Kiln Drying Green Oak

[cubdriver55]

I know the normal way to kiln dry oak is to air dry it for about a year before putting it in the kiln. Does anyone kiln dry oak right off the mill and if so do you have problems with corrosion in the kiln?  Thanks  Steve

[OneWithWood]

I have a charge of 8/4 red oak in the kiln right now.  I prefer to put all wood in the kiln immediately off the mill.  Most degrade happens in the first 20% moisture drop.  In the kiln I can control the rate of moisture loss whereas air drying is totally not controlled.  I shoot for no more thatn a 1.5% drop in moisture content per day for 8/4.  3% max for 4/4.
I have not noticed any abnormal corrosion in the kiln.

[red oaks lumber]

green oak rusts and corroids everything bad  i won't dry green oak period

[Tom]

Steve, I've always heard that air-drying wood before putting it in the kiln was counter productive.  One With Wood's  description of what he does, fits most prescriptions I've heard of in the past.

[scsmith42]

Steve, I kiln dry green oak 365 days a year (got a load of 5/4 QSWO in the kiln as I type this). 

Corrosion happens - so what?  In 6 years of kiln drying oak I have not had anything corrode so badly that it had to be replaced.  My Nyle unit was designed for a corrosive atmospere anyway.

[red oaks lumber]

my capulary tubes for the refrigeration have replaced or soldered every other year, fan bolts rust and rot away, cooling fins on the condenser are so corrodes might last one more year.
im running a nyle l500 its 10yrs. old  the wear and tear is showing also my smaller 1200 has plenty of corrosin issues aswell. maybe oaks in different areas of the country are more acidic than others.

[scsmith42]

my capulary tubes for the refrigeration have replaced or soldered every other year, fan bolts rust and rot away, cooling fins on the condenser are so corrodes might last one more year.
im running a nyle l500 its 10yrs. old  the wear and tear is showing also my smaller 1200 has plenty of corrosin issues aswell. maybe oaks in different areas of the country are more acidic than others.

Hmm, I wonder if Nyle improved their design between when your units were built and mine?  Mine is a 2003 vintage, and although I've had a problem with some corrosion where the fans mount inside the kiln, that was probably my own fault for not using stainless steel bolts when I built it.

The only problems that I've had with my DH unit is when some wires got loose and fried - easy fix, and I've had to replace the thermal limiter a couple of times.  Oh, if the unit sits idle for a few weeks I'll usually get a bug nest in the drain tube for the condenser.  I've also had to replace the PLC's a couple of times inside the controll unit.

Mine is an L200, so it is smaller than your units too.

If I recall correctly, you air dry all of your oak first, too?  That's even stranger, since your RH% will be lower inside the kiln due to the lower initial MC.  Since I dry from green, my loads start around 95% humidity for the first few days.

[red oaks lumber]

it kinda puzzles me also, at some point major things will go