Mini Solar Kiln Plans *LINK*

Anyone remember the "Whole Earth Catalog"?

Gary Smyth

I think that I built a saltbox shaped cold frame one March similar to the VT kiln plans. Obviously much smaller and the vent was raising the frame lid with a stick. As I recall, a good start on lettuce, spinach, strawberries, petunias, and snapdragons.

Mine lasted no more than three seasons, but while it existed it was 10 degrees and as much as 30 degrees warmer than outside. The problem was too much heat and inconsistent temps. Thermostatic fans should really fix that problem.

Thanks, Boss

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

Come retirement this might just come in handy.

Now to figure out the pv panels to supply the juice for the fans . . .

Re: Anyone remember the "Whole Earth Catalog"?

John McGaw

Remember? I'm pretty certain that I have an early copy stashed away in one of the boxes of books and office stuff that I never unpacked after moving from Alaska. For another of the same vintage, I was just looking at my copy of "What To Do After You Hit Return" copyrighted in 1977 by People's Computer Company. Hard to believe the things you manage to hold on to (and the things you wish you had).

I started one over a year ago but,

Keith Newton

I'm sure you know how hard it is to carve out a little time for myself, when jobs come along, the usually want something a little faster than my usual pace allows. I guess I'm lucky to have enough customers to keep me afloat, but sometimes it seems like slowly being nibbled to death by frogs.

About a month ago I picked up the polycarbonate roof material and screws at Lowes, but they didn't have any of the bottom closer strips. Then I went off to the cabin over memorial week, and overworked my old joints, and have spent the last month hands swollen too tight to make a fist.

However, my doctor prescribed prednisone last Monday, and by Tuesday morning half the swelling was gone, along with most of the pain. By Friday all the swelling was gone, along with more reduction in pain, but there is still more than normal before, so I'm trying to ease back into work.

I'm building mine on a pretty heavy duty steel frame which is on casters, but thinking I probably ought to put a trailer axel under it. My parking lot is 50' wide, and of course it will need to be over on the N side to catch the Sun, so the big doors would be too close to a wall to open, so I was planning to pull it over by the mill while sawing and loading, then park it out of the way when its running.

alternatives

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I got Gene's VT publication years ago. The kin looked like a substantial investment in time and space. If I was going to be drying enough lumber regularly to justify this arrangement I would just buy a small dehumidification kiln if these packages are still sold. However, there are cheap alternatives to either of these approaches.

Mother nature does a good job of drying lumber quickly and reliably down to 20+/- moisture content (MC). Just pile it out doors with good air circulation. Many large kiln operations do initial mother nature drying under conditions that provide good air circulation and shade in the hot summer months to slow the drying of oak. It's removing that last 10% MC that becomes a problem.

For small lots any sort of attic space works in my TN climate. I put a raftered roof on the lumber storage barn. The loft holds about 300 bdft of lumber on sticks and in the course of one summer this environment will drive the moisture content to below 7%.

When we sold lumber I often dried easy to dry species like poplar and cherry in just a few days. After air drying the 4' wide stack of about 1500 bdft I put a crude 2 x 4 frame around the stack. The frame was covered by roofing tin on the top and fiber 4 x8 insulation sheets on the sides. Two rented diesel fuel heaters (I think 300,000 BTU) were positioned at diagonal corners such that the air was directed in a 2' wide gap around the pile. The fan in these heaters creates a hurricane inside the closure. A couple of window fans blew air through the pile. I ran the heaters by day with a rest at night to equilibrate the moisture. With less than 50 gallon of diesel fuel I could drive the MC from 20%/- to below 7% in less than a week. It was essential to start with lumber that was less than 25% MC and species that released moisture readily to avoid drying damage. I think the poor control of temperature with this arrangement would not have dried oak reliably. I never tried oak.

yes, just sold a vintage copy on Ebay"?

Re: alternatives

Kneale Brownson

I bought these to store wood and metal working equipment from my barn that I'm clearing out to prepare the property for sale. Just a little sunshine and it gets very warm inside.

I'd think a very little bit of sensor-controlled vent/fan installation would allow for managing the rate of moisture removal.

Mine are 40 feet long, but they come as short as 20 feet.

Re: alternatives

AZ in Colorado Springs

We used several of those in Riyadh Saudi Arabia to store housewares and other items. Much of the plastic ware melted.

Re: alternatives

William Duffield

But, they don't take advantage of the "greenhouse effect." A large percentage of the solar power that hits them is reflected or reradiated away instead of heating the air inside and then heating the moisture in the wood. To get enough ventilation (in comparison to a solar kiln), you need to cut more holes in them, or use more electricity to move more air. But they can be an effective place to store the wood you've already sawn and dried, if you don't have a barn, and you don't have to pay property tax on them.

I am not trying to say that an intermodal container is a bad idea. Figuring out the financial pros and cons of different drying methods is very complicated, and everyone's case is going to be different. It requires a lot of calculations if you are trying to minimize your material costs, energy costs, labor costs, time to finished product, project requirements, etc. For some, but probably none of us , stopping at Woodcraft for a single board on the way home from work Friday afternoon might be the most economical way to complete a specific project.