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Solar Kiln Drying Times for SYP

Started by High_Water, April 05, 2021, 02:24:12 PM

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High_Water

So here in East TX good ol' loblolly is the dominant pine, if not dominant species of tree around. Therefore it is very easy to come by.

For you folks running solar kilns what kind of dry times are you seeing for 4/4 syp, green to say 10%, or at least what could be reasonably expected? As an aside to that question what is max allowable mc loss per day for pine, I could have sworn I read it somewhere but now I can't find it, I know you most likely won't see it in a solar kiln but I was just curious.

On a related note what might be a reasonable going rate for operating such a kiln (I'm thinking under $0.50 per bf being the very small scale I'm at)? I do this mostly for fun but occasionally I do find people willing to pay for stuff and I don't mind being the cheapest seeing as its usually buddies and I don't advertise.



customsawyer

I dry pine fastest by stacking it with stickers and putting fans blowing through it. For the next few months it will get to 20% faster this way then in my Nyle kiln. Getting it down to 10% is where the kiln comes in.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Southside

Yup - dried some 7/4 this way over the past three weeks, turned it into log cabin siding Monday.  As far as the drying rate goes, with SYP you could just about squeeze the water out of it and still be safe.  You can get some shallow surface checking from direct sun beating on it, but with a piece of tin over the top of the stack and the fans blowing on it there really is no way to hurt it.   
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

High_Water

Right now its stickered in a barn with fans on it, intended use for fist round of drying is exterior siding (aiming for 20 but not too concerned for the exterior stuff - starting from around 35). Some of it is going to be used on interior walls, I've got a buddy with a brand new solar kiln that we're still experimenting with and I figured for the interior wood it would be worth setting up in, we've got a few weeks at least before they're ready to work inside. I have heard before that syp was "easy" to dry, or like you guys said you can't hardly hurt it. Still might throw it in the kiln just to see what happens.

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

To reinforce the comments stated, what happens with syp is that it dries so fast and the vents are not designed to dry that fast, so the humidity inside the kiln will be higher than outside.  

The best option if using a solar kiln is to open the doors wide and secure them so the wind does not blow them around,  and then use it as a single pass dryer.  The air comes in the top vents, blows across the collector, through the lumber pile and then outside.  Essentially, the doors are big vents. Maybe the last 24 hours, as drying slows, close the doors and let the solar heat the inside a bit.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

kantuckid

I have two stickered stacks of mostly YP under my front shop roof of 2x6 x10&14' with box fans sitting on milkcrates blowing through them for T&G roof decking.

Then...my tractor clutch went south on Monday ( back down a skid trail it rolled motion dead back into the YP I'd just dropped) and my nice, neatly stacked lumber piles are making my shop a no mans land for the tractor, so now I pay for a mechanic and a tow job to him.  ::)

In your part of GA, how long does 20% air dried take for pine?
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

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