# My experience with Ecowood



## Slayer6769 (May 1, 2017)

I thought I'd give this stuff a try, so I got a package from Amazon. 
I'd read various reviews, but here is my take so far. 
I built some nuc boxes and used the Ecowood on two of them. The stuff is literally water thin. I had the stuff everywhere. After I coated my boxes and waited several hours, there was only a very slight bit of grey color to the boxes. So I coated them again. A little darker but not much. I could however tell a difference the second time I coated them. They seemed more waterproof, if that's the correct way of describing it. While I did that, I had a shim/beetle baffle made from cedar. Wow did it really turn grey and after just one coat. 
I had a scrap piece of birch furniture grade plywood and I dipped it into my Ecowood bucket. Today I looked at it and it too had taken on a nice grey color. 
( I got the grey instead of the brown but would expect similar results)
I did read something about using this stuff on pine and how it didn't color very well. It's true, it doesn't. But I have to believe even without a lot of color, the stuff is still penetrating the wood and leaving behind whatever it is that protects the wood. 
Obviously I plan to weather test these before using it on my hives. I may use it on a few honey supers, just to use it up. 
I will make some out of pine and cedar to test how it does this year. 
I would be curious to hear anyone else's personal experience with Ecowood.


----------



## jsterling (Apr 30, 2017)

It takes a while for the wood to turn gray. Put the coated wood outside in the weather and see what happens.


----------



## wasabi (Jun 14, 2016)

I've never heard of Ecowood. Is it a penetrating oil type thing or a waterproofing stain? Sounds interesting


----------



## Slayer6769 (May 1, 2017)

wasabi said:


> I've never heard of Ecowood. Is it a penetrating oil type thing or a waterproofing stain? Sounds interesting


It's a all natural wood preservative. Supposedly never needs recoated. It comes in a powder and you mix it with just water.


----------



## wasabi (Jun 14, 2016)

Interesting, Slayer. I spent fifteen years designing and building furniture and doin commercial interiors for restaurants, churches and offices.
We primarily used penetrating oils which cured and stabilized the hardwoods we worked with. My guess would be this product uses wax of some type.
For beehives it sounds intriguing. I'll check into it further. Is it terribly expensive?


----------



## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

Sounds like it turns the petina on woods that are high in tannins into a grey color. Sounds like theres iron in it, try it on oak.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

rwurster said:


> Sounds like theres iron in it...


thats what it smells like, and the unused portion in the jug turns rusty orange after it sits for a few days.

i like how it works on my nuc tops and bottoms, but they don't stay out all winter so i can't say how it would hold up year round.


----------



## wasabi (Jun 14, 2016)

Iron.....that makes sense.

There is a technique for "aging" new wood used here in the mountains that calls for steel wool and vinegar aged in a mason jar for only a couple of days to make a "stain" that turns the wood greyish

Changing the color of the wood is one thing....but I don't see on the face of it how that would protect or "seal" the wood unless there were flakes of wax or something also added. Does the container list ingredients?


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

it comes as a powder that you mix with water. there doesn't appear to be anything wax-like or otherwise not water soluble in the powder.


----------



## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

I looked the stuff up lol I make a steel wool and vinegar "finish" that gives wood an aged look when applied. The description of eco wood finish is exactly what I've been making for years. If you want your pines to have a greyer patina, brew some black tea and apply it to the unfinished wood first. That will add tannins to the wood and it will give you a better aged grey color. Oak should turn immediately grey if not black. I use the same mixture as an ebonizing finish for oak.


----------



## wasabi (Jun 14, 2016)

rwurster,

Red wine cured in oak barrels has tannins galore ....but I would be reluctant to part with it to stain pine....


----------



## BigGun (Oct 27, 2011)

I've got a couple of hives that I put it on in 2012 or 2013. Maybe it was 2014. It's weathering pretty well. I have one or two boxes that I need to do some minor repairs on. They look really good compared to cheap flat paint that I have used. Bees seem to have done well in them.


----------



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

rwurster said:


> I looked the stuff up lol I make a steel wool and vinegar "finish" that gives wood an aged look when applied. The description of eco wood finish is exactly what I've been making for years. If you want your pines to have a greyer patina, brew some black tea and apply it to the unfinished wood first. That will add tannins to the wood and it will give you a better aged grey color. Oak should turn immediately grey if not black. I use the same mixture as an ebonizing finish for oak.


Have you used this on any bee equipment or exterior use?
I does sound like it is similar to the eco wood.


----------



## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

I've used it outside on cedar fencing to help a new section I installed to match the rest of the weathered fencing, and it worked well for that. But that's cedar which weathers well on its own. This stuff sounds like a stain or a dye that's put on wood that will withstand the elements on its own. I do have pine boxes that have never been painted, stained, sealed, and they do ok. This is bone dry Colorado though. 

The Eco wood says its product preserves also. Who knows. Personally, I would never use the stuff I make as a stand alone outdoor coating and probably not use Eco wood as I really don't have a use for it. I had to laugh though because the Eco Wood sounded like what I have been making and using for years. My experience is that you have to periodically go back and re-do outdoor wood finishes to keep the wood protected. 

I prime and paint all my hives and their associated components.


----------



## Sharpbees (Jun 26, 2012)

The hives will darken in the sun. I have a few pine hives that it has been on for about 5 years now. The problem I found is some warping. I mixed the Ecowood then poured it into a plastic hive lid then dipped each side of the assembled hives in it. It just takes a couple of seconds per side then let dry. It works pretty well as a preservative.


----------



## wasabi (Jun 14, 2016)

Related but somewhat off topic. There are a number of outdoor deck fishes and clear coats out there. Tung oil and linseed oil are alternatives. Then there are penetrating oils with "driers" in them which get deep into the wood and cure. Lots of folks rave about Cabot's Australian Oil which is about 24 usd at box stores... Saw this






advertised at Walmart for 22 buck a gallon. Anyone familiar with it. I like the natural look of quality lumber like cypress and am looking for best alternatives. Thoughts or suggestions?


----------



## Slayer6769 (May 1, 2017)

wasabi said:


> Related but somewhat off topic. There are a number of outdoor deck fishes and clear coats out there. Tung oil and linseed oil are alternatives. Then there are penetrating oils with "driers" in them which get deep into the wood and cure. Lots of folks rave about Cabot's Australian Oil which is about 24 usd at box stores... Saw this
> View attachment 38445
> advertised at Walmart for 22 buck a gallon. Anyone familiar with it. I like the natural look of quality lumber like cypress and am looking for best alternatives. Thoughts or suggestions?


I do know people use Eco Wood on their houses and buildings, so if it works for that it has to work on hives. Just my thoughts. From my understanding, it's been around for a while now or at least in Canada. 
I figure for $20 a gallon, it's worth trying. 
I too have heard good things about Cabot Australian Gold, but I was considering buying Behr or Olympic Maximum stain. Both are supposed to protect between 6 and 10 years, depending on whether you get a solid, semi or transparent. That's longer protection than the Cabot. All three are roughly about the same price from the box stores.


----------



## billabell (Apr 19, 2010)

It will not stand up to ground contact. I have used it on my hives and it is fine and turns them a nice gray patina after about 6 months in the open. It is easy to apply and fine for a stationary apiary. It will not stand up to ground contact despite the Canadian manufacturers claims. I used it (several coats) on untreated Southern pine as a border for my garden beds. They crumbled after 4 years.


----------



## Slayer6769 (May 1, 2017)

That's good to know about using it on ground contact lumber. But for my uses ground contact wouldn't be a issue. 
I don't know if it's available and if so where to get it, but I can remember my grandfather using creosote for ground contact lumber. I wouldn't use something like that on a beehive, but maybe for something like you were talking about. Maybe something like creosote would be good for a hive stand made of wood. If you could buy it that is. That be something I would be interested in. I'm not sure what's different but treated lumber is not a weather durable like it used to be.


----------



## wasabi (Jun 14, 2016)

Thanks SLayer,

SInce I have numerous hives to treat I may just get a gallon of each and do an A,B, C Testing of them.

Thanks again for sharing


----------



## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Slayer

I think I still have a big box of Eco Wood laying around my shop somewhere I'll be glad to send you. Several years ago I read up on some of their literature and requested some samples. I not only received a box of samples I also spoke with them about becoming their exclusive authorized agent in the U.S. We came to an agreement, and they eagerly forwarded me a signed letter agreeing to those terms. At the time no beekeeping supply company advertised their product for sale. I used it on probably 20-30 medium and deep boxes for some of our bee yards here in N.M. After less than 10 years those boxes are now ready for the scrap pile. Our climate here is very dry, little rainfall, and untreated raw wood tends to cup and twist quickly. The Eco Wood was a totally useless endeavor. Additionally it is NOT a wood preservative (read their literature closely) unless they have changed their info. All ingredients are supposedly natural plant based and proprietary (not listed). From what I now know Eco Wood "treatment" is used primarily as an aesthetic application as it does change the color of the wood and creates an aged "patina" appearance. It will not preserve the wood on your bee boxes in the field. I noticed Kelley Bee now advertises it in their catalogs. I'm just glad that their getting the customer service product related calls and not me.


----------



## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

It's extremely dry here too. If EW sealed the wood, that would be one thing. A few of my boxes have never been painted so I went out to spray paint the end grain on them. The paint didnt stick, the grain literally was absorbing every drop of the paint. I've never sprayed paint on end grain and had the wood soak up 1/4 of the can on just one corner. Those boxes have buckled a bit, shrunk, and one of the sides on one checked... split across the whole warm side.


----------



## Dave360 (Apr 12, 2010)

I like the eco wood treatment it is used to stop rot i have several items tops ,bottoms,boxs i used it on , the only ones that haven't rotted use it now on everything it is a bad feeling burning a bunch of rotted equipment also not fun replacing a bottom board on populace hive because hardly any entrance left because bottom board is caving in from rot


----------



## AzaleaHill (Mar 11, 2018)

Besides tung oil, Watco oil is a curing oil that is used for fine woodworking and food grade wood items. It comes in a few stain colors.


----------



## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Reviving this older thread to see if anyone else has some experience with the Eco Wood product?


----------

