Red oak I split last spring that was downed during sandy is already reading 20% on meter with some pieces already down at 13-15% on fresh splits!! Its like a gift from above and all the bark is coming off as I move it from the stack to the woodshed!!! I will be doing a mini solar kiln once the shed is full by wrapping it in industrial syran and using a fan during peak sun hours to exhaust moisture... should help no?
I would think about venting it after the peak sun hours. My thought being that the elevated heat (energy) is what you want to drive the moisture out of your wood. No point in venting it when it is at its best. The elevated heat will also serve to reduce the RH in your kiln so there is less of an urgency at that point. If your wood is mostly dry it won't be loosing massive quantities of moisture anyway. It might be different it if was fresh cut and split green. I would consider using a fan to move the air within the kiln while the sun is hot. That is assuming that unit will be hotter higher up. That will get some of the heat down lower in your stacks and help that wood. I built a half pallet sized kiln this spring and have adjusted its design a few times. I have no forced venting, just an open bottom and a few small openings in the plastic around the edges. There hasn't been any condensation in it which tells me that I'm not saturating the air. It only gets 4 hours of direct sun. On a sunny day I see a 35 degree gain in it before the sun goes over the tree tops and shades it at 1:00 in the afternoon. If you get a scale that has a 15 lb capacity and can read in grams you will really be able to tell if your wood is losing moisture.
Well as we say, "You burn what you got , seasoned or not" The oak already near 20%, which some say is good enough to burn well. (I like 15% & less) Any drier you can get it, the better . Pictures are always appreciated The ash & maple should be good to go for sure for 14/15 ! Am guessing you're working on your 15/16 wood ?
Got 2 cord of oak for 15/16 cut last spring but I still need to get a couple ash down. Then its some oak for 16/17 and beyond. Its tough for me to keep up because I bought the house in Jan 2013 and immediately bought 2 cord and have been using wood to heat so the $1200 a year in oil (DHW is oil ) is now the norm for the wife and she doesnt get the amount of prep work that goes into heating with wood. Maybe I shouldnt heat with wood this year and let her see the +/-$1800 oil bill for 4-5 months of use then I would be allowed to be in the woods all day And yes I know better so pics to follow .....
Thats awesome. I have some red oak that should be ready by this winter but am hoping to push it until next year.
