Here I was thinking you were always on the hunt for good bbq. Check out the "Smokehouse" Lots of stuff over there that might interest you.
Backwoods Savage , Considering he isnt three years ahead but has loads of Oak what is your opinion on using a Solar Kiln to help speed him along the path to dry wood?
Uncle Augie, I'm curious how well your Solar kiln idea works in the type of weather we generally have in the winter. Not much sun most of the time. Serious question. I might try the idea on one of my wet Oak stacks I c/s/s this fall.
It is all about the sun getting the temp inside the kiln up. Will it work faster than an open stack in the winter? YES. Will it season wood in one winter? NO. But if you tent it up, in a sunny spot now, by the 4th of July you will have seasoned wood under 20 percent.
I'm thinking of doing it to a stack of Oak in the spring. The wood wouldn't be needed until 16'-17, but without doing this, the wood would be marginal for use then.
You guys laugh if you want, but my stretch wrap variant is kicking backside. Moisture collected under the top by late afternoon almost every day.
We have a company up here in Connecticut that makes firewood shelters, been thinking about the big one, what do you think? http://www.shelterlogic.com/Product...aa5d-a20f0021540d&CategoryName=SeasoningSheds Oh and by the way, I have the greatest spot on my property for putting a kiln, this spot gets like an oven, prime real estate
The shelter does look good I was thinking of getting one next year but have yet to see any reviews on It. 7 cords sounds good
Looks like it would work, but a hell of a long more expensive than cheap plastic from the hardware. The poly will break down over time regardless, with that you would need to find another cover or rig one up yourself. A cord takes 1 *$7 sheet of plastic that lasts for 2-3 years. So no need to buy something like that, seems like overkill to me.
On a sunny day mine work, but just not enough sun or sunny days here in the winter, might be better in Indiana where you live
I understood that one has to leave oak uncovered in the rain for 1 or 2 years to get the tannins out. Is that not an issue when (solar)kiln drying?
Dry is what we are after....less than 20%...ive never heard of anything to do with tannin...could you elaborate?
I've read that Oak contain high tannin concentrations, but maybe there is a difference between Europe mainland oak and American species. These tannins are not fully combusted and end up in your flue system. Because tannin is acidic it can corrode your metal flue hence the advice (here) to leave the firewood out in the rain for these tannins to leach-out.
My understanding of this firewood shelter is that it traps the in the sun heat, but allows moisture to be released, that sounds better then cheap plastic, that traps heat and moisture, IMO. I sure the covering would last a good amount of time, if not longer, and when it does, I believe the rep told me a replacement is about $150. IMO this does sound worth it, especially if it works.
I've never heard that one. I would be inclined to think that it ranks up with saying "You can't burn pine because it will cause a chimney fire" as far as being true.
Yes, the funny thing is that I can only find this info on the Dutch websites. So maybe it is indeed a local myth. Interested? Just google "tannine brandhout" and have fun!
Oak and Walnut and maybe a few other trees of that nature (nut trees?) do indeed have tannin's in them that are acidic. Whether or not they break down your chimney when burned is pretty questionable if you asked me. I would say that as long as it is well-seasoned you won't have a problem. I'm also skeptical of being able to "leech out" any appreciable amount of said tannin's via surface washing or rain especially considering how hard it is to get oak to dry anyway?
I like the looks of it and by my calculations it should hold nearly 10 cords if you're careful. 7 is pretty conservative.
I agree with you on that one and I think it will work out just fine, hell I spent enough money as it is, what another few hundred at this point. Besides, I love having all the bells and whistles too
