This one requires some work & some lumber. You will have to dig holes in the ground for 2×4×8 , pressure treated,
if you don’t want them to rot at the ground line after 4 years. our basic floor plan is the cord of wood ,4 ft high x 4 ft deep x 8 ft long, but ,alternatly, you can make it any size you want.

Need to dig 14 to 18 in deep holes for 2 ×4 poles every 3 ft, so that you have a pole at the end, then 3 ft ,then 6 ft & finally 9 ft, as measured from the end pole. Go 4 ft 6 in, or 5 ft, back & do it all again. Now put pallets inside on the ground to keep your wood off the ground so it wont rot & then connect the tops of the poles with 2×4×8 or 2×3×8 if you want to save some money, non pressure treated wood.

You need to make a roof framing & I would suggest a 4ft x 8ft roofing panel & roll roofing, if you want the better & longer lasting version of the still. Add about 18 in of 2×4 to the top of the 4 back poles so that the roof will have pitch to throw off rain. Finally ,take a 1/2” x 3” x 8ft furring strip & mount it 6 in down from the top , across the front of the 4 poles & another one 6 inch off the ground, across the bottom of the poles . Do the same for the back 8 ft and both sides.

This allows for a 6 inch cold ,dry air intake at the bottom & a 6 inch air outlet for moist heated air at the top .
Solar heat penatrates the clear plastic & warms the wood to the 80 * to 110* heat range & the plastic keeps
cooling breezes off while the 6 in upper & lower air intakes & outlets allow for a slower air circulation so that the air remains heated more than outside air. The plastic also keeps off the rain.

While I have seen solar wood drying stills use the plastic sheeting for a roof, the plastic sheeting will rip & tear
with the wieght of snow & ice , so i do not recommend the plastic sheeting roof in any region where it can snow.

***NOTE OF WARNING ABOUT PLASTIC SHEETING. If you can , try to buy the plastic sheeting that will not biodegrade with sunlight. The plastic sheeting sold at home depot & lowes for temporary protection of new construction, boidegrades , altogether too quickly & they want $75.oo for it. not a good choice, as it will only last 6 months in the sun.

Better off to special order in clear plastic sheeting used for greenhouses , that has special chemicals to prevent biodegrading, so that the plastic will last several years.

Finally, staple or otherwise fasten the greenhouse grade/spec. clear plastic sheeting,that does not biodegrade in 6 months, to the furring strips, across the front & back & both sides.

This is the basic solar wood drying still that dries wood 1 YEARS SEASONING IN JUST 3 MONTHS.

Now, the problem with fastening the clear see thru sheet plastic with a staple gun to the furring strips is that you have to be able to get in & out often with the wood; so we are forced to get a bit more elaborate here.

I suggest a 3 ft 2 in wide((please check measurement & fit accordingly here before building door)) door framed out of furring strips with 3 hinges on the end pole, a second door on the third pole that closes on the second pole & a final door on the fourth pole that closes on the third pole.

So now we have 4 doors across the front of the still & we can remove the bottom furring strip because we can build the bottom 6 in air inlet into the bottom of the doors & not have a furring stripe 6 inches off the ground to trip on constantly.

If you take a 8 ft 2 ×4 & bury the end into a 18 inch hole, you have 6.5 ft of pole sticking up.

OH did I forget to mention that after you stick the 2 × 4 × 8 into the 14 to 18 inch hole (dept of hole depends upon how much you like to dig) I’m lazy & use 12 in holes, myself, but then, in some areas , there are frost heave issues to consider; you are susposed to straighten out the pole & pour dry cement in the hole and then water the cement.
Alternately, you can go thru all the work & mess of mixing the cement in a wheel barrow & pouring wet cement.

My experience with wood piles is that anything over 5 ft high needs retainer supports to keep the wood from tumbling down, so if you want or need to fill the still to the roof, install supports for the wood stack accordingly.

Lastly , some cheap door fasteners whould be nice to keep the doors closed in a high wind.

Also,if you have high winds or could possibly have high winds to contend with, you will need to fasten 1/2” x3“x3ft
approximate measurement,important 2 measure yourself before cutting the wood,furring stripes to the 2 × 4 × 8 ‘s to provide additional support for the weak plastic film as well as in the furringstrip door pannels.

So in closing, you can build the solar still well built & have it last a long time or weakly & have it last 1 year or 2 if
if your lucky.

If you wish to overbuild for 20 + years, use pressure treated 4×4 ×8 instead of pressure treated 2×4×8 for your support poles. You can also install a pole at 2 ft on both end pannels, for added reinforcements.

this was orriginally a project i started back in 2006 , but in 2007, I was able to buy a used construction trailer 35 ft long for $350.oo delivered because the wheel bearings & axils were shot from collision damage.
So I never finished the solar still, the construction trailer being much better for the new england nor easter climate. Here it rains 4 days a week, so waterproof wood storage is imperative.

I may yet have to complete that solar still, if only because I can’t seem to stop collecting large quantities of free firewood & will need someplace dry to store it all.