I have some dead/downed wood that I cut a couple of weeks ago that had some snow on the outside.. When I brought it in the basement, i set up a fan to evaporate the moisture from it and then a dehumidifier on the other side of the basement to suck up the moisture.. Seemed to work pretty well. I've been putting a LOT of work into my wood burning this year to try to burn dry wood... Based on the results, I'd much rather put the extra work in than try to burn wet wood.. Gives me a TON of motivation to get 3 years ahead this summer!!!! BTW Pete, did you notice what the snowman on the mantle was wearing!?!?
Very interesting I have thought about making a solar kiln but that looks like its a lot cheaper and works just as good. Keep us posted on the continuing results and upgrades.
Will do!!.. The initial test has shown me that it'll be worth looking into some upgrades to the ductwork coming off of the stove and to the airtightness of the kiln. All in, this was about $135. $90 for the shelving and 45 for the ductwork and inline fan.. Rather spend $135 on this than on 35 gallons of heating oil!!!
All you need for a solar kiln is a 6mil clear plastic roll and a couple yard timbers and cinderblocks. Lay the cinder blocks on the top of your stack to elevate the center stick the yard timber through and cover with plastic. You can literally watch the water evaporate and run down the tarp in the summer.
I plan to try that this summer.. Thought about poly for the indoor kiln. Wife didn't want to have to clean up melted plastic from the floor!!!
Heres a good write up and guide from cornell university on a solar kiln Im thinking about building one whenever it warms up around here. http://www2.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/info/pubs/Harvesting/CC Accelerated Seasoning of Firewood.pdf
One thing that I'm now interested in is Moisture Distribution. As my not-really-scientific test showed, after 3 weeks, I get red oak out of my kiln that ranges from 6-10% moisture on the outside to 25-30% on the inside depending on placement in the kiln and size of the split. Either way, the stuff lights off like rocket fuel AND burns all the way to ashes. So the only way to tell what the overall moisture content of a split would be by weighing it. Makes me wonder about the companies who sell kiln dried wood and just how low they're able to get the moisture content, how long they leave it in the kiln and how that moisture is distributed in the split. It's Sunday, time to reduce the burden on my brain cells..
Its a little early for that dont you think? Just kidding Im jealous because Im sick and my brain cells are on overload I cant drink when I sick
Stuck, very interesting concept! I have to first say that you must have a very patient wife......had I set something like that up in my living room, I'd be sleeping in the barn!! Just promise me you'll monitor that thing......I'd hate to see anything catch fire. That'd be a longshot but nonetheless keep an eye on it. On the "+" side you'll be putting some moisture in the house!
Sorry.. Stepped away for a few to do some piano repair. The clearance to combustibles on the side of the stove is 22 inches.. I'm at 21. I hit it with the IR thermometer all the time and it's no where near hot enough. I figure I'd be most in danger of something happening if we had a really hot fire and the blower shut down thus making the stove hotter and kicking out a ton of radiant heat. But yes Sir. I will keep an eye on it.. Couple people mentioned wives would never let them do it? Well, attached are pics of the front entryway and "dining room" for comparison.. When she gets those cleaned up, I'll take down my wood stove fired kiln!! (she's not a member here yet) Just loaded the kiln with the standing dead beech from 5 weeks ago for a 3 week cycle for the cold snap in late Feb.. I'm thinking it's going to be next burn season before I can get data on weights..
I have always thought that with a sufficiently sized stove attached kiln could you dry wood as you go. Did you stick a thermometer inside it at all? Interesting results in this study ==> http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn254.pdf At 220 degrees they were able to dry Oak from 52% to 20% in just 32 hours, 10-12 days at 140 degrees.
I get about 90-100 degrees F in there. I think with more solid sides, some kind of skirt around the ductwork coming off the stove and insulation, I could go a little higher. My inline duct fan motor is rated to 140 degrees. I haven't gotten a temp higher than about 120 degrees hitting the ductwork with the IR thermometer, but as you know the temp in the middle of the duct is probably higher than at the edges. I'd like to put temp and humidity probes throughout but have to figure out how to spend smartly for improvements. At present, I'm using this to lower the moisture content of my good stuff, red oak and beech. I throw a piece on the fire on the coldest days to kick out the extra heat. Our first year burning. We kind of run the stove like a fireplace adding wood and adjusting airflow as needed. Next year when I have more wood, I'll try full loads and overnight burns.
I think that to get the temps above 140 the fan will need to be upstream of the heat source, like on an insert. Otherwise you will do nothing but cook fan motors. But getting the temps up higher will be worth it as the drying time gets faster at an exponential rate as you get the temperatures up.
That's kind of what I figured. Also, if the fan fails, I'll just get another one, go to an 8" diameter fan or add some more duct work to put the fan further down the line away from the stove..
