For All Those With Kilns

[gator]

This is supposed to be a good publication for drying Eastern hardwoods. The download is free but big.

George

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...od_Lumber.html

[Alan in Little Washington]

That is another Dr Gene Wengert pub. He wrote/co-wrote/contributed to most of those books and pubs, including quite a few available for download from the USDA.

[scsmith42]

That is indeed one of the definitive publications on drying hardwood lumber. Gene Wengert is one of the "go-to" people, although his greatest experience is with conventional kilns. Joe Denig right here at NC State is another "go-to" person.

[JackLeg]

Originally Posted by scsmith42

That is indeed one of the definitive publications on drying hardwood lumber. Gene Wengert is one of the "go-to" people, although his greatest experience is with conventional kilns. Joe Denig right here at NC State is another "go-to" person.

Scott: Do you have an e mail address or web site for Joe Denig? I'd like to begin reading up on drying lumber. I plan to start my solar kiln soon, like before Christmas, maybe. Thanks in advance.

[Ivey]

I have that publication, it is a good one. Some parts are like reading tax code, But there is alot of good information. Between Scott and the book, maybe I,ll make it

[scsmith42]

Reggie, you can get Joe's contact info at this web address:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/wood/joe.html

However, to learn more about kiln drying and solar kilns, if I were you I'd search the archives at Woodweb.com. There's lots of great info there. Also, buy a CD from e-bay or download the USDA Forestry Department publications on drying lumber. I can e-mail some of them to you, but they are rather large files and a CD may be easier.

Scott

[NCPete]

yeah, Scott emailed those files to me a while ago, and I thought I might have to perform the heimlich on my computer. I think it was 5 or six separate emails??? might be easier with FTP

[jeff...]

Hey Reggie - you may find this link interesting...

http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/pb/wp_395...10202824316668

I know a household dehumidifier works. Although not for big loads, I've dried small batches for personal use with one myself many times. Specifically if your drying softwood you can let er rip, the max moisture content loss per day on softwood species is way up there compared to something like oak or sycamore.

Personally, I would not go with a solar kiln, your basically stacking and praying. One load may come out great, the next junk, there is very little if any consistency. Unless you put in expensive controls, a secondary heat source and a dehumidifier to maintain some level of drying constancy when the weather is not ideal. A solar kiln seems to work ok if the weather is ok. Although I do not own a solar kiln, I tried two different ones and the product that came out of them was not suitable to sell.

Scott can chime in here better than I can, but remember what ideal conditions are for mold growth and take into consideration that at night a solar kiln is at about 100% humidity. In the long run you'll probably end up with the small 300 ~ 1200 BF Nyle L50 anyways because you'll be quite upset when you pull out your first load of mold stained pretzels.

I'm a big fan of dehumidification kilns, whether it be home made or pre manufactured. They produce a far more superior product than solar.

This is just my two cents worth...

[scsmith42]

Reggie, if you go with a solar kiln be sure to build one that vents the chamber at night - this will help reduce the potential for mold.

If it's just for yourself (and low volume), a solar kiln can work out ok. However, I'm with Jeff - I find that I can do a much better job of managing the drying process and reducing degrade with a DH kiln.

If you're ever in the neighborhood, a friend of mine has a solar kiln right up the road, and I'll be glad to take you over there.

Scott