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How many have Kilns?

Started by Rick-Wi, July 24, 2002, 06:19:07 PM

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Rick-Wi

OK, How many of you have kilns?
What size charge does it take?
What type of Kiln you have?
What is the interior made from?

Rick-Wi

Corley5

Don't have one but sure would like one ;D
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Tom

I don't have one either but it has been a dream for a lot of years.  Thought first about a solar kiln from Woodmizer and then about building my own.  I have a friend with a 15,000 BF Nyle and I'm jealous.

Sawyerfortyish

I dont have one either :'( and those big stacks of lumber air drying for more than a year is always in the way :( ;)

Brian_Bailey

Hi- This is my 1st post on this forum.  I've been visiting here quite often over the last few months and have learned a lot.  

I have been running a Nyle L-150 since 1989. I dry mostly hardwoods that I have sawn on my orange machine  ;D.  I have found that about 1500 bf of 4/4 dries nicely in the 10'x18'x8' high chamber.  

The kiln is located outside.  The walls are constructed with 2x6's with 3/8 cdx plywood for the interior.  I applied a very heavy coat of Alum. asphalt roofing on the interior face of the  plywood.  I used stainless steel screws to fasten the plywood to the 2x6's.  I then used 6 mil plastic for a vapor barrier between the plywood and the insulation which is 5" of blue Dow Stryofoam.  Then 3/8 cdx ply on the outside with 1" Hemlock board and batten.  Probably overkill, but it shure helps with the electric bill in the winter here in W.NY. Brian...
WMLT40HDG35, Nyle L-150 DH Kiln, now all I need is some logs and someone to do the work :)

Paul_H

Welcome, Brian.
Wish you lived a little closer,as there are no kilns nearby.

Tell us a little more about your operation.Winters are cold out here too.

What are drying times for 2",in the kiln?
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Jeff

sooo.... that was you out there window peakin eh Brian?  Just kiddin. Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Tom

Welcome to the Forestry Forum Brian.  This is great....we have a kiln operator now.  Thanks for posting...stick around...we're going to be needing you. :D

Rick-Wi

Welcome Brian, we ordered a Nyles L200 and we are making the chamber now. Our building is 16' deep and 34' long. The chamber is in the center with covered and two sides closed on the ends. That we will use to hold lumber waiting for the kiln or air drying. Kiln chamber is 17'x12'x8'.

How did you do the ceiling of your kiln, same as the walls? I would like to use fiberglass in the ceiling to at least R50

Rick-Wi

Brian_Bailey

Thank you for the Welcome.  

Paul H. -

I don't dry much 8/4 in the kiln as it takes forever to get it down to 6-8% mc.  I only saw a few hundred bf of each species that I use, so I never seem to have enough to make up a load.  What I have found that works real well for me, is to let the 8/4 air dry to about 16-18%.  Then put it in the kiln for a couple of days @ 140 degrees to kill any unwanted wood munchers. Then bring it into my shop/ storage area to finish drying.  I'm real fussy about any wood that comes into my shop / lumber storage area.  It has to be sterilized first!

About my operation,  I'm just a serious hobbyist that has sawdust in his veins really bad :D.  I've been a Woodmizer owner since 1984.  My current mill is a LT-40 Superhyd./ 35hp. Wisc.  I had a Sanborn Min-Max band mill for a few years back in the 80's. It ran a 5" band and boy could it cut lumber.  It was too much of a mill for a one man show.  So,  I sold it :'(  and went back to to a Mizer. It still amazes me on how well a sharp 11/4" band cuts lumber!

I'm retired from full time employment and now work longer and harder for myself.  I do some custom sawing,  sell KD hardwood lumber to area woodworkers and build furniture mostly in the winter.

I just bought a Hardy 1700 ST knuckleboom loader and forwarding trailer to use around the mill and my woodlot.  I also have an Auto Crane on my Truck to haul logs over the road.  Well,  that's enough for now, sorry if this is too long.

Jeff B. -

 How'd you know it was me?  You know,  I'd look in all those windows and all I could see was a computer screen with a Forestry Forum page up.  So,  I sez's to myself,  I sezs,  why not join in the fun?  :)  Brian...



WMLT40HDG35, Nyle L-150 DH Kiln, now all I need is some logs and someone to do the work :)

CHARLIE

Welcome to the forum Brian Baily.  I don't own a mill but I do enjoy woodworking and learning about wood. There's a bunch of nice and neat people on this forum. I hope you enjoy being a member as much as I have. I've learned a lot too.
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

whitepe

I bought an LT15 back in March 2002 and my friend is sweat equity in this
hobby/venture.   He built a solar  kiln in his backyard based on Gene Wengert's
design. It will hold about 750 bd ft of stickered lumber.  Floor size is
six feet by 12 feet.  North wall is 12 feet high, South wall is six feet high.
He had to buy some translucent corrugated roof panels, some ply wood and
a few 12 ft 2x4's  The rest of the structural lumber we got from my neighbors
burn pile when he tore apart an old deck made of redwood. We got all the
nails out and planed about 1/8 inch of the 2 X's and they look good as new.
Our next endeavor we will build for about 2000-3000 board feet.


blue by day, orange by night and green in between

Brian_Bailey

Rick-WI

You will be very happy with Nyle, they make good equip. and their tech. support is excellent.  One thing I like about low temp. DH drying is, it is pretty darn hard to ruin the lumber your drying.

Rick,

 If you cut a lot of 8 footers,  I would extend the lenght of your chamber a foot or so.  If it's not to late.  The reason I suggest this is.  The 8 footers I saw generally are over lenght by 6 to 8''.  If your chamber lenght is 17' you will not be able to get 2 stacks end to end without end triming.  I like to leave any overlenght on the board because it helps in getting a few more cutting units that might raise the grade of the board.  Just a thought.

My ceiling is the same as the walls.  I'd stay away from fiberglass.  The mice love to build nest in it and they make quite a mess. I know from personal exp.  Plus if it gets any moisture in it you will lose the insulation value of it. Hope this is of some help to you.  Brian...
WMLT40HDG35, Nyle L-150 DH Kiln, now all I need is some logs and someone to do the work :)

Eggsander

Sounds like a nice operation Brian. Welcome. So what, roughly would the investment be in a kiln similar to yours?
I built a solar kiln acouple of years ago, about 700 bf capacity. I'm still fiddling with it, and it works pretty well now.
The latest project is to try to add some heat to get the temp high enough to set the pitch in pine. I can hit 125° to 130°, so I'm hoping it won't take much to get to 160° +.
Steve

Geoff

Brian,

Sounds like our place, less the kiln.  We use a custom dryer about 45 minutes down the road.  We have a Hardy log trailer as well.  Best money I ever spent.

Geoff

Norm

We've been running a Nyle L200 for about a year now. The folks with Nyle are real helpful and easy to work with. We used Celotex insulation on the inside and outside of 2x6 walls and used a vapor barrier on the inside under the Celotex. Our kiln is inside a Morton building so weather is not a problem for me. The biggest mistake I made was in not making the chamber big enough, Brian makes a good point about the size and we are considering a new chamber to correct this problem.

 I air dry my lumber until it's about 25-30% and then run it in the kiln to get down to 6-8%. I find I don't have problems with case hardening if I go this route. The biggest problem is keeping the wood at this level unless you have a climate controlled shop with storage.

Brian_Bailey

Eggsander,

 I have about 8,000 invested in the kiln equip.& bldg.  Sounds like a lot of money but the payback is fast. I looked into solar kilns but ruled them out due to the almost constant cloud cover from lake Erie and Ontario.  I'm glad I went the DH route because of the ease of operation and the precise control of temp. and humidity in the kiln.

Norm F,

 I also air dry first,  then kiln to 6-8%.  I shut the compressor off when the moisture meter reaches 10-12%.  I use probes in the sample boards,  then run the cables thru the wall .  That way I can moniter the mc without going into the kiln.  I then raise the temp. to 140 for a couple of days.  When thats done , I go into the kiln real quick and pour 2 to 4 gals.of water on the floor depending on the amount of lumber in the chamber.  Close up the kiln, turn off the heat and just let the fans run.  In about 3 days the lumber will be between 6-8%.  I don't know if the water thing does any good but the prong test doesn't show any casehardening. Brian...
WMLT40HDG35, Nyle L-150 DH Kiln, now all I need is some logs and someone to do the work :)

Frank_Pender

Welcome Brian.  I thought I had post this moring , but guess to many senior mements today. :'(   I have kiln operation in place.  I use an Ebac 800 in a refer semi trailer.  My primarely heating system is a Taylor hotwater furnace feeding a heat exchanger in the trailer.  I only reinsolated the walls and installed several electrical outlets for fans and lights. I have been very happy with the the Ebac system, so much so, that I bought an Ebac 3000 for the future kiln building, still on the drawing boards of life. :'(   I can dry approximately 2000 feet at a time with this system.   ;)
Frank Pender

Rick-Wi

When we are done with the building and instalation of the L200 we will have about $10000 invested in the Kiln. The reason we are doing it is that air dried and green lumber is very hard to sell here. Also we have some nice Walnut, cherry and maple to cut. It wouldn't make sence to try and sell anyother way but KD.

Rick-Wi

JoeyLowe

Welcome Brian Bailey.

Please share with us the profitability of your Nyle 200 Kiln.  When you said you recouped your initial investment of $8k real fast, how many charges did it take to do that?  Are there any hidden costs in constructing the Nyle Kiln Building?

If you don't mind, please elaborate on how many charges of what type of 4/4 lumber are you running in a 30 day period?  I'm just curious about the turnaround time on one of these babies.  I've ordered the plans and the operating manual, but haven't actually ordered the kiln yet.  What are some actual, non-manufacturer provided operating costs?

Thanks in advance and again welcome to the forum!
--
Joey Lowe

"Working towards perfection has to be a part of anything one does.  You've got to put yourself into it." ... Sam Maloof (chairmaker)

Brian_Bailey

I went the kiln route for the same reason.  We have many mills in the area that are wholesaleing green lumber. Many are now Kiln drying their own lumber too. Extremely tough market for a little guy to break into. Kind of like the dairy industry here, Get BIG or get pushed out!  I wanted to stay small and keep it all or most of it anyways.

I read in one of the trade mags, that they estimated over 60 thousand woodworkers in the western NY area.  I decided there's the market to shoot for.  I've been chasing this market for a quite a few years and have had a good time, met a lot of nice folks and made a few bucks too. Brian...  
WMLT40HDG35, Nyle L-150 DH Kiln, now all I need is some logs and someone to do the work :)

woodman

I don't have one i air dry then rent one to get it down to 6 or 7% to sell to small wood shops.
Jim Cripanuk

Dugsaws

I recently bought a nyle L-200 system but have yet to get my building up. Hope to get it built before the snow fly's and get started drying.    . 8) My plan is to build the chamber 12x17x8 inside dimensions. I plan to use r-30 fiberglass insultation and saw my dimention lumber to fit around the r-30. If anyone has any other suggestions i am all ears.
Doug

Don P

First I know you're gonna shriek at the size mix here...but we were in a bind and just wanted to knock some weight and moisture off the barn posts :D. Or...we were using the 6x6's to equalize the 4/4...yeah that's it...I'm sticking with that
This is Horselogger's L200 on an old dairy box. He plans to upsize the chamber but it got him up and running for very little investment in the chamber.

  

Jeff

Now there is a great idea. How many of you guys are going to be heading for the salvage yard looking for retired refrigerator trucks now?

Think about it. Just perfect if you can find the size your looking for. If you can do any iron work, I can picture a sliding cart system for loading and unloading
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

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