Looking for a vacuum kiln operator in Georgia

[sonsofsawdust]

Hey guys,
I have a sinker cyprus slab that I need to have kiln dried pretty quickly. Moisture content is ~20% and the slab is about 3" thick. I've been told that a vacuum kiln would be ideal for drying the slab quickly. Does anyone know of a Vacuum Kiln company based in Georgia? I've tried searching Google but haven't had any luck.

Thanks,
Matt

[fishpharmer]

Anybody know of a vacuum kiln in GA? Or anywhere in the Southeast?

[Den Socling]

We don't have any down there but sooner or later there will be. Today, for instance, we had two inquiries from Florida. One was a company that specifically wants to do custom drying.

How did you determine a moisture content of ~20%? Sinker Cypress that thick is probably going to have a soaking wet core. And if you used insulated pins, I would bet that you missed wet pockets all over the place.

Our kilns will dry the stuff but it takes a special drying schedule.

If you are willing to ship it, we have customers doing custom drying. Email me at dsocling@vacdry.com and I'll email a list.

[sonsofsawdust]

Thanks for the replies. We actually cut into the slab and saw the moisture coming out of the end grain. It was in the kiln for 5 weeks and still had that much moisture in it. I think I may have found a vacuum kiln for it to go in but I'm not sure if they will take on such a small project. They are a huge company down in Wadley, Ga. http://www.battlelumberco.com/english/kiln.html They have a 1.2 million bf kiln drying capacity and they kiln dry 3 million bf per month. Hopefully I'll be able to get in with them  :-[. *crossing my fingers...

-Matt

  

[Den Socling]

I hate to sound like a bummer but only our kilns can dry your slab. Or spend months in a conventional kiln.

[sonsofsawdust]

Den,
What kind of kiln do you have? How long do you think it would take to dry it and how much do you think it would cost? We're on a pretty tight timeline... Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,
Matt

[Den Socling]

I have vacuum kilns that I designed and built. http://www.vacdry.com/ It would take about 10 days - maybe less. Cost would be insignificant if I loaded it with something similar but right now, I don't have anything like Sinker Cypress coming up.

[Den Socling]

Look at this stuff. http://www.vacdry.com/index.php/projects/77-sinker-cypress

[Larry]

Den, say a guy only wanted to dry one slab at a time such as Matt.  Would it be possible to bag it, and put it in a hot water bath to dry.  I have both a rotary vein pump and a venturi powered by a commercial compressor.

[Den Socling]

Larry, I'm afraid not for Cypress. It takes a very special schedule (settings) to get the water out of thick Cypress. Maybe you could dry something like cherry or maple.
One time I helped a guy dry a bar top in a bag. I don't remember what the species was but that time it worked. I didn't ask for a cent but he sent a $1000!  Must have worked well. I think that was for a restaurant.
There is a big problem with water vapor coming out and hitting your vacuum system no matter what the species is.