Author Topic: Firewood Kiln from Shipping Container (Read 10617 times)

evergreenforestmgmt · « **on:** February 19, 2008, 08:40:40 pm »

Hello everyone,

I am a firewood producer in the northeast who is looking at building a firewood dry kiln out of a shipping container. It would be a run by a wood chip boiler. I have seen set ups and kits on the internet that are very expensive. I'm pretty handy, but not quite sure on how to build one. Does anybody know much about these, or could direct me to some information. Thanks a lot.

Kelvin · « **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2008, 10:37:41 pm »

Howdy,
Well i guess you wouldn't be worried about lumber degrade so i guess you would just put the heat to it and have circulator fans and make sure the air could get through the lumber. If you don't have the container yet, why bother? I would just build a hoop house with greenhouse film and load firewood inside for the summer. My hoophoue could be 100 degrees warmer than outside temps and it cost me nothing to heat, and its not sunny here. Why not go solar? You could even simply make moveable pvc house with greenhouse film to put over stacks. Skip the work. I've dried lumber in my solar kiln for quite awhile till i added a wood burner to make up for my cold overcast winter days. If i wan't impatient they work great, and you could make just about any length for not much $$$$
KP

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2008, 10:43:17 pm »

How are you going to load the container? Any added labor is going to eat up profits.

Dave

Don_Lewis · « **Reply #3 on:** February 20, 2008, 07:37:58 am »

If you are serious about drying firewood as a business, then you should install a system that burns wood and can heat the chamber to 225-235F. That means that hot water is out but hot air can work and steam can work. You will burn about 25% of your total supply to dry the remaining 75% but what you burn will be the stuff that you wouldn't package anyway. You certainly can dry wood with solar and hot water but it is slow and/or not predicatable enough to base a real business upon. If you are in an area where people are paying very high prices for firewood (like near New York City), you can justify a slow system using hot water heating and much lower production

You can buy hot water coils, fans, vents and controls and make a firewood dryer that will work. There are various grades of coils and their price varies widely. The BTUH rating can be comparable but the life expectancy varies a great deal. Same with all the other parts and pieces.

Don_Lewis · « **Reply #4 on:** February 20, 2008, 07:40:20 am »

By the way, make sure you buy a refrigerated shipping container. You cannot insulate an unisulated container well enough to have it last and by the time you insulate an uninsulated container, you will have spent more than you would on a "reefer" and have a poor chamber

evergreenforestmgmt · « **Reply #5 on:** February 20, 2008, 08:59:15 pm »

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your replies. I have read about those solar kilns and think they are great, but I move a lot of firewood and don't have all summer to get it dry. I need to be drying wood every day of the year pretty much. I think a solar kiln would work good on smaller scale operations, but I already have some of the components for a dehumidification kiln. I have the boiler and an endless supply of waste product to feed it.

I would like to set up a storage container and have racks built that I could load approx. 1/3rd of a cord in each basket right off the processor. Then I could load the container with my skid steer. That would be pretty easy handling.

I plan on finding a reefer trailer somewhere. If I can't find one near where I live, I'll get a 40 foot high cube trailer and spray foam the inside. I was wondering if anyone had built one of these and would be able to give me some advice. Thanks

KnotBB · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2008, 08:47:33 am »

check with these people: http://www.containerkiln.com/drykiln/Dry_Kiln.html

scsmith42 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2008, 02:54:55 pm »

Don, if I recall correctly the commercial reefers / insulated containers do not make good choices for high temp kilns because the insulation starts breaking down above 160F or so?

EGFM, ditto Don's comment on converting a non insulated container into a kiln; I've done this and in hindsight it was not cost effective.

There are two big problems with containers for kilns; the non-insulated ones will rust out over time, and ingress/egress from the end of the container is a real pain - you will need some type of track and cart system at a minimum.

I think that it's better to stick build something that is optimized for your needs.

Scott

Don_Lewis · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2008, 06:25:25 pm »

Urethane insulation is usually used in reefers and it can tolerate higher than 160F (72C). I would not worry about it at 225F (108C). But if it is extruded styrofoam, 160F is tops. White EPS should be kept iunder 140F

MikeH · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2008, 10:01:58 pm »

So would that pink foam board from box stores be okay in a solar kiln? I think that is extruded?

evergreenforestmgmt · « **Reply #10 on:** February 22, 2008, 08:33:00 pm »

scsmith,

Can you describe your kiln that you made? Did you use steam or hot water? I would like to use steam for mine so I can get it hotter than hot water in the kiln. I would have a track system with baskets that I could move in and out with a skid steer.

I'm kind of set with a container set up rather than a stick building because I don't want anything that is permanent and can't be moved easily. That is why I think a container would be better for me.

Don, is there a way to tell if an insulated refer trailer is in fact urethane insulated?

KnotBB, I've looked into that particular website, they are very expensive through them. Plus I like a good challange of building it myself.

I'd like to talk with someone who has knowledge of how to set one of these kilns up using steam and what components to use.

Don_Papenburg · « **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2008, 09:42:55 pm »

From the FoamulaR booklet , Architectural Notes ..... should not be used ...........where temperatures exceed 150 F. It is not recomended where sustained temperaturs exeed165 F.

Dan_Shade · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2008, 10:41:04 am »

unless you really know how to fit pipes, I'd avoid the steam... dangerous stuff.

logwalker · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2008, 11:28:20 am »

I don't think the steam needs to be pressurized, it is only a medium for the heat. Where steam leave the surface of non-pressurized boiling water it is 409 deg. at sea level. At least that is what I remember from my high school class 40 years ago. I could be wrong.

Furby · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2008, 09:29:39 pm »

If it isn't pressurized, isn't it really water vapor?

Reddog · « **Reply #15 on:** February 23, 2008, 09:40:08 pm »

Furby,

From Wikipedia
"In physical chemistry, and in engineering, steam refers to vaporized water."

So yes all steam is water vapor.

scsmith42 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 23, 2008, 09:57:16 pm »

EGFM, I sent you a PM with some info about my kiln. No steam here - I use a Nyle 200 / Woodmizer 4000 dehumidification system with a Delmhorst Kil-mo-trol Plus. Overall I have been very pleased with it.

Scott

Furby · « **Reply #17 on:** February 23, 2008, 10:09:35 pm »

I was taught that steam is invisible (as the rest of your quote should say) and as soon as you could see it as it cooled it was considered water vapor.
Under pressure it maintains temp longer and stays as steam.
But yes, I guess I do think your quote is correct Reddog, and my question is probly purposeless.

Greg Cook · « **Reply #18 on:** March 01, 2008, 10:31:52 am »

I had kinda thought that when it comes time to build a kiln, I could take a shipping container, cut me a nice round hole at one end so I could slide in and old boiler, steel pipe with a cap welded on, or some type of heavy steel tank. Just something plate steel and about 30" to 36" in diameter. I'll put the door for this "woodstove" outisde the container, as well as the flue pipe. I figured keeping a fire going in this stove with a few fans circulating would work nicely, there would be no sparks inside the container, and you could burn 3' to 4' slabs for fuel.

Just a rough idea, and it could be fine tuned when running.

evergreenforestmgmt · « **Reply #19 on:** July 18, 2008, 04:07:10 pm »

Hi, Just starting to get back to this subject, it's starting to get into that cold weather season up here already. Not sure if anyone will read this anymore, but I was thinking that Greg from TN has a good idea. If you had a insulated shipping container, and built a set up that you could burn wood in that hooked up with it, and used the convection off the fire, you'd be able to heat the container very, very hot. The hotter the better, and it would be much safer than steam. It would be simple as there would be not water hook up to fool with, and no boiler. What a great idea. The only thing, is it would have to be fairly efficient, as you would have to fill it all the time to keep it hot. That might be tough if you already had a full time job and weren't there all the time to keep it fired.

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Author Topic: Firewood Kiln from Shipping Container (Read 10617 times)