Douglas Fir for Utility Pole ?

[KEC]

I have a Douglas Fir in my backyard that I'm thinking of cutting down, too close to the house and too tall. If I de-barked it and set it in the ground for a utility pole, how long might it last? How might I treat it to last? 

[SwampDonkey]

If not pressure treated maybe 8 years. I know balsam will break down quicker than spruce, you could step on what looks solid and your foot would fall through it like it was sponge and doesn't take 10 years. :D

[Ron Scott]

Best to have it pressure treated if it is to be used as a utility pole. If it will not be carrying a lot of line weight it could be hand painted or sprayed with one of the locally approved EPA wood preservatives which there are a number of them available. Creosote use to be the old standby but it is no longer used for environmental reasons.

[KEC]

Thanks for the responses, I would not be using it for utility wires.

[beenthere]

Do you have a pic of the tree you are talking about? 

You say it will be a utility pole, but no utility wires? 

A brush-on coating of about any preservative legal in NY would possibly help prevent some decay. How much it would help, would be anyone's guess. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Not to be a fatalist, but you don't say what sneaky plan is afoot for this 'utility pole with no utilities on it". :D
 I sometimes, well perhaps too often, build something I need that I know won't last more than a few years with the thought that 'it's just an idea I wanna try' or 'I'll probably replace it with a proper solution later, if it works', but in any case I just know that it will fail eventually and don't have any skin in the game as far as 'risk'.
 So if your pole won't hurt anything when it fails, what's the harm in trying? If there is risk to humans or property, OR there is a lot of work/expense involved in doing whatever it is, then I guess you have to weight that out for your own satisfaction.
 For instance, if it was to hold up a bird nesting platform on the edge of a field and it won't kill anyone if it falls, then it's an easy call. But if it can fall and split your shed into a two room shack with a skylight, that might be different.

[KEC]

OG, They say great minds think alike. Maybe utility pole was a poor choice of describing what I want to use it for.  Maybe I should call it a tall post to which I would attach a box for bats, kestrels, or screech-owls. I did some searching and found that doug fir is used for utility poles with the recomendation that it be treated. How long/tall it would be would depend on how I could set it in the ground. No rush.

[SwampDonkey]

I put up a treated post for the bats on the back of the woodlot by a beaver pond. I know the bears like to climb it. I've got monkey bears. :D