# Tim-Bor treated wood safe to burn?



## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I've gotten several logs and treated them with Tim-Bor professional and after milling these up I'm going to have quite a bit of slab wood that I typically burn in my fire pit. I'm curious as to whether or not it's still safe to do so with treated wood as I normally would with untreated wood?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

NO!
Bill


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

I don't think that there would be any problem, but you might be in for a bit of a surprise. Tim-Bor is just disodium octaborate in a water soluble powder form. You can read the precautions and material safety data sheet here:

http://nisuscorp.com/images/uploads/documents-specimen-labels/label_sds_timbor.pdf

It sounds like the main concerns are from inhaling the actual powder and even then the acute toxicity is low. I am certain that someone before you has had this exact question. I would recommend contacting the manufacturer for the answer. Here are some standard flame test colors.

The surprise will come from the bright green color the boron will impart to the flames. You might like it or perhaps not. Here are some standard flame test colors.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I found and was reading the PDF at the same time you were typing. The primary concern is ingestion which I'm not too worried about and the secondary being inhalation which is what I'm most wanting to avoid. Given that it's basically borax and the melting temperature is 743°C that really shouldn't pose too much of a risk, the key word being shouldn't. I'm certain that structures have burned before that have been treated with this and it seems infinitesimally unlikely this would result in the release of anything more toxic than any other wooden structure fire, I really want to be certain before taking any unnecessary risk. I've forwarded this question to the folks at Nisus corp. to see what insight they can offer, I'll post the results after they get back to me.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

Were you wearing a respirator while in the process of milling ?


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

Please let us know their response. Tim-Bor is Boraxo hand soap minus the fatty acids that add the detergent action. That product has been rubbed all over bodies and added to laundry loads for decades. Great stuff for cleaning really grimy hands since the particles wouldn't readily dissolve and offered some abrasive action as well.

Would I intentionally sit right downwind of your fire pit with Tim-Bor treated wood burning? NO. I would not sit directly downwind of it no matter what you were burning.

Companies have sold materials to add to the fireplace to color the flames for years. You can Google things like "fireplace color cones" and get a ton of recipes for do-it-yourself materials. For the green color most use boraxo soap. I did this myself a zillion years ago to see the green color.

Added following Jimbo4's comment that appeared after I posted. I had meant to add that anyone concerned about the potential problems of burning Tim-Bor treated wood should be far more concerned about respiratory protection when they are working with it in the shop. Let's see…... exposure from an outdoor fire pit of from fine particulates scattered throughout your shop and home.

Tim-Bor treated wood should not be confused with "pressure-treated lumber" that may have been treated with any number of really nasty materials. I do not believe that there is any issue and it will be interesting to see what the manufacturer says (especially since they have their legal department telling them to cover their butt).

I will volunteer for a test if I am ever in your neck of the woods. You provide the fire pit and wood and I will bring the beer.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I wore a respirator and stayed predominantly upwind while spraying then showered after. I have not yet milled any of the treated logs but I plan on wearing a respirator when I do.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Good luck.
Bll


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> Good luck.
> Bll
> 
> - Bill White


Bill: You seem to be adamantly fixed in your opinion about this. I would be very grateful to learn what information you have that leads you to believe that the OP's question should raise some major red flags. Can you provide anything that would suggest that this is a real health concern? Not just a hunch, but some reliable documentation? I can't find any. I would really appreciate learning something new so I can avoid problems in the future.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Nobody should ever burn any "treated" wood of any sort. It's all toxic. : http://web.utk.edu/~mtaylo29/pages/Don%27t%20Burn%20Treated%20Wood.htm


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

> Good luck.
> Bll
> 
> - Bill White


It's not luck, it's science.


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> Good luck.
> Bll
> 
> - Bill White
> ...


Please document your science expertise. My guess is that there is none.

Added in proof: Oops, I see that the response was not from our resident expert Bill. My bad.

My challenge remains for him to document any issues with sodium octaborate.


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> Nobody should ever burn any "treated" wood of any sort. It s all toxic. : http://web.utk.edu/~mtaylo29/pages/Don%27t%20Burn%20Treated%20Wood.htm
> 
> - Roger


Do you understand what is meant by "treated wood". I do not think so. You are talking about wood that has been treated with a variety of preservatives (mostly used before they were banned) that contain toxic metals such as arsenic. Tim-Bor does NOT contain any of that crap. It is sodium octaborate the same ******************** that has been used in hand soap for decades. Spend a few minutes with Google.


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## pontic (Sep 25, 2016)

How about poison ivy?


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> How about poison ivy?
> 
> - pontic


Great song by the Coasters a long. long time ago.


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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

I stay upwind when I burn treated wood, but I do burn it. I used to work for a company that, among many other things, they made the newer chemicals for treating wood. I never got into the chemistry, but was told that it was safe, compared to the older products that supposedly contained arsenic based chemicals. I was also told that the newer stuff was not as good as the older chemicals at preserving wood. But, hey…it's safer…


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