# Pressure Stabilization ?????????



## sprucegum (May 16, 2013)

Just a dumb question would pressure work instead of vacuum to force stabilizer into wood? It seems like it would be easier to build since most of us own a air compressor. Treated lumber is called pressure treated and they are able to process yellow pine timbers. :dunno:


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## healeydays (May 16, 2013)

I know some of the professional stabilizers (Jon or Curtis) can speak better on this subject , but bottom line is vacuum will suck the air out of the pores of the wood and when the vacuum is released, the resin is sucked into the pores. In a pressure situation, you are basically compressing the air into the pores and trying to push the resin on top of it. Both methods would work, the vacuum would just do a more thorough job.

Mike B

Extra comments...

Got this from a document on how they pressure treat wood, so it starts as a vacuum then goes to pressure.

"In a typical full-cell treatment, the process begins with an initial vacuum to evacuate air from the cylinder. Later, the 
tank is filled with the preservative chemical and the pressure is increased to 140-150 psi for several hours"


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## Kevin (May 16, 2013)

It's _somewhat_ like pushing a rope versus pulling it. You _can_ push the rope a little, but only so far before it crumples against itself in a pile. You can pull all of the rope easily. When you pull a vacuum in a chamber, yes you are "removing air" as you'll hear said, but more importantly you are removing the ambient pressure inside the chamber AND from inside the wood itself. All of that airspace between the wood cells, no longer has all that pressure which makes it difficult to get resin in so thoroughly. The resin cannot be held back with wild horses once the vacuum is pulled. When you try to force it in with pressure, the pressure climbs not just in the wood but also in the chamber equally, so instead of trying to rush in and fill all voids (as with a vacuum situation) the resin is pushed in all directions equally and won't completely fill the voids in the wood.It will take the path of least resistance (like electricity) and will not fill "hard to get into" voids in the wood. 

A pressure system would work but the amount of pressure it would take to even approach the effectiveness of a vacuum would be extremely high pressures, and still could not compare with a vacuum system. This is my understanding and opinion, not an official experts opinion so take it for what it's worth.


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## healeydays (May 16, 2013)

Wow Kevin, you sound like an engineer 

or you stayed at a holiday inn last night...


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## sprucegum (May 16, 2013)

Kevin said:


> It's _somewhat_ like pushing a rope versus pulling it. You _can_ push the rope a little, but only so far before it crumples against itself in a pile. You can pull all of the rope easily. When you pull a vacuum in a chamber, yes you are "removing air" as you'll hear said, but more importantly you are removing the ambient pressure inside the chamber AND from inside the wood itself. All of that airspace between the wood cells, no longer has all that pressure which makes it difficult to get resin in so thoroughly. The resin cannot be held back with wild horses once the vacuum is pulled. When you try to force it in with pressure, the pressure climbs not just in the wood but also in the chamber equally, so instead of trying to rush in and fill all voids (as with a vacuum situation) the resin is pushed in all directions equally and won't completely fill the voids in the wood.It will take the path of least resistance (like electricity) and will not fill "hard to get into" voids in the wood.
> 
> A pressure system would work but the amount of pressure it would take to even approach the effectiveness of a vacuum would be extremely high pressures, and still could not compare with a vacuum system. This is my understanding and opinion, not an official experts opinion so take it for what it's worth.


 Thanks I guess that answers my question. Reminds me of a story, a guy was walking down a county road dragging a chain a farmer asked "why you draggin that chain" to which the man replied " you ever try to push one?":rotflmao3:


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