Building a kiln

[Cypress Man]

Hello everyone,

   About 5 yrs. ago I built a 12' x 20' kiln that would hold approximately 2500 bf of lumber.  It has four circulating fans in its baffle wall,  two 75 pint residential dehumidifiers, and an electric heater.  I only cut and dry cypress lumber.  It takes about 20 - 25 days to dry cypress below 10% moisture content.  My business has grown more than my capability to dry enough lumber with this kiln.  I am currently building a 24' x 20' kiln that will hold approximately 6500 bf of lumber and would like suggestions as to what type of dehumidifier system to use.  Any information or ideas would be appreciated.  I know this isnt the first time a kiln has been built and dont want the trouble of reinventing the wheel.

                                                                                                                             Thanks,        CypressMan

[David Freed]

I owned and operated an Ebac kiln years ago and presently am using a Nyle L200. If I had to choose between the two I would get a Nyle dryer. I am not sure how fast you are supposed to dry cypress but I am pretty sure you would need something bigger than an L200 to dry 6500 bf at a time.   David

[Ironwood]

Sounds like you know what your doing, why not use a commercial A/C unit and a wet bulb to check drying conditions. Especially if cypress is not particular in it's drying schedule, like say OAK which is very finicky.  If I where drying only cherry that had been previously air dried I would spend the money on the fancy units, just drop in an A/C unit and circulate some heated air.


              Ironwood

[scsmith42]

Ditto the recommendaiton on Nyle.  It's a great company, their customer service can't be beat, their prices are reasonable, and their products are very good.

Granted, you can build your own, but if business is booming can you really afford to spend the time reinventing the wheel?

Give Don Lewis a call.

Scott

[oakiemac]

I own an Ebac and a nyle. My recomendation? DO NOT buy an Ebac. I have had nothing but problems with mine new from the factory but I bought a used Nyle and it runs like a champ plus when I do have a problem, nyle is very helpful. Ebac-lets just say-is not helpful.

[solidwoods]

12 x 24' kiln.
sticks are 5'
stacks are 22' (?)
Thats 110bf per layer

your 2500bf would be a stack less than 4' high (with 4/4 on 1" sticks)???

Whats in the other half of the kiln?

A 12 x 24 should fit 4-5000bf.

jim

[Cypress Man]

Solidwoods,

The first kiln I built was 12' deep x 20' wide, not 24'.  Loading it with 16' long material I can get approximately 3,000bf give or take.

I really wanted to know if there would be a real advantage by using a commercial dehumidifier instead of residential dehumidifiers.  I only cut and dry cypress lumber and the residential dehumidifiers last about 2 yrs.  Would commercial dehumidifiers dry the lumber faster, last longer,  be more energy efficient, etc...  What size dehumidifier would be needed to dry approx. 6500 bf of lumber?

Thanks for the help.

[karl]

Having owned one for 15 yrs or so- I'd call Nyle. They are one of the best companies I have ever dealt with and will take the time to learn what you intend to do and recommend accordingly without checking how deep your pockets are first. ;)

[scsmith42]

Would commercial dehumidifiers dry the lumber faster, last longer,  be more energy efficient, etc... 

[In a nutshell - YES]

What size dehumidifier would be needed to dry approx. 6500 bf of lumber?

[Call Nyle.  Cypress dries fairly quickly, so you'll need a larger DH unit.]