iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Sterilizing barn wood

Started by kelLOGg, July 18, 2018, 01:35:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

kelLOGg



I have a customer who built a piece of furniture out of barn wood and now bugs are emerging from it into the house. To prevent this from happening again on another upcoming project he has asked me if I could dry/sterilize about 40 bd ft of 2" thick pine barn wood.

My kiln has a domestic DH unit in it and I don't operate it above the 90s to prolong its life. I doubt his wood would need drying - only sterilizing and I am considering that because it would not require running the DH unit. I have electric heaters in the kiln and have gotten it up to 140° in the past. It is a terribly small amount of wood to put in a kiln; perhaps one could devise a makeshift drying/sterilizing technique for this specific purpose. Could anyone comment on this? I would like to help him out.
Bob
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

SawyerTed

You should be able to devise a solar collector to reach 135 degrees without a a problem for a small amount of lumber.

My solar collector for heating water has no problem reaching and holding 140 degrees 
Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

Ga Mtn Man

Attics get awfully hot around here.
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

btulloh

I agree with Sawyer Ted.  It's sound like it's a small amount of lumber.  If you scrounge up some kind of glazing, all you need is an insulated box or structure just big enough and painted black on the inside. You will need something to circulate the air.
HM126

YellowHammer

I'd wait until your next load in the kiln need sterilization, then piggy back this mini load on top of yours.  I do this for some of my customers and works fine.  Normally, I piggyback the load when the current load is a couple percent above ideal MC, so I can physically insert it on top of my current kiln load, bring the MC down a couple percent to synchronize it with my load, and go right to sterilization.  
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

For a one-shot deal, rent a trailer and use an electric heater that will run up to about 150F.

To sterilize, we need 133F within the lumber.  Most solar kiln come close in the hot summer, but are not perfect.  For frequent sterilization, including pallets, build an insulated room with insulation that can withstand 150 F.  Use smoke alarms and other safety features.  Keep it away from home and shop.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

Brad_bb

With dry barnwood, really the only bug you're going to get is Power post beetles/larvae.  Their cycle is pretty slow.  Once there is a finish on the wood, the mature beetles will no longer lay their eggs in the wood.  What they are probably seeing is the emergence of ones that were there before finishing.  Once those hatch out, you probably won't see any more.  This is what I learned from my research.

I've been using a lot of barnwood for trim etc lately, mostly oak, but some beech and a little maple.  My favorite finish is General Finishes High performance flat, 2 coats.  It's a flat urethane that makes the barnwood look good without making it look "plastic-y".  

If there is some other bug, let us know and post some pics.  You probably wouldn't need to but you could also go the chemical route using a borate.  You just have to know what you're doing so it doesn't affect the finish you want to apply.  With kiln sterilization, there is some risk of warpage.  Not sure how much?
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

DR_Buck

I sterilize every load of lumber I dry in my DH kiln.    The last 24 hours after I reach target MC,  I run the temp up to 160°.   Haven't had any issues in over 10 years now.
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

kelLOGg

My customer brought the barn wood yesterday. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the end of a test piece and inserted a thermocouple. The TC is encapsulated with epoxy in a 1/4" plastic tube and made a very tight fit in the hole. I inserted it 2" in the 2" lumber. Turned on the heaters, set the thermostat at 140F and 6 hrs later the air temp was 130 and the inserted TC read 124. Went to bed and I was not awakened by any fire trucks during the night.;D Left it for 9 hrs and the air temp and inserted TC reading was 138F. I assume it was at 133F long enough to do the job. I turned off the heat and am now letting it cool slowly in the kiln. Comments?
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

kelLOGg

SouthSide's thread on sterilizing reminded me that I never followed up on my thread. 

When I opened the kiln the counter top was still flat - glad it didn't warp! There were dead carpenter bees on the floor, so I assumed I assumed the process was a success. Customer was please with the results and so was his customer.
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

Thank You Sponsors!