New iDRY

[boonesyard]

I've been waiting,,, a bit impatiently I might add.

Our new iDRY Standard was loaded at the factory last Friday, 11/8, and estimated delivery Monday, 11/11. His truck broke down in Cleveland and had two deliveries before getting to our place. The truck is repaired, the two deliveries have been made and if the sky doesn't fall, we should see it at 9:00 am tomorrow morning. I feel bad for the trucker, 4 days of down time doesn't buy many beans.

I'll get some pictures of the off-loading and the install this weekend. I should have everything set up for the electrician on Monday morning. Looking forward to getting it going. 

[Glenn1]

I think that you’ll really enjoy having it

[nativewolf]

I've been waiting,,, a bit impatiently I might add.

Our new iDRY Standard was loaded at the factory last Friday, 11/8, and estimated delivery Monday, 11/11. His truck broke down in Cleveland and had two deliveries before getting to our place. The truck is repaired, the two deliveries have been made and if the sky doesn't fall, we should see it at 9:00 am tomorrow morning. I feel bad for the trucker, 4 days of down time doesn't buy many beans.

I'll get some pictures of the off-loading and the install this weekend. I should have everything set up for the electrician on Monday morning. Looking forward to getting it going.

Did that arrive?

[samandothers]

I hope it arrived safely and you are setting it up.  Look forward to hearing your stories.

[boonesyard]

Well it's finally here, showed up Saturday morning. Trucker had to replace a front axle in Cleveland, ouch.



Had plenty of equipment, it's off the truck.

[boonesyard]

In to the shop with it.

[E-Tex]

Congratulations.  Please keep pics and updates coming!

[boonesyard]

Sliding in using equipment skates. 

[boonesyard]

Almost there. That's one pooped out fella.

[boonesyard]

The idry has landed. Leveled to drain and the rail system and dolly are set. Not a bad Saturday.

[boonesyard]

The electrician was right on time today. The new 60 amp circuit installed and the kiln is powered up. I put the recirc system together this weekend and that's all connected as well.

We're currently going through a dry run. Vacuum system and recirc worked flawlessly to the required set point, fan and heat are cooking along. Will start loading some silver maple and ash of our own tomorrow night for the maiden voyage. 

Seems like a very well built unit. I frequently deal with some very high end water and waste water treatment equipment and I can say that this thing appears to be well made with a simple interface. Now it's time to put it to work. 

[YellowHammer]

What? It’s got handprints on it already!  It’s too pretty for that.

It looks nice! 

[Stephen1]

The idry has landed. Leveled to drain and the rail system and dolly are set. Not a bad Saturday.

Looks great ,congratulations!
One thing I learned was not to much slope for the drain. The idea is for the water to cover the floor of the kiln as it moves to the back corner. 
Are you going to track the drain water out of the kiln?

[goose63]

Tim I'm going to make a trip up to your place this weekend and have a look at this

[boonesyard]

What? It’s got handprints on it already!  It’s too pretty for that.

It looks nice!

I know, the dust drove me crazy. Right after this pic we mixed a totty to celebrate and wiped it down,,,now I'm better.

[boonesyard]

The idry has landed. Leveled to drain and the rail system and dolly are set. Not a bad Saturday.

Looks great ,congratulations!
One thing I learned was not to much slope for the drain. The idea is for the water to cover the floor of the kiln as it moves to the back corner.
Are you going to track the drain water out of the kiln?

Thanks. I think I've got a pretty gradual slope to it, but I'll keep an eye on that. I hadn't planned on keeping track of the drain water. Is there a benefit?
We're going to start loading it this evening. I have silver maple and ash that is all air dried from 9-13 moisture, so this first load is not going to take very long. My biggest issue is going to be the stacking. It's all relatively short and odd shaped stuff that we've saved for CNC work and is of less value. The challenge will be the baffeling. Should make for an interesting pic when I get the jigsaw puzzle put together. 

[boonesyard]

Tim I'm going to make a trip up to your place this weekend and have a look at this

Ken, That would be great but I may be out of town. Give me call

[Old Greenhorn]

Sounds like my typical stack thus far.   I can't seem to do enough stuff all the same size and wind up with a stacking nightmare. But you may find that if you have a six pack available when you are loading, after a few different options are exhausted and the six pack is diminished, you start to be a little less picky and the stack gets done.
 Seriously, this is a beautiful piece of equipment ad I am very jealous indeed. I just wish we had one in our area. I wish you all the best with it. I bet that load drys in no time at all.

[E-Tex]

The idry has landed. Leveled to drain and the rail system and dolly are set. Not a bad Saturday.

Looks great ,congratulations!
One thing I learned was not to much slope for the drain. The idea is for the water to cover the floor of the kiln as it moves to the back corner.
Are you going to track the drain water out of the kiln?

Thanks. I think I've got a pretty gradual slope to it, but I'll keep an eye on that. I hadn't planned on keeping track of the drain water. Is there a benefit?
We're going to start loading it this evening. I have silver maple and ash that is all air dried from 9-13 moisture, so this first load is not going to take very long. My biggest issue is going to be the stacking. It's all relatively short and odd shaped stuff that we've saved for CNC work and is of less value. The challenge will be the baffeling. Should make for an interesting pic when I get the jigsaw puzzle put together.

@boonesyard , did you get your first load in the i-dry?

[boonesyard]

The idry has landed. Leveled to drain and the rail system and dolly are set. Not a bad Saturday.

Looks great ,congratulations!
One thing I learned was not to much slope for the drain. The idea is for the water to cover the floor of the kiln as it moves to the back corner.
Are you going to track the drain water out of the kiln?

Thanks. I think I've got a pretty gradual slope to it, but I'll keep an eye on that. I hadn't planned on keeping track of the drain water. Is there a benefit?
We're going to start loading it this evening. I have silver maple and ash that is all air dried from 9-13 moisture, so this first load is not going to take very long. My biggest issue is going to be the stacking. It's all relatively short and odd shaped stuff that we've saved for CNC work and is of less value. The challenge will be the baffeling. Should make for an interesting pic when I get the jigsaw puzzle put together.

@boonesyard , did you get your first load in the i-dry?

We did. We loaded a mixture of our own stuff that had been air dried with mc's between 10-13%. It was a mix of 4/4 and 8/4 which included ash, silver maple, elm and a little black walnut. We had it on high power for 3 days, pulled it Saturday night and everything tested between 5.8-8%. This is the first load before it was baffled.
This is the second load, went in on Sunday evening. As you can see, different thicknesses and species. MCs varied from 20-40%. We are running this load at low power for the first week, then we'll see how it's doing.

[Stephen1]

I always like to keep an eye on the water draining out of the kiln. The dryer it is , less water coming out. 
I have never run the kiln on low power. I understand the low power works great on green oak. Let us know what the temperature gets up to after a week. Curious minds would like to know. 

[boonesyard]

I didn't know what to expect, but it seems to be ramping up. The graph shows it ran at 100 deg the first day, day two it ramped up to 130. A LOT more water was dumped today than yesterday (which makes sense). I'm not sure if it will continue to ramp up to 160 eventually, or if it levels out at a lower temp? I'll certainly keep an eye on it and let you know.

[Stephen1]

I didn't know what to expect, but it seems to be ramping up. The graph shows it ran at 100 deg the first day, day two it ramped up to 130. A LOT more water was dumped today than yesterday (which makes sense). I'm not sure if it will continue to ramp up to 160 eventually, or if it levels out at a lower temp? I'll certainly keep an eye on it and let you know.

What Temerature are you keeping your building at?
I keep mine around the 60F and I get those same Temps at Full power.


@Japarker4 what will the low power mode temperature come up to?

[boonesyard]

I didn't know what to expect, but it seems to be ramping up. The graph shows it ran at 100 deg the first day, day two it ramped up to 130. A LOT more water was dumped today than yesterday (which makes sense). I'm not sure if it will continue to ramp up to 160 eventually, or if it levels out at a lower temp? I'll certainly keep an eye on it and let you know.

What Temerature are you keeping your building at?
I keep mine around the 60F and I get those same Temps at Full power.


@Japarker4 what will the low power mode temperature come up to?

I keep my building at 60 as well. I dried the first load at full power and it ran at 156-158 deg for three days. I'm not sure what low power mode is going to get to or how long it will take to get there. 

[japarker4]

I didn't know what to expect, but it seems to be ramping up. The graph shows it ran at 100 deg the first day, day two it ramped up to 130. A LOT more water was dumped today than yesterday (which makes sense). I'm not sure if it will continue to ramp up to 160 eventually, or if it levels out at a lower temp? I'll certainly keep an eye on it and let you know.

What Temerature are you keeping your building at?
I keep mine around the 60F and I get those same Temps at Full power.


@Japarker4 what will the low power mode temperature come up to?

Usually between 130F and 140F, but it does depend a bit on ambient temperature in the building and how wet your wood is.  

[boonesyard]

Day three on a very wet load. Yes, as Jim said, it's leveled out at 135 deg. A lot of water is draining every 24 hrs. My plan is to let it cook for 8 days, then check it.

[Stephen1]

All my loads are that wet, I pull them off the mill and put them in on full power. It will be interesting to see what happens to a load on low power. I do notice that I do not  seal the ends if it is going right in the kiln. If I have to leave it to air dry as it waits for the kiln it will start to check and crack , so I will start to seal ends going forward

[boonesyard]

I had some large oak mantels and 12/4 slabs in this load, that's why I'm trying it at low power. There's a mixture of ash and green poplar in this load as well, so it will be interesting. I know It's not the best to mix such different species and thicknesses green, but I'll push the envelope and see how it goes.

[Stephen1]

I have only had 1 load of 1 species. It was 4/4 EWP dried in 4 days. Every load has been a mixture of species and moisture. I like to keep a skid of cookies sawn to baffle, instead of using plywood. That way the kiln is full every time I push start. The drier wood will take on the moisture given off by the wetter wood. It means that the drier wood has to stay in longer, so maybe 10 days instead of 7 days. Same thing for the thicker slabs. They stay in longer. I will try to put them in on the bottom so I can fork off the  thinner wood, leaving the slabs in for another cycle.

[boonesyard]

I have only had 1 load of 1 species. It was 4/4 EWP dried in 4 days. Every load has been a mixture of species and moisture. I like to keep a skid of cookies sawn to baffle, instead of using plywood. That way the kiln is full every time I push start. The drier wood will take on the moisture given off by the wetter wood. It means that the drier wood has to stay in longer, so maybe 10 days instead of 7 days. Same thing for the thicker slabs. They stay in longer. I will try to put them in on the bottom so I can fork off the  thinner wood, leaving the slabs in for another cycle.

Thanks, I'll do that. 
On another note, I've been trying to use a catch pan with a hose attached to run to a drain for the kiln drain water to allow for the air gap. It worked on the first dry load, there wasn't as much water in it, but it overflowed on this wet load. I have a couple of 90s and about 25' to get to my drain. So yesterday I piped the drain up solid with 1" pvc and installed a vent pipe to work as the air gap, worked great. Just an FYI

[Stephen1]

Originally I had plumbed mine in with 1" but with the connectors it reduced it to 3/4" so I had troubles.
Now I have a pan under the kiln drain with a sensored pump, when the water comes in it pumps it up and over the drain, I also have the dehumidifier draining into the same pan. What I have found is the water can be very "sticky" I'm guessing from the pine. It seized up the float sensor after 6 months. I soaked it in varsol to clean it up. 

[boardmaker]

Boonesyard,

I really like the interface.  It's very simple and detailed.  I use quite a few of another brand at my day job but I like the look of that one.  Could you get me the manufacturer?  I have been using Automation Direct Cmore's and they are simple and great but there are times that I need more detail.  Thanks.

[boonesyard]

Here is the drain and vent configuration as discussed. It's been working flawlessly.

[Coastal Gun]

Got my I dry plus in December.  Set it on the pad and started building around it.  Just fired it up yesterday afternoon.  3/4 pine for the board and batten going on my kiln building. Fingers crossed. 

[boonesyard]

 . Good luck with your Idry, they work well. There's a lot to learn in drying quality lumber, but at times, the Idry can be forgiving. 

Also, there's a natural algorithm that requires one to create a certain amount of designer firewood while learning the fine art of drying lumber. Enjoy 

[Stephen1]

It is a very forgiving Kiln. Really and truly press start and let it run. When it hits 160F your wood is done or very close, open the kiln and check your moisture content at different spots of the load. it might hace to go bak in.  Use the Delmhorst MM as it has temperture settings.  After a quite a few loads and reading and listening you will start to adjust to the wood you are drying. The best trick is watching the amount of water coming out each drain cycle.