# ECO Wood Treatment?



## Jaseemtp

I am just trying it this year. I hope it works well as I have dipped 35 of my boxes with it. I contacted Eco wood and spoke with them, I told them that I was a bee keeper and a lazy one at that. I am just going to dip my boxes one side at a time. Will this be ok and will it harm my bees? 
His answer we yes its ok and no it would not harm bees. He did suggest letting the boxes dry overnight before using them with the bees. 
Wish me luck and let me know how it works for y'all.

Jason


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## valleyman

I bought a packet from Kelleys. I personally do not trust it. It does not turn water like paint or stain. I have some wooden nuc boxes still treated with it. They will be my test boxes. I put oil base Cabot stain on the rest of the boxes that I used it on. Too expensive to take a chance on. I find the Cabot stain at Lowes in the oops shelf for $5.00. I've figured out the bees really don't care what color it is.


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## Trainee73

I too saw this and was interested in trying it on some boxes versus painting them. I dipped all my pieces twice before assembly and a final dip after assembly. I'm not impressed with the results and I won't be doing anymore without paint. Inspecting the boxes earlier this week I am seeing a lot of warping and separation. I'm pretty sure these boxes are going to be scrap as soon as I can swap them out. I would suggest you try it on a few first and see what your results are. For the record mine have been in use less than a year here in North Alabama.


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## max2

Hamp54 said:


> Has anyone tried ECO Wood Treatment on their woodenware? Kelley sells it.


Hamp - could you please tell me what is in the ECO wood treatment?
thanks

max


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## bevy's honeybees

I bought a small package online Home Depot. Last summer I "painted" it onto 3 deeps and 3 supers following instructions. I didn't do the inside, but saturated the outside and especially the joints. I tried it because I love natural wood look. I haven't had any warping at all yet. I'm not thrilled about the wood tone now, kind of dark and almost dirty looking. I bought new equipment this year for increasing again, and painted it all. I could attempt some pics if you want.


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## Hamp54

max2 said:


> Hamp - could you please tell me what is in the ECO wood treatment?
> thanks
> 
> max


I have no idea. I was drawn to the idea instead of wax dipping. From the sound of what Trainee has to say I think I'm going to take a pass. I guess there's no free lunch.


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## oblib

I read lots of reviews and one of the seller had on their site that it was not reccomended for wood such as pine.


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## CtyAcres

Hamp- You might want to try "Classic" Woodlife clear coat preservative on the exterior of your hives.
It is an excellent wood preservative. The co. also makes "Coppercoat" preservative might help with
hive beetles. I called the company and they told me either one can be used on the exterior of bee hives.


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## Hamp54

Thanks for all the feedback! For me the ECO thought went up like a rocket and came down a dead stick. The more I think about this, the more I like the idea of deep frying equipment in beeswax and rosin…natural products and from the reports, the finish seems to last.


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## Dave360

used it last year on screened bottom boards the Ross old tools kind that are real hard to paint 
so far so good the wood does turn very dark brown but holding up well
this year dipped\painted 20 + boxes and some more bottom boards love dipping\painting 10 boxes in less than an hour and ready to use in another hour if left in sun have had no problem warping yet (rabbit joints tight bond III and 4 screws and 1/4" staples ) 

had a dead out brought equipment back and 2-3 year old painted bottom board is pretty well rotted same style , landing board and side rails shot so I think the eco treated ones will hold up at least that well as I had some from last year sit out all winter just stacked and seamed good 
as new 

that's my experience so far 

David


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## Riskybizz

I have used Eco Wood Treatment on lots of my equipment for 6-7 years now. I think I posted a few pictures here before on a couple of other threads. The only time I see boxes warping and coming apart is when I don't glue the joints. Tite Bond III, allow it to dry for a minimum of 24 hours and then I just dip everything. I have sold quite a bit of it to other beekeepers and they seem to like it as well.


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## Dave360

Great Pics 
Glad to hear still holding up aft 6 yr

Dave


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## hawkeye63

Hamp54 said:


> I have no idea. I was drawn to the idea instead of wax dipping. From the sound of what Trainee has to say I think I'm going to take a pass. I guess there's no free lunch.


Just ferrous sulfate or better know as iron. Iron has been proven to be a significant deterrent to white-rot fungus. 
You can make your own by crushing 20 iron tablets into a quart of water, or buy food grade ferrous sulfate its what is in the vitamins. 
The reason the wood turns is because the iron reacts with the tannin in the wood. That is why it does not work on pine very good.
The forest service uses boric acid to help preserve wood as well, so 
I would not be surprised if a teaspoon of that would not help.

That is just my opinion.


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## Penzi

I'm using it so far so good 

Real easy and fast to do a bunch of boxes

I like it on my honey supers but on my brood deeps I seem to use paint later on makes me fell better for the winters here so they get both coats

After 3 years I still use it on new wood but not on the inside


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## Moots

Interesting Thread....Wondering if there are any more updates from those that hadn't been using it too long when they had originally posted.

I actually purchased some, going back and forth trying to decide if I actually want to use it. :s

Have exchanged a few emails with the folks at ECO...For whatever it's worth, they are completed convinced that it's safe for both the inside and out of the box. I also asked about the "not great on pine" issue. He disagreed and said it should preserve it fine, the only difference may be that it won't have as much of a effect, at least not immediately on the color of the wood, but it's purely an aesthetics issue.

The other thing I was concerned and asked about was if I could dip my boards before gluing and stapling? He said it wouldn't matter...I know it would be easier to dip before assembly, but I just don't want to do anything to reduce the performance of the Titebond III, I'm one of those that believe "big time" in the strength and importance of a good glue! 

Lastly, for those that use this product, do you do anything to fill or cover your staple or nail holes? Whenever I paint my boxes, I always spackle these first...

Any and all feedback appreciated...I've been beating up myself trying to make a decision on this one for a while now. :scratch:


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## Dave360

I dont fill staple or nail/screw holes I assemble then dip/paint on by putting ECO in a plastic tote from walmart about 30-40 gallon I guess make sure all sides ends ect are wetted did 22 medium boxes and 8 bottom boards last weekend in about and hour one coat and done 
only using 1 year on boxes 2 on screened bottom boards so far holding up better than painted ones

David


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## Sharpbees

I started using it 2 years ago. Personally, I like it. I use it on pine and have not had a problem. I haven't had any issues with warping. A fellow beek has been using it for about 5 years now and says he'll never go back to painting. This fellow is a 4th generation beek and has been keeping bees for 50 years. I put my boxes together then dip them, on the outside only. I use an outer cover as a dipping "tank". I personally like the way it darkens the longer it sits.


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## Gilligan

Anyone make their own?

Is boric acid safe to mix in?


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## Moots

Dave and Sharp, thanks for the responses, very encouraging...

Sharp, One question, you say you just dip the outside of your boxes. "Supposedly" ECO is safe for the inside of the box and won't bother the bees. Curious is there some reason you don't dip the inside or is it just out of an abundance of caution. 

This is the latest decision of this project that I'm waffling back and forth with....:scratch:

I think dipping the entire box would be easier and provide a little more protection for the box...While dipping just the inside would be a little more "playing it safe" for the bees?

Technically, doing just the inside will use less product, but that's not really factoring into my decision.


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## Dave360

did the 22 mediums and 8 screened bottom board with 1 gal and had ECO left doing inside and out since seams easier to do that way


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

Looks like an easy test would be...

Take a sample of plywood, and pressboard, All from the same sheet. Treat a couple of samples with ECO, paint (or stain) a couple, and leave a couple as is. Lay them out and see what happens.

I may just do this, this Spring.

cchoganjr


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## psfred

There is a big difference between waterproofing the wood and preventing fungi eating the wood. Unsealed pine around here is going to have a short life if not waterproofed, we have very wide swings in temperature and humidity, and unsealed wood will change size and shape repeatedly. This is not an issue in areas which have relatively low humidity all year and do not suffer from weeks long bouts of damp weather. 

This is compounded by the fact that the bees will waterproof the interior of the hive in short order by coating it with propolis -- the result is that one side stays at equilibrium and the other varies. Warps and splits are inevitable. 

I might use eco-treatment first, then linseed oil and primer and paint, as I don't intend to keep making boxes forever. With some luck I'll be up to 4 hives this spring, and six is about where I want to be until I have time to consider going to a profit making operation. I would not depend on it making my boxes last decades around here, and I know that paint will.

Peter


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## stwinward

I just started out last year, and I went with this product after much research. I did the insides and outsides. I had a great first year, and I like the effect. The longer the wood is in the sun/rain, the darker they get, and I like the natural look of weathered wood that it provides. I do have one box that is warping, but I think where I bought them they didn't glue the corners. 

So this year, I'm planning on getting a couple more hives going. My plan is to buy the corners from Eco Bee Boxes and use cedar. So my question is do I need to treat the cedar with the Eco wood treatment, or can cedar just go a natural?


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## Sharpbees

Moots said:


> Dave and Sharp, thanks for the responses, very encouraging...
> 
> Sharp, One question, you say you just dip the outside of your boxes. "Supposedly" ECO is safe for the inside of the box and won't bother the bees. Curious is there some reason you don't dip the inside or is it just out of an abundance of caution.
> 
> This is the latest decision of this project that I'm waffling back and forth with....:scratch:
> 
> I think dipping the entire box would be easier and provide a little more protection for the box...While dipping just the inside would be a little more "playing it safe" for the bees?
> 
> Technically, doing just the inside will use less product, but that's not really factoring into my decision.[/QUOTE/}
> 
> It's just an abundance of caution on my part.


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## Harm Less Solutions

@oblib, the comments regarding the effectiveness of Eco Wood Treatment on pine are probably from our website. We sell Eco from our webstore here in New Zealand to customers in both New Zealand and Australia, including to a number of beekeepers.

The reason for our comments regarding 'pine' is that the New Zealand timber supply is heavily dominated by _Pinus Radiata_ (Monterey Pine) grown in our country using selectively bred high growth factor trees. This timber grows very quickly in our relatively benign climate with trees being harvested at around 25 years old. The timber produced is fairly soft with low natural durability, with that used in exterior and/or ground contacting applications needing to be pressure treated with CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate) preservative to provide an acceptable lifetime of use.

The toxicity of CCA obviously presents problems for the environmentally minded, certified Organic properties and sensitive applications, such as in beehives. We understandably have a regular flow of enquiries from potential customers who think that Eco will provide a level of preservation for otherwise untreated radiata pine similar to that provided by CCA. The contrasting toxicity levels mean that this will not be the case. This is the reason for the 'pine' comment on our website.

Our Eco customer base here in New Zealand comprises mainly those using cypressus macrocarpa, cedar or other locally available timbers of good natural durability, or to those who are prepared to compromise longevity for lower toxicity than CCA. Our beekeeper Eco customers fall either side of these choices using pine or lesser known indigenous woods.


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## toekneepea

I had VERY bad experience with Eco Wood Treatment and would caution anyone in a humid environment from using it with pine boxes. Here in New England, I had 9-10 Mann Lake select boxes warp and crack on me last year. I telephoned the representative in the US or Canada before treatment, and was told it wouldn't be an issue - but it was.

YMMV. I can't recommend it based upon my experience. If you do a search here on BeeSource, you'll see there are a lot of people with similarly bad experiences.

Tony P.


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## wljohns

Any updates on this?


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## michaelshelnutt78

Riskybizz said:


> I have used Eco Wood Treatment on lots of my equipment for 6-7 years now. I think I posted a few pictures here before on a couple of other threads. The only time I see boxes warping and coming apart is when I don't glue the joints. Tite Bond III, allow it to dry for a minimum of 24 hours and then I just dip everything. I have sold quite a bit of it to other beekeepers and they seem to like it as well.


How are they holding up now 9 years later?


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