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tobacco bulk barn

Started by Ivey, April 30, 2007, 11:20:41 AM

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Ivey

Has anyone ever thought of using a bulk barn for a kiln, if so do you think it would work.  (with some changes of coarse) There are alot of them in my area that are just sitting around not in use.
                                                  Thanks, Ivey
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

Tom

Ivey,
Barns and sheds lend themselves very well to being "air drying" structures.  A kiln is a different animal and requires some specialized construction as well as controls.

Ivey

Thanks Tom, but I was referring to a tobacco bulk barn. A bulk barn is shaped rectangular. It is about 10'x50' insulated, and gas fired at the back. The floor has small holes that hot air is forced through. Tobacco (green) is placed in racks, or in boxes, and slid in through the end door to the back untill bulk barn is loaded, and then it is fired.
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

Don P

Hey Ivey,
I asked the same question over on woodweb a few or five years ago, never got a response. I think with reworking some ducting outside and using kiln carts that are loaded outside and pushed in it could work. Please post pics when you get er done, so I can go to school on you  ;D.

Are you by any chance kin to Wayne and Kay Ivey?

Ivey

 Don, not kin to those folks, my first name is Ivey, last is Pridgen.

I don't have a bulk barn,but bet I could get one..
When I started reading about kilns, and how they work, and how some people were putting them together :P the first thing that I thought about was a bulk barn, but then no one ever talked about one. I figgered that someone must have already tried it, and it did'nt work to good :-\

Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

Don P

Well how bout that  :D
I'm Don Pridgen, son of Marvin R, son of Marvin D. 
My Aunt Carol has a homepage up here
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pridgen/

Ivey

Well now, aint that just somthin  good to meet you cuz ;D
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

scsmith42

Ivey, I think that a bulk tobacco barn would lend itself very well to being converted into a kiln.  It's already about the right size and insulated.

Scott
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Don P

Likewise  8)
Judging from your location we probably are, my people come from eastern NC, mostly around the Rocky Mount/Wilson area the last few generations but the old family place was in Duplin Co. I got wandering feet  :)


Tobacco Plug

Are you any kin to the folks near Currie who sell shingles? 

Now, as to using a bulk barn for drying lumber; I have done it when I was building my house.  I air dried all my lumber and then further dried the flooring and other interior used wood in a barn.  I pretty much did it as though curing tobacco.  I started at about 90 degrees and after a couple of days ran it on up to 130, then slowly on up to about 170.  I talked with Joe Denig at NCSU Forestry Extension and he sent me a lot of information on drying hardwoods, but as I was drying pine, I didn't think that I needed to take as many pains, as defects were less in pine.  The biggest problem I had was with loading the barn.  If you can figure out a way to get your wood in the barn without as much hand labor it would be much better.  Also, I am sure that a moisture meter would really help. :)
How's everybody doing out in cyberspace?

Ivey

 Scott, Thats what I was thinking. Maybe I could come and see your kiln set-up sometimes. BTW  how is that sickeymore doing?

Don, where are you? NC?

Plug, I just knew that someone had tried it. ;D Did you cover the floor under the stack of lumber?
So with your experiment, do you think that one could be turned into a regular kiln?
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

Ivey

OH I forgot Plug, those folks over in Currie. The relation is to far to trace. His name is Pete Pridgen.
I don't think that that mill does much anymore.
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

Tobacco Plug

Yes, I think that you could probably convert a bulk barn to a kiln.  You will most likely need to try to change the design some so that you can load the kiln with a front end loader or skid steer with forks.  Otherwise there is just too much hand labor to make it economical.  I did not put any kind of plastic or other sheet under my stacks of wood, but mine was mostly loblolly so there wasn't too much dripping sap.
How's everybody doing out in cyberspace?

Don P

Ivey, I almost asked if you had a shingle mill last night. I knew a Pridgen had made the shingles on a house I worked on at the coast around '93.

I've been told if I meet a NC Pridgen they're a relative.
From my understanding our common ancestor is probably Francis Pridgen who shows up on the Chowan River at the mouth of Indian Creek in a deed for 540 acres 12 Jan 1714. He shows up in a deed as late as 1741 in Bertie Co. (9 generations back)

What I think is 2 generations prior to that Francis Pridgen was knighted by CharlesII. Between the 2 Francis's there is a William Pridgen transported from Isle of Wight, VA in 1678.  I'm not real clear about that part but it seems to fit  ???.

By the 1740's Francis' son William is in Edgecomb Co.

Francis' grandson Thomas married Martha Ruffin (google Ruthven sometime  ;)) in 1763.
Thomas served in the 8th NC in the Continental Army.
We're not really related, following Martha's family on down, they later produced Edmund Ruffin, the fellow who fired the first shot on Fort Sumter. I blame the Scots blood when I get rowdy  :D.

Shortly after there are a number of kids in Nash Co. Then some down in Snow Hill. There is an old family cemetary off 13 there. There's enough descendants by that point I get easily confused.

I grew up near Durham, married a cute little girl I went to school with and moved to VA. We're near Galax, north of Winston Salem about 2 hrs.

Bringing it back around the bend  :). The trick as I see it is to duct the airflow through the stack sideways. I think loading outside on a cart and rolling it in would make loading easy. I'd ditto talking to the folks at State, somebody's bound to have experimented.

dail_h

   Ivey,
   It'll work,get in touch with Joe Denning at NCSU . I forget the details now,but seems to me they covered the floor under the stack with tarpaper-plywood,then the top too. they had to change the venting some to make the air flow sideways through the stack instead of straight up as in curing tobacco.
   Boy it sure is a small world. I live almost in sight of the Chowan river,grew up not that far from Durham, in Vance county,and have run into Ptidgens all my life. Whoda thunk it?
World Champion Wildcat Sorter,1999 2002 2004 2005
      Volume Discount At ER
Singing The Song Of Circle Again

Don P

Apparently ya done bumped into 2 more. I never realized how good my kin was at procreating :D
Ivey's got my desk a mess, but I've had fun trying to find him tonight. There's the occasional old story in my aunt's notes, I kept getting sidetracked, that's the stuff I like.

One other thing thats come to mind, I saw a picture somewhere with a cart stacked with stickered 2x's. It looked like they had tipped the bundle up on its side and lowered it into a 4 posted cart. I can't remember the details but I think they were claiming the lumber was straighter  ???.

Ivey

Don, did you get my PM? Just follow the Stephen, and Mathew  Sampson Co.
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

scsmith42

Ivey, you are welcome to come up and get the kiln tour anytime.  Give me a day or so's notice so that I can make sure that I'm around.

The sycamore load is doing very well.  Thus far, I have only observed one board that has a check on the end!  Kudo's to Jeff for getting the anchor seal painted onto the ends of the logs, for cutting the boards ASAP after logging and then getting them down to me for charging the kiln. 

My primary challenge has been in controlling the airflow due to the natural edge boards.  All in all I am pleased with the load though.  We're safely past stage 1 of the drying process (green to 35%MC), and into stage 2.

Let me know if/when you want to drop by.

Scott
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Ivey

Scott, we(wife & I) would love to come up to see you all some time.
I need to pick your brain :P I will call in advance, thanks for the invite.
                       Ivey
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

Don P

Hey Ivey, I've sent a little family info to your PM  :)

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