Sun Kiln Results

[KDubU]

Tested some red oak I stacked in my kiln and so far the results are better than I expected. This oak was scrounged from a late winter storm from people who go were giving it away. Kilns were built late May and wood stacked and covered early June. Three pieces tested all in the teens. Last one is maple.

 

[KDubU]

Well not all pieces are as dry. Some of the large pieces closer to the middle are at 20-21%. This one is the highest so far.

 

[weee123]

I’m assuming you split these and are testing the center? If so that’s actually pretty impressive

 

[KDubU]

I’m assuming you split these and are testing the center? If so that’s actually pretty impressive

Yes and yes.

 

[Diabel]

This is amazing. Soooo many people should be doing this.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

For as far north you are this is a big thumbs up.. Is the kiln similar to the one that I have posted. Do you have a picture. Your drying season is so much shorter and oak is tough to get the water out. Good job man..

 

[KDubU]

For as far north you are this is a big thumbs up.. Is the kiln similar to the one that I have posted. Do you have a picture. Your drying season is so much shorter and oak is tough to get the water out. Good job man..

Yes I used your design - thanks for that. The wood has been in the sun all day plus I split my oak smaller to help dry it.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Yes I used your design - thanks for that. The wood has been in the sun all day plus I split my oak smaller to help dry it.

post a picture or 2.. Was it a large kiln.. how many cords..

 

[yooperdave]

Hard to argue with success; good job KDubU

 

[KDubU]

post a picture or 2.. Was it a large kiln.. how many cords..

Here is a pic. One on the right has/had red oak and the one on the left had maple. Rudimentary but works.

 

[VT_451]

I'm in Virginia and I do this kiln every two years when I get an order of logs. Covered by June, ready to go by November, my order lasts me two years. I cant thank Woodsplitter67 enough!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I'm in Virginia and I do this kiln every two years when I get an order of logs. Covered by June, ready to go by November, my order lasts me two years. I cant thank Woodsplitter67 enough!

Its posts like this that makes it worth while. There is alot of time and effort that goes into these threads.. Thanks for the post. Im gald its working out for all of you. In all reality.. @Poindexter also carries alot of credit here.. It was him in Alaska who originally came up with the idea.. I made some changes for the lower 48 people..
Post what you make.. share the knowledge..

 

[VT_451]

I’m fortunate (maybe? It’s really elevated) to have an old town water tank in my yard that is all concrete. Most of the time I have 4 of these racks set up (two 8 foot racks end to end) with sun exposure from about 11am until an hour before sunset during the summer and early autumn. This year I tried a different area on the ground level beside a garage that gets about the same solar times to compare. Temperatures are monitored from indoors and are kept about 20-25 degrees above ambient in direct sun. Once the stacking and covering is done, the only fine tuning is the vents to get the right temperature.

The ground level pair stayed a bit cooler throughout the year and suffered more wind damage than the elevated one, but a split test today of 10 logs from all three showed 16-19 percent.

 

[Todd]

Nice! It also helps that the Oak was felled in the Winter when it has less sap.

 

[Poindexter]

Yup. These work awesome in a lot of microclimates. I will accept a little credit for pursuing this idea, but with an asterisk.

I got the idea from a user here in Indiana who hasn't posted in years. @solarguy something other than 3500. I think it might have been something like Solarguy2003. What he did in Indiana that made the difference for me was he put down a vapor impermeable layer under his hoop style green house to keep ground water out of his cordwood during his spring melts. Ground level water vapor is a huge problem for me during the spring melt. Still cold enough to want to run my stove, but enough water vapor at ground level during the 'heat' of the day to significantly impact the MC of my outdoor cordwood long before burn season ended.

I think the real credit here really does belong to @Woodsplitter67 . He is in the lower 48 like the vast majority of the all y'all, but he was able, with his first prototype, to have burnable oak in one summer of seasoning instead of two summers. He was able to cut the seasoning time of oak cordwood, in the lower 48, in half.

I respect and appreciate I was a researcher that gave him the data he needed to make a major breakthrough with his first prototype, thank you and you're welcome; but really the credit for making passive solar kilns accessible to all and sundry in the lower 48 does well and truly belong to woodsplitter67.

Good luck. Best wishes. Peace on Earth. Good will to woodsplitter67.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

I plan to do a version of this kiln next summer with IBC totes i got cheap. The plan is to stack wood level with the top, use the cut off top of the IBC tote as a roof and the cap as a vent, and wrap the exterior with poly. Will post some photos and results when I do it next year.