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Nyle L200M Setup in Kenya

Started by sbawazir, September 11, 2017, 02:32:20 AM

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sbawazir

Hi everyone,

Newbie here from Kenya! I am about to pull the trigger on a Nyle L200M with powered vent. I have a few questions though that I was hoping someone here can help with.

1) There is a lot of negative feedback regarding the Nyle-supplied fans. Since the package comes with 2 fans as standard and i'd like to order 3/4 more (1 spare perhaps), would you suggest I get the extras from Nyle or some other place? If other place, then which brand/model? Keeping in mind I will perhaps need to order from the UK to be sure the voltage is in line with Kenya specs.

2) I am struggling to find a reefer container locally and have decided to just build the chamber. Have found a company that builds truck bodies for meat distribution and cold rooms. I assume the same specs will do? Also, since I am building from scratch, what would you recommend to be the sweet spot in terms of chamber dimensions? 8ft (h) x 10ft (d) x 20ft (w)?

3) Finally, getting any spare parts or anything kiln-related here is not possible. Anything ordered from Nyle might take a month or two (or minimum 10days by air). Keeping this in mind, are there any spare parts (from your experience) that I should keep in hand from now?

Thank you all in advance for your feedback.

AlaskaLes

We have a Nyle 200M kiln built from surplus freezer panels.  It's working very well.

Built a 5/12 pitch roof over the whole thing and a 9h x 9d x 12w control room connected to one end of the chamber.  We have 2 exterior doors that allow us access to both sides of the stack for testing and monitoring.  Water collects in a condensate pump; gets lifted into a heavy duty 60 gal trashcan; inside the can is a sump pump on a switched outlet.  We run the hose outside and turn it on.  Every 18 seconds is another gallon, so monitoring the water removed is very easy.

No problems with the fans yet, we run 3 across the ceiling  and the 1 in the nyle unit.
Your size sounds about right...ours was dictated by the panel sizes and is 9hx9dx17w.
Spares so far would be the small delay timer that keeps the compressor from cycling on/off too much, and maybe an extra fan motor just to keep Murphy from killing one of yours.
Also, a pack of the 240V fuses that protect the computer.  We had one of those fry and it shut the whole thing down.  Now I have the remaining  fuse box taped down inside the control box...easy to find!
Good luck!
Les
You can see Mt McKinley from our backyard...Up Close!!

Mighty Mite MK 4B, full-hyd, diesel bandmill
Kubota 4wd 3650GST w/FEL; Forks;
3pt Log Arm& Log trailer
Husky 394XP
Husky 371XP
Husky 353
Echo 330T
Nyle 200M
Robar RC-50 50BMG-just in case the trees get out of line

scsmith42

If you build from scratch, I would highly recommend that you follow the Nyle recommended Kiln chamber dimensions and not those for a reefer trailer.

My next stick-built kiln chamber for a Nyle L200 will be around 30' wide (allowing me to fork two 14' long stacks into it and set them side by side and on top of on another), and about 12' deep.  Typically my stacks vary between 8' - 14' long and this width will allow me the most flexibility. The depth is to allow a 4' deep stack of lumber in the middle, and have ample room on each side for air flow and measuring.  I will not use carts with the new setup.

Air flow is much better in a standard kiln chamber versus a reefer and it's easier to load and unload.  Put a man door on each side of stack in an end wall.

For spares, it depends upon how reliable your power is.  I have to replace a PLC in my controller about once every 1 - 2 years.  Based upon your location I would not opt for the fancy electronics but instead their most basic controller.  Less electronics to go bad on you.

Re spares, I would suggest fuses, spare circuit breaker switches for the fans, spare thermal fuses for the kiln itself, spare fan assembly (so that you can use either the motor or the fan blade), and a spare capacitor for the fan motors.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

sbawazir

Thank you very much for the responses and advise. Just sent in the order yesterday and waiting for a confirmation from them. Will have to add in the extra fuses then I guess. Also you both talk about having access to enter the chamber and monitor, measure, test. Do you mean testing the lumber or access is simply for checking the equipment? I thought the whole point of the 200M was to do away with having to go inside the chamber and doing these tests? Or is it best practice to test in any case?

I do like the idea of a 30ft wide chamber instead of 20ft. Makes more sense since we usually get our boards in 9ft or 14ft lengths. If I load a 14ft board in a 20ft chamber, that's 6ft of wasted unusable space there. Thanks again!

scsmith42

Quote from: sbawazir on September 15, 2017, 02:57:03 AM
Also you both talk about having access to enter the chamber and monitor, measure, test. Do you mean testing the lumber or access is simply for checking the equipment?

Having access to both sides during the drying process allows you to not only check the MC% of the load in multiple locations, it also allows you to inspect and fix any problems with the baffling that may arise while drying. 
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

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