Solar Kiln Firewood Drying

Augie, I sincerely hope you didn't take any of my posts as confrontational, as I fear you have. I was simply sharing an experience I had.

Now, what you are demonstrating here is actually very remarkable and has me very, very intrigued. Actually, I'm dead set on trying this, probably in January when I harvest my next load of firewood.

So essentially, I just get a big sheet of plastic, lay it over top of my cribbing and jam some holes in it. Then I stack my wood, and lay another big sheet of plastic over top of it and tuck in the bottom to make a rudimentary seal. Sun heats up the sealed stack, cooks the moisture out, it condenses on the inside of the plastic, and eventually finds its way back down and drains out the bottom. Seems simple enough - I'll give it a try.

Actually I have another question, how important is the bottom layer of plastic? Would it still work if the bottom was left natural grass? The reason I ask is because I already have next years wood stacked and top covered. I don't want to have to re-stack it with a layer of plastic underneath it. I'm assuming that wouldnt work due to the moisture emanating out of the ground. If thats the case I'll just have to leave those stacks top covered only and hope for the best.

Now, should I only be using this method for wood I need in 6 months or less? Like I mentioned, I already have most of next years CSS and will be working on wood that will be used 2 winters for now. Do you still think the kiln method would be worth my while with the wood sitting 2 summers? Or at that point is it better to just leave them top covered since they will have 2 summers?

Now I'm all antsy to try this. I have a small amount of red maple that's sitting at around 28%MC which may be a good candidate. I might try to whip up a small kiln this weekend and get this maple in there. Using you're experience with this method, do you think I could get this red maple down to under 20%MC by the end of November? We're not even talking half a rick, I can get a pic of the wood in question.

 

Yes, it is as simple as that, and can you ever have too dry wood?

I do not believe that you will have the same results unless the wood is completely wrapped, including the bottom

I believe that you are being overly optimistic. There are not enough sunny days, and the sun will not be intense enough in my experience. It will help get it under 25%, maybe, if you are lucky. This is an aid, it makes a incredible difference in the time required to dry wood under 20% MC, but it will not create a miracle.

Solar kilns are a great help, but if a couple of people have overly high expectations, and their wood doesn't season overnight like they want, then they come back and say it doesn't work, then all the naysayers jump on and say "see I told you so".

Take it this way, a solar kiln, like I have described, will allow you to season wood in one spring/summer/fall cycle. This allows those of us that are space constrained, or new to burning, to have fully seasoned wood without buying kiln dried for Texas $$$$, or waiting for two years because we are on the "three year plan". Anything else you are asking too much, or damm lucky.

 

Maybe I'll just hold off until the spring then, the winter sun inst exactly intense and I'm not desperate. Perhaps I'll revisit this idea in March.

 

Oh yes..would love to have some oak at 15% fer next winter

 

Or just start stacking everything from now on wrapped in plastic, if you don't have a full cord to wrap up start it any way, but leave it open so that when you have more wood you can just pull back the tarp and add more wood. Start the 3-6 month timer as soon as the last wood goes in and you seal it up. Plastic is cheap, and winter sun on a solar kiln will help over being left exposed, and come spring you wont have to mess with it. One less thing to worry about then will give you one less excuse to put it off for another year.

 

Maybe I'll have to do just that...I don't plan on cutting again until January so once I do maybe I'll try it out. I'm excited for this.

I have 1.5 cords dead standing white oak CSS, top cover only, that is currently around 28%MC. It was stacked back in September and I was planning on burning that next winter if it is ready.

I plan to cut another 1.5 cords dead standing white oak in January that should start out around 28-30% MC. I'll wrap that in a kiln. Then, next winter, whichever stack has a lower moisture content will get burned.

So I have high hopes for the kiln, especially since it will get to sit an entire summer. If the kiln wood surpasses the open stacks (which I think it would), I'll just let the open stacks sit another year and burn the kiln wood next winter.

 

I would start restacking now. If you do you will have 3 cord of oak ready to go by next fall, you can get real picky about what you scrounge when you know it only takes 6 months to season

 

Man I really don't feel like restacking. I place cinderblocks on the ground, then run landscape sills across them, and stack on top of the sills. I wonder if I could get plastic underneath without having to restack. I know I could in the voids but i would have to go around the cinderblocks as best I could. Unless I get the floor jack out!

 

Hey Uncle Augie ...did it make a difference if the plastic touched the wood..or did u just wrap it up n seal it?..also you have gotten green oak to 15% in one summer?

 

Just wrap and seal, the walk away. Plastic touching the wood isnt a big deal.

 

Thanks

 

Wrap that wood, and make it good......Gooder...

 

So, do you think this rapid drying has anything to do with the temperature of the wood? Sorry, I just could not resist.

This whole process should work the same, more or less, with that plastic wrapping film then....? A sheet of plastic on the bottom with a few holes in the lowest point, the sides of the plastic raised to lay against the wood pile and then wrap the whole thing in that thin film?

Brian

 

Why?

Please go back to the op and start reading. You may find what you seek grasshopper. If you need more than that.....

 

Any scientist knows the best way to have their results validated is to have someone else reproduce their experiment

 

I believe there will be a few of us doing this..

 

I was wondering the same thing...Will this work as well with shrink-wrapped stacks? I'm currently contemplating shrink-wrap vs. round bale net wrap to hold my pallet stacks together a bit better.

 

Get over yourself, unless you plan on publication, you will not put enough into this to consider yourself a"scientist" I don't consider myself a scientist in regards to this.
I have taken design of experiments classes, we are playing with wood applying scientific principles, we are not scientists.

 

I also wonder if somehow darkening the wood or sliding some dark material under the plastic would be beneficial? Cheap, black crepe (sp?) paper draped over the wood and under the plastic would certainly get the temps. up faster, to a higher peak and I would think, accelerate the whole process.

And if the black paper was draped in large radii around the wood, you could tell people it was 'funeral wood' for the pyre 'cause there is no way you are going to pay current prices for a funeral (wood burners are frugal after all....).

Brian