Re-using plastics.

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Re-using plastics.
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Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 14 8:07 pm Post subject:
I can see a lot of possibilities for it, if we can find a way to pick it up, but heatproof gloves are generally too thick to do that kind of work...

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 14 3:35 pm Post subject:
Old silage sheeting is being used to make lots of things such as garden benches, but is also being turned into fencing stakes, as opposed to wooden ones. I will ask how next time I see them at a show, I think they are warmed and then exuded under great pressure through a hole to determine the shape and then, in the stakes' case, are cut to length and pointed.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46169
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 14 4:50 pm Post subject:
fence posts is a splendid idea. rot proof,nailable ,a decent mass and fairly stiff i cant think what is not to like about that

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 14 5:22 pm Post subject:
I have seen benches made of recycled plastic, and over time they tend to bend. I could see fence posts doing that and ending up banana shaped. They may work; I have never seen any, but certainly benches are nothing like as good as wooden ones.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4610
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 1:29 pm Post subject:

Like Grego mentions,farm plastics turned into garden furniture,fence posts and land drainage pipes,
In-fact a farmer further up the mountain from where i used to live diversified into the farm plastic business 25yrs back,Birch Farm Plastics,they collect from the farm,they have a depot in Ammanford where the plastics are baled up and transported to Scotland,unless things have changed over the years,where they are turned into other products.
I have seen the garden furniture,in-fact they are quite robust,and only last week i saw some of the fence posts,3 x 3`s and look a good solid product,must look into the pricing as replacing the tanalised rubbish on the market is getting expensive and time consuming.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 2:43 pm Post subject:
How long do we expect a timber fence post to last, realistically? The ones closest to the house here are in damp conditions, were out in new, 14 years ago, and, really, are towards the end of their life. Strikes me as a reasonable time. I assume the plastic ones last a while. The alternative to reuse is what, burying? Burning? Not using plastic sheeting for silage? None of these seem ideal.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 2:53 pm Post subject:
Can the bent plastic posts not simply be reheated and reformed?

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 3:04 pm Post subject:
Unlikely. They'll be in a field, with posts or wire and brambles attached and three feet deep in mud, four miles from the yard.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 3:13 pm Post subject:

Nick wrote:

Unlikely. They'll be in a field, with posts or wire and brambles attached and three feet deep in mud, four miles from the yard.

I assume the buried bit will not have bent, so all we need do is come up with a portable post plasticiser...
I suppose you'll be telling me that ragging the engine out of a microwave oven for it would be a bad idea...

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4610
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 6:53 pm Post subject:

Realistically,i doubt very much these plastic posts will bend,their as heavy as a wooden post.

14 yrs in the ground is`nt to bad Nick,there are some on this farm that were here before i arrived 28yrs back.

The last 10yrs i have done a lot of fencing here with the Tir Gofal scheme,laying hedges and double fencing,being i was getting paid a good percentage of the cost,i went for the supposed best on the market,Permaposts-tanalised and kiln dried,when they arrived,holding a post and banging it on the concrete yard,it ringed in ones hand,with the feeling of hardness,
Within 3 yrs of being in the ground i had to change 9 strainers,they had rotted off at ground level and loads of intermediate posts the same,
Next lot i had was imported Eastern European timber which has lasted fairly well.
Here in Lampeter we have the Danny Williams company tanalising fencing timber,the lorries are carting timber 12mths of the year,
One cannot tanalise timber properly when full of sap.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 14 9:05 pm Post subject:

Ty Gwyn wrote:

Realistically,i doubt very much these plastic posts will bend,they're as heavy as a wooden post.

You can bend almost anything with the right tools.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 14 8:11 am Post subject:

It's not just the sap Ty Gwyn. The current tantalising is pretty well just copper; in the past it had arsenic and chrome in it too, and worked a lot better but of course those are more toxic. We have had some fence posts that fail in about 3 years. We now try to use sweet chestnut when we can. Luckily a lot of that is grown round our way. That has a life of up to 25 years with no preservative.

Still not sure about the plastic posts. Would be interested to hear from anyone that has used them about their long term reliability.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 14 10:52 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

It's not just the sap Ty Gwyn. The current tantalising is pretty well just copper; in the past it had arsenic and chrome in it too, and worked a lot better but of course those are more toxic.

True, but the toxins are pretty well contained in the wood, so that is only a problem if you are going to eat it.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 14 3:42 pm Post subject:
There are snags with the fence posts; if the extruding machine is not operating at sufficient temp. to get some sort of physical bonding before they leave the machine they fall apart-spotted one at a road corner where the roadsign had broken, but suspect that is rare with good operators.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 14 8:50 am Post subject:
Hairyloon, the sap stops the treatment penetrating, so can lead to poor preservation, not that the treatment comes out. Some must of course, and it was always recommended to wear gloves while handling tanallised wood, but it is dangerous for the operators treating the wood unless very strict precautions are taken.

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