Wow that's exactly what I'd like to build. Some pictures would really be awesome. And possibly some specs?? Thanks
You might find this youtube video interesting. One of these links should work New to FHC. I've been lurking for a few days. About time I posted something.
Most shipping containers aren't insulated so 6 days seems a bit far fetched. If you could get you hands on a Refer trailer then you could begin to kiln dry wood in less than a week with the right ventilation and heat.
Welcome Old Goat And nice find on the vids! The reloading of the biomass boiler didn't make for good publicity on that boiler tho, huh? But beyond that, a neat (al beit expensive) set up... EricVW
Not far fetched at all. I've seen it work with zero insulation. I know it works. With that said, my friends is insulated to help with the wood consumption in the wood stove supplying the heat.
I doubt that the insulation is needed as it's more about getting rid of the water. Insulated would be nice as it would likely reduce the amount of heat (wood) required but I think moving air is more important. I think it's more of removing the water by airflow than cooking the water out with heat? I bet these guys split smaller too.
Grain dryer bins are not insulated either and farmers have been drying grain in them for decades. Air flow and heat are key, more so the air flow. There was a big fad around here a few years back of guys spray foaming the base of there dryer bins, up about a foot to the dryer floor... All in the name of saving energy... we get a few fire calls every fall to go put out there dryer fires because of this, not a good idea to place a highly combustible material on to a high temperature blast furnace! I know my farmer customers have told me it can cost 2-3 cents per bushel, per point moisture dropped in corn. Depending on LP prices, temp, humidity, corn test moisture and some other factors. I'd like to know the cost per cord, per moisture content point dropped... A bushel of corn is 1.244 cubic feet, there would be 102.89 bushels in a cord, we will call it 103, if corn and wood dried at the same rate (doubtful) and figured 2 cent per bushel per MC point dropped, that would be $2.06 per cord, per MC point. If you where just talking a few points, OK no big deal, but green wood to say 15%... ouch... could have over $50 just in LP, then add in extra labor for handling in and out of the kiln, plus the cost of the kiln. I know green red oak here is right around $300 per cord. Now how many Joe Blow "what is moisture content anyway, only wish they where as cool as a wood hoarder" wood burners are gonna fork over an extra C note per cord? Wow sorry for the way to long post... I just talked myself out of even thinking about building one of these. ~Nathan.... I need a after that post!
Sorry... but just got to thinking about it... If "green cut" red oak is say 75% MC and even getting it down to 20% MC, 55x2.06= $113.30 in LP alone! Double ouch.
If you would like to know the cost per cord, then let us assume that firewood and lumber are kind of similar. So borrow from the lumber guys. They have it all figured out. http://library.umaine.edu/MaineAES/TechnicalBulletin/tb73.pdf Skim and skip to the end, then use their examples and adjust board feet to cords and figure out how much a BTU is going to cost you. And then have another beer, cause you are going to need it after digesting that. Note in the examples on page 21 of the same document http://library.umaine.edu/MaineAES/TechnicalBulletin/tb73.pdf In a lumber kiln roughly: 50% goes to heat the wood and evaporate the water 25% goes to heat replacement air 25% goes to heat loss So it would appear that heat for the wood is the most significant factor.
Great information PB... but I'll read all of that over coffee at the office... sorry but I had to laugh at your statement "so barrow from the lumber guys. They have it all figured out." I buy enough truck loads of lumber a year to know not all mills have it figured out! I'm starting to think that the qualifications for "kiln dried" are about as messed up as the grading. Thanks for the reading material! ~Nathan
I don't think this is for your average hoarder. This is for the guy who's full time job or maybe a guy who's off in the winters job is to sell firewood. Logs are dropped off on Monday they are CSS and into the kiln they go. You have dry wood by the next week. You really have to put out some money to purchase & operate one of these. You need to recoupe that money some how.
In the pictures posted here are 2 pieces of Birch split at the same time about 2 months ago from the same tree that I brought inside yesterday so the wood could thaw as it was 22 degrees outside. The smaller one weighs 4.27 lbs. (used the smaller piece to prove my point) and it will be placed in front of a 20" box fan running (50.8 cm of air per minute) on Med. that runs 24 hrs. a day to help pull the hot air from a refrigerated prep. table that has 2 compressors. The other weighs 6.02 lbs. and will be placed in a 200 degree oven I use for roasting Roast Beef and Baking bread (rotating oven) with 12" of insulation and 139,000 BTU's. I started this an hour ago and have to tell you that after weighing each piece after one hour that air is not the most important thing in drying wood. The 6.02 lbs. piece after and hour in the oven weighs 5.98 lbs. the smaller 4.27 lbs. piece in front of the fan still weighs the same. The kitchen is 74 degrees. I tried to take pictures of the wood on my digital scale but the numbers didn't show up. I will post weights sometime Thursday again. The oven will not be turned on again till the morning and I will take the now 5.98lbs. piece out till the bread is finished and then shutting down the oven place the piece back in. The smaller piece will stay in front of the running fan 24 hrs. a day. The larger piece from the oven losing 4 hundredths of a pound in an hour tells me that at 200 degrees for 72 hours the piece should weigh well under 4lbs if the evaporation rate stays the same.
Exactly. My friend I refereed to before sells firewood. His kiln paid for itself in less than 2 weeks. But, if a guy had access to an old wood stove and some know-how, I would bet a nice kiln could be built for not a lot of money. I'm seriously thinking about building one for myself. I have an OWB and burn 15 cord a year...and my splits are big. For me to get 3-4 years ahead and burn nothing but dry wood is a MAJOR undertaking. If I could split 15-20 cord, load it in a kiln and dry it in 5-10 days I'd theoretically be 3 years ahead just by adding the kiln and I'd be burning dry wood just weeks after splitting it. That sure beats trying to get, cut, split and stack 45-50 cord of wood, shuffling all of that wood around, etc. all the while working 60 hours a week.
Here's some technical data about the ability of these kilns to dry wood. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn254.pdf
