to have products in ongoing independent field trials. However, long-term field testing can take many years, while access to accelerated testing facilities is becoming increasingly difficult.
Our new facilities allow us to investigate products and protection systems more quickly in controlled conditions. That means we can gather useful evidence sooner, support product development and respond more rapidly to changing customer and market requirements.
Testing beyond our own products
We don't believe testing should only be about proving our own products.
The timber industry can be difficult to navigate. Product claims, guarantees and stated service lives can vary considerably, and it isn't always easy to understand what sits behind them.
That's why we are opening our new testing capability to other products.
We can test a range of timber protection products, barrier systems and other solutions alongside our own, helping manufacturers and customers gain a better understanding of how different systems perform.
Want to see our test results or Have a product you want to test?
Polesaver manufactures and supplies guaranteed products that are proven to maximise utility pole lifespan. With millions of Rot-Guard sleeves supplied to date, our patented ground-line barrier sleeves have been proven in volume use since 1994.
*Polesaver uses long term independent test data on the effectiveness of barrier sleeves and fire protection fabric to reach all the conclusions given on this website (test data available on request). Based on this data, Polesaver believes longer life, maintenance of strength over time, improved safety and reliability, extended inspection periods and reduced maintenance requirements are reasonable claims. This is subject to Polesaver products being correctly applied as per our instructions and used on correctly preservative treated (for long term in-ground use - Use Class 4 or higher) wooden utility poles that are free of decay at the time of sleeve application. The claims made, real or implied are not warranties. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate and satisfy themselves that the performance of the product meets their specific safety, reliability, extended inspection, repair and any other performance or cost-benefit criteria before using Polesaver sleeves or fire protection fabric.
