Finally got to start my solar kiln

[Coffee_Creek]

They're the biggest Ace Hardware had, we'll see how long they last.....

[YellowHammer]

Unfortunately, one of the biggest risks to the hinges isn't sagging from the weight of the door, its when the kiln is open and the wind catches and slams the doors open.  It only takes a little breeze to grab the big doors and swing them against the frame and bend them badly backward.  So some hooks or props or something to restrain doors when they are open will save some real problems later.  

[btulloh]

I used hinges like that and they're holding up fine so far.  Not the best hinges I ever saw, but they're doing the job.

To keep the weight of the door from being borne by the hinges all the time, I put a couple little hardwood rests on the door sill near the center.  I shaped them with a bit of a hump and fit them to take most of the weight when the doors are closed.  Seems to be working and the doors haven't sagged on the hinges.

Doors blowing around is a big potential problem.  Fought with that for a while and then did this quick and dirty solution to take care of it until I get around to fabricating an elegant version.  Some wise man once said "nothing lasts longer than a temporary fix".  There might be something to that.  

(You can see my temporary electric service is still waiting to be finished.)



 


 

[Coffee_Creek]

Good advice and ideas, thanks guy's.......

[YellowHammer]

Looks pretty elegant to me, I just use little hooks.

I ran my electrical service to mine with an extension cord many years ago and it has long since been overgrown within grass so I guess its permanent, too.  

[btulloh]

Done beats perfect.  

I do have a good excuse reason for that extension cord - I plan to move the kiln to another location.  That was going to happen last winter.

[Coffee_Creek]

due to the heat, it feels like each day is a lot of baby steps, completed wiring and all the vents, no pic's f the wiring, with a little luck we'll finish the sloped front tomorrow.......



 

 

[btulloh]

It's a hot thing to work on.  I had the same problem.  Early mornings then knock off for the day.  I even put up a temporary shade tarp.  It helped some. Once you paint the thing black inside, it's a hot place to work.



 

[btulloh]

I was surprised at how long it takes to get all the little stuff done.  

Your kiln is looking good. 

[Coffee_Creek]

thank you sir, 
I hope to have a load of lumber in this weekend

[Coffee_Creek]

finished the electrical....



 

 

 

[Coffee_Creek]

installed the tarp (baffle) and put some 4"X6" on  the floor, 
First test load of lumber is in the kiln.. 8)
now if I can figure out how to read this Delmhorst MC meter...



 

 

 

 

[Lawg Dawg]

Looking good CC, if you post a picture of that meter, I'm sure someone on here can tell you how to read it.  What kind of temps you getting in there? 

[Coffee_Creek]

with all vents wide open and all fans on high It's hitting around 125, Maybe if I shut the vents half way and slowed the fans down it would get hotter?

[Coffee_Creek]

the average MC of the lumber was 12.4, I'm looking forward to checking again in a few days to see how well it's working, I'll post the results.

[YellowHammer]

Keep the fans running when heating, got to keep the air moving, but shutting the vents will increase temperature and also increase humidity.  The unscientific way to dial in a solar kiln is to open the door in the middle of the day.  If you get hit in the face with hot, high humidity amazon rain forest air, then you need to open the vents some because you are trapping too much humidity.  In contrast, if you open the door and it feels like a hot dry breeze, then you are venting too much air and can close the vents to get hotter and absorb more moisture.  

The scientific way is to get an EMC chart from the Web and use the relative humidity and temperature, to determine the true EMC of the air.  It's a good process to understand and will help you get the hang of the thing.  

You can't do a whole lot wrong, you may just not be drying at the full capacity of the current solar conditions.  

[Coffee_Creek]

Thank you so much yellowHammer, So many good thoughtful people on here like you make this a great site......
I learn something every time I log on......

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

If you run the fans 24/7, you will not get below 12% MC.  So, run the fans only when the kiln is heated 20 F or more above the outside morning low temperature to achieve the lower MCs.

At the end of drying, like where you are now, heat is important to get the last bit of moisture out.  So, close the vents almost all the way.  A small opening will vent enough air to keep the humidity down.

[YellowHammer]

You will get a "feel" for it after a few loads.  When the humidity inside drops as the wood starts to dry, you'll know it and as Gene says, start closing the vents down.  At the end of a run, I'll have mine almost closed, maybe just a crack open.  You'll be done when you open the doors and the air is very hot, dry, and you back up so it won't burn your face and you see dead bugs on the surface of the wood looking like black pepper.   :D
If your sunglasses instantly fog up from the heat moisture coming out, shut the doors because it ain't dry yet.  :D

With my solar kiln, I can tell when the wood is dry when I see little white stripes in the black painted exterior siding as I walk by.  It means the wood inside is dry, and the exterior siding is now drying and shrinking, causing the black paint to show gaps.  It's a pretty cool phenomenon.  When I put a load of wet wood in, the humidity given off goes through the walls and causes the siding to swell in a few days, almost hiding the white stripes.  
Solar kilns are the Easy Bake ovens of the kiln world, and one of the best ways to dry wood reliably.    

[Coffee_Creek]

I'm excited about having it going, I have a pole barn full of rough cut lumber that I harvested and a guy close by saw the lumber about two years ago, I purchased a Woodmaster 725 molder and plan to make all the T&G hardwood flooring and all the inside and outside molding including the crown and baseboard molding, I built a new addition to my shop and installed a dust collection system, added a used planer and table saw to my collection, 
I hope that after we're completed with our new house I can make and sell high quality wood molding to make extra money, 
I post pic's of my wood working setup soon.....

[btulloh]

Congrats on getting the first load in the kiln and drying.  Nice job.

[Coffee_Creek]

thank you sir....

[btulloh]

What is that plane in your profile picture?  Hard to see what's going on there at that small size.

[Coffee_Creek]

It's a RV-9A that I built a few years ago, a little two seat sport plane..

[Coffee_Creek]