Advantages of Steam Conditioning
The steam conditioning process stops decay and removes moisture so the preservative will penetrate to the heartwood. Benefits include poles that are easier to climb, a consistently drier surface, less brittleness in the wood and a 50-plus year service life. In utilizing this proven process for almost 100 years, we have never had an early failure complaint.
Unsurpassed pole performance for:
• Treatability – During the vacuum drying portion of the steam conditioning
process, water boiling out of the wood creates pathways for the preservative to
easily penetrate the wood resulting in no penetration issues.
• Climbability – None of the poles become case hardened during the process
which means that the surface of the pole is easy to penetrate for the preservative as well as climbing gaffs.
• Flexibility - The soft pliable surface of the steam conditioned pole results in the wood maintaining the flexibility associated with the Southern Yellow Pine tree that it is produced from.
• Durability – The steaming process avoids case-hardened and brittle surfaces.
This makes the pole more resistant to failures due to sudden impacts.
• Most Proven - No advanced or accelerated drying system has a longer history of proven performance than the steam conditioning process. Kiln-drying for oil-borne preservatives didn’t become popular until after CCA entered the market in the 1990’s.
• Dependability - The characteristics of steam make it THE ideal means for
heating. The steam transfers heat by condensing on surfaces, which lowers the
pressure where it is condensing; this attracts more steam to the cooler areas. This self-correcting trait of steam is unmatched by any other heating media and leads to a very consistent conditioning and treatment of the pole from top to bottom and from small poles to large poles.
• Eco-friendly – The bleed free surface of the finished product as well as very low air emissions during the conditioning process makes our steam conditioned pole very climate-friendly.
• Energy Efficient – The natural characteristic of steam result in nearly all of the energy being transferred to the wood. The only drying method more efficient than steam conditioning is air drying.