Saw this local guy (Ohio dave may have seen the ad) advertising "kiln dried firewood"...not sure if I wanna poke fun, or admire his ingenuity...I'm leaning toward admiring! Just a double barrel wood stove in a metal shed! Must get warm, looks like the paint is about baked off that shed!
C'mon Dave tell us the truth...that's your doing??? All kidding aside i wonder how long he leaves them in there and if he bothers to check a split or two for MC when he is done?
Wonder what the ratio is input versus output. Don't think I could handle using up wood for a drying operation like that.
I hear ya...good way to use up the marginal stuff, and all the ugly's that comes with a good size firewood operation though...
Hmmmm.... Seems like it would take more wood to operate it than it's worth, but I bet he knows way more about it than I do. A friend of mine used to dry muzzle loader stock blanks, about 50 at a time. His rig was fired with natural gas and, as I remember, he maintained a temp of about 200°f. to 225°f. for about 3 to 4 days for cherry and about 5 days for walnut. Quite an art, and science to it. Too dry and the blank or finished product swells and warps. Not dry enough and it warps. Try to dry it too fast and it splits and you wind up with shotgun stock blanks or worse yet, pistol grip blanks.
I'd be interested in doing a moisture test on what he's selling...might be givin it a "lick 'n a promise" and calling it "kiln dried"...dunno
Shed needs insulation & airflow out the top. The theory is sound enough, but he's way too much stove for a small space. I'll give him an A for ingenuity on the cheap though.
Yep I saw that. No, its not mine. I don't have any type of forks to move pallets/IBC totes. Otherwise I would try to build a kiln. Still thinking of it though
I'll stick to letting Mother nature doing the curing as it keeps the costs way down and the labor too. But, there might be a market for it.
I thought there were a bunch of regulations on being able to advertise wood as kiln dried. That operation sure doen't look like it meets an type of regulation
It is usually just heated to x temperature for x amount of minutes. Usually for the purpose of killing bugs, not for getting below 20%. If you do it the right way you can sell to restaurants and stuff since they usually order smaller amounts your making like $600+ a cord
Not a bad setup, but he could definitely improve on this design. I've contemplated building a solar kiln in my back yard, as I have no shortage of firewood coming in. Getting it below 20% in a few months as opposed to a couple years would be a dream. Also, I have a good buddy who does some serious woodworking. It would definitely help him out when he mills his own lumber.
You are thinking heat treated vs. kiln dried. If he pulled some of his stove air from inside the shed he would go a long way towards removing the moist air.
^^^^this Usually it's to facilitate transportation over state lines or beyond /thru infestation boundaries. It is kiln dried, not seasoned. It can also be a marketing "gimmick", like gluten free. It opens wallets.
100%. This gets the seller in the door at lots of places that require kiln dried wood, especially chain outfits that are located in multiple states. Check the MC of any kiln dried wood and you may find it is rarely below 20%. That's why I advertise my wood as dry, ready to burn, NOT kiln dried. Quite frankly, this guy may be a genius considering how little he had to spend to get the kiln dried designation.
