Last night I got a small wood bundle job. I have dry wood. Weathered,,,,grey. That will have to do. I know people like the “fresh” look But had an idea. I have this gun safe hanging around in the barn. Not a real heavy duty safe. Just a thin metal single layer box. I’m thinking of painting it flat black and sticking it in the middle of the field which will get direct sun all day. If I flip it upside down there’s four 1/2-5/8” holes where it could be bolted to the floor. They are inside a metal base that raise it off the floor,,,,,but now on top. Cover that base with a piece of sheet steel to keep water out. Drill some more holes on the side of the base to let moisture out and circulate. More holes in what will now be the bottom. Stack bundles inside and let em cook. Kill any possible bugs maybe? Dry as possible? Question is you think those four holes are enough venting or should I add more?
I see lots of posts regarding venting on solar kilns. Myself, I would not add any vent holes for the heat to escape. But if you do, let us know how it works. (kinda hard to tell if the wood is already dry though.)
Interesting concept; keep us updated on the progress. I think more holes for maximum air circulation would be advantageous. My mind keeps going back to what painted sheet metal vehicles look like early in the morning on humid summer days. Dripping with condensation. Maybe once the sun burns off the excess moisture, the internal temperatures of the cabinet will more than make up for it.
One vote no, one vote yes Think I’ll keep it as is for now. That is I’ll add some matching holes on top and devise a way no water can get in. I get the basic gist of solar kilns. The finer scientific stuff not so much. Maybe before adding any bundles I’ll give it a run with some fresh split old logs,,,,,,half dry if you will. So,,,one inch metal pipe on top to act as a chimney is out? LOL
Do these dripping cars gather moisture on the inside too? I always thought it was more a function of humidity settling from the atmosphere.
No vents yet. Paint applied and in waiting mode. Should get over 13 hours of sun in that spot by my calculations.
Id be sure to lock the safe. Ive seen the quality of your firewood and you never know who might be in the neighborhood! Interesting to see how this works out! Try putting a piece of rubber in a sunny spot with bundles on top. That gets to 140 degrees in the Summer. Ever walk on blacktop with bare feet in the hot weather? Keep in mind grass will get scorched from this.
You need some dry bundle wood? Be glad to bring a half cord of red maple i CSS in January from logs cut Sept 2020. Been using some for current bundles. Pretty clean with little weathering, mostly with no bark.
I’ve scorched a few patches of grass leaving the rubber laying out. Only takes one day as a matter of fact I did exactly that this morning. Covered that long stack of oak,,,, partially anyway. One piece of rubber had been laying on the grass for a few days. Charred I cooked some soaking wet oak in the back of my trailer a few weeks ago. Single layer tossed in the back in the sun. One afternoon removed a lot of water from it.
Appreciate the offer but I’ve got lots to choose from. I’ll have to pick through the stacks a bit to get designer wood but I’m good. It may be weathered more than most but no sense spoiling anyone.
I know. If you top cover immediately with a 100% waterproof cover you’ll get “fresher” wood in my limited experience. I’ve never been concerned with that before so I’ll be picking through a bit. Resplitting some too.
