Small kiln pics, ideas.

[mmtrees]

I am looking to build a wood kiln for drying lumber. I am thinking around 20' W x 10' D x 10' H outside dimension roughly, possibly smaller. I am thinking of building this inside in a warehouse.

Can you guys post pictures of your comparable kilns? I'm trying to make it as efficient as possible. 

What kilns, fans, equipment do you use to run the kilns.

Thanks in advance!

[doc henderson]

if you go to the Nyle site at the left.  go to resources and then manuals, that is about the size they recommend.  It has a bout 20 pages on it. try the 53 or L200.  also there Doc Gene has been studying and writing about this for years,  @GeneWengert-WoodDoc .  You can pull up lots of info here and woodweb.  lots of info on solar as well.

[doc henderson]

also I believe that @K-Guy is a Nyle rep and very knowledgeable.  It always takes a while but if you give more info on your profile, there could be a member near you that can offer first hand info.  also experience level.  we help old hands and newbies as well.  I am more of a hobbyist, the real experts will chime in soon.  the @ symbol followed by a name/handle will notify them that they have been tagged in this thread, you can click on it to go to their profile as well.

[YellowHammer]

In order to size the building, internal volume of the interior airspace, velocity and quantity of airflow, you'll need to select a kiln machine first. Then decide if you want it to be a front loader or side loader.   Each kiln machine and building are simply components of a very closely related system, and are configured to dry a certain amount of board feet, and that varies by whether it's green or air dried, hardwood or softwood.  That optimal volume of wood, plus the stickers, plus the plenum sizes on either sides (front or back) of the lumber stack, plus the distance to the roof, and other factors play into the overall efficiency of the kiln, affect airflow, drying rate and quality of the product.  In order to not have to do all the math and reinvent the wheel, which is fun if you really want to dive in, call up Stan at Nyle, "K-guy" on this forum, Ext 212, and he can discuss your options.   Basically you will either have to stick build one, build one out of a shipping container, (I've done both) or pay for a ready made.  Stan can get you some drawings of proven designs, including the fan and vent layouts.  If you follow the drawings, you'll be fine.  

 

[K-Guy]

We spoke on the phone yesterday. He's interested in what you guys have done for kilns to get ideas.