Kiln load capacity

[jdtuttle]

This may be a dumb question but I'm baffled. Looking at the Nyle L 53. The load capacity is 300 BF for soft wood & 1000 BF for hardwood. If the chamber can hold 1000 BF why would it only dry 300 BF of softwood?  ???
jim

[Gary_C]

It's all about moisture removing capacity of the unit and following the drying schedules that are recommended by species. Pine or other softwoods will give up it's moisture content much faster than oak or hardwoods so if you put 1000 BF of softwoods in the chamber the condensing unit will be overwhelmed and you will not be able to dry according to the recommended schedule. So you will tie up your kiln for long times when drying full loads of softwoods and may cause stain in the kiln.

So you size the chamber for the hardwood drying but do not fill it to capacity with softwoods. You can alter that plan by air drying the softwoods to reduce the moisture content and then finish drying in the kiln. In fact that is the best plan for softwoods anyway. You just have to be watchful for air drying conditions that will produce mold and stain.

[jdtuttle]

Thanks Gary, that makes sense. I live in NY. What would be the recommended MC of softwoods before placing in the kiln? 20% to 30%?
Thanks,
Jim