Plumb Dangerous Thinkin

[woodhaven]

Thats right,
I would hate to see some of you guys try this and then say we are crazy because it didn't work. You need a good AC not a piece of junk.
The first 40% of what any AC unit does anyway is dehumidify your house then it starts to cool.
When I do a heat loss and heat gain calculation on any structure you would be surprised at the unit size if it were not for moisture removal.

[Buzz-sawyer]

Right Guys...
It can be a 1965 model with no plastic left on it ....but it HAS to be a functional a/c unit....it must dehumidify and heat....that all there is to it
plain ...simple

[Don_Lewis]

It will work as a dryer as long as the system is still functional. There are two main problems. It won't last long because corrosion form the acid in wood will eat up the wet surfaces quickly and it can't function at high enough temperatures to be effective. The airflows are designed for around 70F so when you raise the temperature it becomes less efficient and may not even take water out of the air when you get down to 30% RH, which you need at the end of the cycle to get to 6%. But people do it and you can dry wood that way just not very well.

[Ianab]

But people do it and you can dry wood that way just not very well.

Very true, you aren't going to make a $10,000 DH kiln with a $200 second hand aircon unit. But to dry small quantities of timber, or get your 20% airdried wood down to 10%, it is practical. You wont have killed all possible bugs, you wont have set pitch, it wont be fast.... Just be aware of the limitations and if you can work with them go for it.

[Buzz-sawyer]

I hold a slightly different opinion .....in that I got the a/c unit for free ( and most old r-12 units can be had for $50-$100 or free) and I feel it works exceptionally well,(in light of the cost to to usefullness ratio)
as far as corroding and dissintigrating into pieces ...havent seen that happen.....if it does after 5 or 10 1000 bdft loads SO? visit another garage sale and set another one in there , right, Harold!
and the OLD r-12 units do function fairly efficiently at higher end of cycle (as discussed in previous thread....

    regardless it is satisfying to me personally to collect the parts and make something for free that can turn 1000 feet of air dried into6-8% lumber essentialy for the cost of electricity ($50).....results may vary , but the fun of DOIN it doesnt....
Keep those projecs flowin....good fun guys good input all...
Don

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Geez, Now I wish I actually HAD that A/C unit I started this post about.

 I was just doing some deep thinking and came up with the idea of what the post is about.

 If the A/C unit was placed completely inside a container containing 300 bdft of 12% MC wood, could I expect to get 6%-7% MC wood out, and roughly how long???  I'm ready to experiment.  Would another heat source be needed, and suppose I heated the wood first and then started the A/C unit???  Or should I place just the front (cool air) end inside the container???

 I have a hot customer that wants 6% Cypress for a demo cabinet for his shop. He wants 1000 bdft on a regular basis, IF I can provide the 6% MC.  

 So far, this thread is helping me understand how this drying stuff works.  Thanks, Guys

[woodhaven]

FD,
If you are already down to 12% I don't think I would waste the time to hook up a dehumidification unit(AC). It would take very little heat to go from 12% down to 6%. How come you want to go down so low. 8% is standard for most furniture grade.
If you put the window AC in a container you will want to work out a way to drain the water out.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 This particular cabinet shop wants 6%. I asked the same question and he says he needs 6%???  He has a concrete block storage building and the day we were there, the overhead doors (2), were all the way up. He is also ½ mile from the St. John's River, where it is about 2 miles wide.

 I guess he figures by the time he gets to use the stock, it will be around 8-9%

 Would I need to exhaust the hot air to get the MC down???

[Den Socling]

Why don't you walk into this guys shop with a moisture meter. Meter stuff that looks like it's been around awhile and then tell him you will finish the Cypress to his EMC.  

[Fla._Deadheader]

We talked about that after we left the shop. However, new customer and LOTS of unsold boards makes discretion the better part of valor

[Larry]

Find a kiln that will dry it for you to 6%.  Cost should be in the range of 150 to 400 per mbf.  If it looks like it is going to work with the cabinet maker than think about buying a kiln.

1,000 bf on a regular basis is a lot more than any of the home built kilns using an AC or DH can produce on a regular basis.

[woodhaven]

Den might have a different thought but I don't think you need to worry much about the water at this point.
If you are already down to 12% you don't have much water left. With it being that low I would throw 150 degrees at it for a day and recheck it.

[Larry]

WH,
Your right not much water left but it’s the hardest water to get out and requires a lot of time or heat or something.

[woodhaven]

Delivery it on a rainey day. Tell him it was 6% when you left home.

[Fla._Deadheader]

That's a concern that has me wondering. Ya know, we start the rainy season in May, and we have to go 170 miles, and try to keep this stuff at 6%

 Been thinkin about getting a storage bay up near the camp, and put a de-humdinger and small heater in there and let 'er dig. Add more heat near the end???

[woodhaven]

You must be making good money. That seems like a lot of extra work.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Just trying to figger out a way to get dry lumber, without spending a LOT of bucks.

 IF we sell out and move, I will put in a Vac Kiln, like Den proposed in an earlier thread.