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Heat Treating

Started by BmoreReclaimed, September 12, 2014, 11:29:06 PM

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BmoreReclaimed

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Jim.  I live in Baltimore MD and make my living building furniture from reclaimed wood.  I am interested in a kiln set-up to kill bugs in lumber.  Our wood will vary from 15-7%MC from our outside storage to our shop storage.  I would like to reach a temp. of 120-130f for a period of 2-3days and be able to do this in an area of roughly 5ftx18ftx6ft tall, say 600cubic ft. Wood would be mainly pine and oak ranging from 3/4 to 4in thick. My question is this, do I really need a dehumidification kiln?  I feel like these units are geared more for green lumber, not realtively speaking dry wood.  I understand the potential degradation of stock that can occur at high temps with low moisture so this is the most important issue I need advice on.  Can I successfully heat treat wood for bugs without introducing moisture into the air?  A small split or two, hey, is character, but if ends are splitting in and so forth and I'm losing length, not cool.  I feel a simple furnace capable of high temp or high output would suffice, or Nyle for instance markets a pallet heat treat kiln.  We are also limited by no natural gas, electric only, 3ph yes. Please someone with more knowledge give me your gut feeling on the subject.  We have a great spot for solar kiln in our storage yard, but would need suplimental heating at night and we don't have power there so that's not the best idea(we could easily run a line from our neighbors feed but that would be complicated when it comes to paying for it.) I would like to keep cost at a minimum but am willing to invest.  Thankyou very much for your time!  Together we can stand up to the creepy-crawlys 

Den Socling

You don't need a DH kiln at all. And with wood under 15%, you are not going to cause any degrade. You just need a hot box. Doing that without causing a potential fire hazard is the question.

BmoreReclaimed

Thanks for your input Den!  The potential fire risk is a VALID point to look into!

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

To kill insects, you need to get the wood inside to 133 F, so the air temperature will be 150 F or hotter.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

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