I am new to this forum, so I hope it goes through ok.
We manufacture walnut lumber products in Kyrgyzstan for export to Europe and Russia. We traditionally dry our wood in "conventional" dryers. I have a little experience with vacuum dryers in the States and Europe in drying red oak and walnut. I contacted Sergei of Vacuums Plus in Moscow during a visit here and would to advise the readers of this forum of what I see.
Sergei, despite the difficulty in understanding the computer translation he uses on his posts, is very knowledgable about his subject. I have seen his dryers and am somewhat impressed by the simplicity of the system. Especially after seeing the multitude of renditions of vacuum dryers in Europe. The workmanship is good although cosmetically the dryer could be improved. On the other hand, what are the concerns about cosmetics?
The value of the dryer is main reason anyone should consider this dryer, in my opinion. Whereas everyone else is selling vacuum dryers for a minimum of $10,000 per M3 of capacity, the Vacuum plus system is approximately $2000 per M3.
We are going to buy 2 systems to take to Kyrgyzstan to see how they do. I am asking Sergei to alter the design a little to allow us to steam the walnut before drying and to pull a greater vacuum. I also want to increase the temperature capacity over 80 degrees C, for the final stage.
I think Sergei's system will work fine, but I also think it needs a little more power. The alterations to the designe are a minimal expense.
