A couple of kiln questions.

[DanG]

Question # 1:  Does galvanizing offer significant protection to steel in an oak drying situation?

#2:  I live in a temperate zone, where the sun is decidedly to the North in summer, but very much to the South in winter. Would there likely be a problem with building a solar kiln with a gabled roof, with glass on both faces, assuming the ridge in in an east/west orientation?  Would I lose too much heat on the "off" side?  I have enough glass to double glaze it, if y'all think it would help. Also, I hear a lot about the surface area of the collector, but what about the volume of the chamber? Is there a point of diminishing return, or is it just "the more, the merrier"?

I have studied the fine collection of solar kiln plans from WoodWeb, but all of them face the collector surface in one direction, which wouldn't likely work too well, for me, so I'd like to design my own. I'm thinking of a 12x36 end-loader, with an offset gable. The North roof would be a shallow pitch, with the South face being shorter, but steeper, to match the winter sun's path. I could construct a "blanket" for the off side, to help retain the heat, then move it to the other side in the other season, if you experts think I should.

Another concept I have, is to build the whole thing on a trailer, or old hay wagon, so I could reposition it according to the season.  Yet another, is to build a quonset-style greenhouse, of metal bows and polycarbonate sheets, and have multiple drying chambers inside of it. Each chamber could draw it's required heat from the common collector chamber, via an individual exhaust port, so multiple loads could be dried without mixing species or EMC levels.

I'd really like to get some discussion going on the above questions and ideas, so y'all toss your thoughts into the ring.

[Frank_Pender]

DaG, I sure wish I could help you with your questions.    the system I use has been very successful and besides, here in this part of Oregon I could never get the temp up high enough in the Winter months to even keep the chill off the lumber. ;D

[Captain]

I'm with you DanG, I want to be able to move my solar kiln.  I have all of the materials ready to go, but I can't convince the neighbor to sell his old deck-over trailer to me.  Gotta start used trailer shop***g.  Found a hay wagon, but it was too far away :(

Captian

[scottr]

Dan , my map shows Chattahoochie FL. to be  30.5 degrees North of the equator . When the sun is the highest (summer soltice) it is 7 degrees south of you , when it is the lowest it is 54 degrees south of you .                                                 If you were to construct your solar collector to face south and at an elevation of 45 degrees  then it would give the best year round performance . Scott

[DanG]

Thanks for the research work, Scott.  I know the sun is theoretically South in the summer, but when I stand on my place, it sure looks North to me.  ???

I'm gonna do my own experimentation with the horse trailer kiln, by glazing both sides, then blocking off one side to see what difference it makes.

Maybe we could put the whole thing on a big turntable, so we could take max advantage of both morning and afternoon sun. ;D

[scottr]

Dan ,the sunrise and sunset in the summer do look to be more northeast and northwest .                                           The horse trailer will get plenty of sun if you park it's tongue  north and gate south .                                                         Your idea of a multiple bay kiln is similar to the one developed by the people in Spring Green Wisconsin . They sticker the wood and let it air dry in a bay with two sides open then they close the sides when its time to start the kiln. There is a diagram of a kiln ( WW dryer #16 ) that is on the equator and is similar to your horse trailer .                         Here is an article on solar site selection. http://www.motherearthnews.com/arc/3646                Scott

[Don_Lewis]

I won't comment on the solar part but you should avoid using anything galvanized in a kiln drying Oak. The acetic acid reacts especially with zinc. Plain steel stands up better than galvanized. Avoid either though.

[Don_Lewis]

I will comment on the solar after all. It is tough to dry green Oak in a solar kiln if you maximize the solar input. If you air dry first, then it would be okay. But drying from green makes a better product if you do it right