iDRY Vacuum Kilns

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Vacutherm iDry input

Started by schwanee, August 04, 2018, 07:41:26 PM

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Busysawyer

Glenn, what thickness is the red oak you are running? 
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

Glenn1

Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Busysawyer

Glenn, curious as to how long that needs to run for.
Pulled a load of cherry slabs out today and pushed another nice size load of walnut slabs in. 

 

 
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

nativewolf

Quote from: Busysawyer on December 20, 2018, 06:49:48 PM
Glenn, curious as to how long that needs to run for.
Pulled a load of cherry slabs out today and pushed another nice size load of walnut slabs in.  

 


@Glenn1 ditto on the oak timing question.
@Busysawyer that is a nice looking whack of slabs.  Appreciate the updates.  
Liking Walnut

Glenn1

The red oak is currently at 55%.  If it has a maximum moisture loss of 3% per day, it will be approximately 16 days before it is dry.  In my opinion, it's taking too much electricity to dry, so I'll air dry first until it is less than 30%. 
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Stephen1

Glenn, is 3% the rate that the idry pulls moisture from the wood? 
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

Busysawyer

Glenn, how is that oak going? Surprised it would take so long. 
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

Glenn1

Quote from: Stephen1 on December 22, 2018, 08:22:09 AM
Glenn, is 3% the rate that the idry pulls moisture from the wood?
Quote from: Busysawyer on December 28, 2018, 05:05:21 PM
Glenn, how is that oak going? Surprised it would take so long.
I believe that the IDry will dry the wood faster than 3% a day. I am going by the recommended daily rate of moisture removal for red oak. Anything above 3% and I'd be concerned with surface checks.
The red oak was in the kiln for one week.  At that time, it was at 55%.  I decided to bench the red oak and let it air dry for a few months.  Instead, I put a load of 4/4 quartersawn sycamore in the kiln 5 days ago.


Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Busysawyer

Glen,  I was under the assumption that those rates were not necessarily the same under vaccum. I know the guy by me with a vaccupress said he has little or no issues drying red oak from green and that kiln is about twice as fast as what we are running. I will give him a call to clarify and make sure I'm not spreading misinformation .
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

scsmith42

Glenn, it's my understanding that you can safely dry red oak much faster than 3% per day in a vacuum kiln.

The 3% number applies to conventional and DH kilns, but not vacuum.

Did Jim provide you with a kiln schedule with the iDry?
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.

Glenn1

Quote from: scsmith42 on December 29, 2018, 10:24:06 PM
Glenn, it's my understanding that you can safely dry red oak much faster than 3% per day in a vacuum kiln.

The 3% number applies to conventional and DH kilns, but not vacuum.

Did Jim provide you with a kiln schedule with the iDry?

Unfortunately, they do not offer any schedules.  Since the IDry is a new product, there's hope that one will be offered in the near future.  For now, I have to rely on conventional schedules.
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Busysawyer

Not sure what a schedule will do for you. It's not like we have any control over how the kiln operates . As far as I know we cant make adjustments. Idry schedule will look something like this.
Walnut=push start
Cherry=push start
Maple=push start
Etc
Etc
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

Busysawyer

Glen,  I'm really surprised 4/4 oak was still at 55% after 1 week. I haven't dried any green oak yet but figured it would be close to the 1in thickness = 1 week in the kiln. I guess it's good I dint sell much oak at all. Walnut, cherry and maple are about all I can seem to move around here
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

Glenn1

When I sw Jim at Vacutherm regarding the green red oak, he suggested that I keep a fairly close eye on it.  They do say that drying oak in a vacutherm kiln can be challenging.  I am glad that I dry primarily walnut, cherry, and maple too.  
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Just Right

BusySawyer,  I noticed the plywood on top of the on stack of slabs.  Are you running the bladder?  How did that load of slabs come out?  Fairly flat?  I just sent my deposit in today to beat the price increase.  Starting to get excited now.  JR
If you are enjoying what you are doing,  is it still work?

boonesyard

Quote from: Just Right on December 31, 2018, 02:03:59 PM
BusySawyer,  I noticed the plywood on top of the on stack of slabs.  Are you running the bladder?  How did that load of slabs come out?  Fairly flat?  I just sent my deposit in today to beat the price increase.  Starting to get excited now.  JR
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on one. I didn't know there was a price increase coming, is it something that's confirmed? I suppose it would be a safe assumption due to the demand and the new year. 
LT50 wide
Riehl Steel Edger
iDRY Standard kiln
BMS 250/BMT 250
JD 4520 w/FEL
Cat TH255 Telehandler
lots of support equipment and not enough time

"I ain't here for a long time, I'm here for a good time"

Busysawyer

Just right, no bladder. Plywood is to keep the drips from the ceiling from staining lumber. So far all thicker material is coming out flat for the most part. Some cherry slabs with a lot of sapwood cup a little.  The 4/4 on the top layers has moderate to severe cupping. I have been putting the thick stuff on top of the 4/4 the last couple runs and that has helped a lot.
Boonesyard, the idry is going up I think 9k Jan Jan 1st.  So I would guess too late to get in on the lower pricing.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile

boonesyard

Quote from: Busysawyer on December 31, 2018, 09:06:37 PM
Just right, no bladder. Plywood is to keep the drips from the ceiling from staining lumber. So far all thicker material is coming out flat for the most part. Some cherry slabs with a lot of sapwood cup a little.  The 4/4 on the top layers has moderate to severe cupping. I have been putting the thick stuff on top of the 4/4 the last couple runs and that has helped a lot.
Boonesyard, the idry is going up I think 9k Jan Jan 1st.  So I would guess too late to get in on the lower pricing.
Wow, that's a big jump. May put that idea on hold.
LT50 wide
Riehl Steel Edger
iDRY Standard kiln
BMS 250/BMT 250
JD 4520 w/FEL
Cat TH255 Telehandler
lots of support equipment and not enough time

"I ain't here for a long time, I'm here for a good time"

jfric

Quote from: boonesyard on January 01, 2019, 01:29:21 AM
Quote from: Busysawyer on December 31, 2018, 09:06:37 PM
Just right, no bladder. Plywood is to keep the drips from the ceiling from staining lumber. So far all thicker material is coming out flat for the most part. Some cherry slabs with a lot of sapwood cup a little.  The 4/4 on the top layers has moderate to severe cupping. I have been putting the thick stuff on top of the 4/4 the last couple runs and that has helped a lot.
Boonesyard, the idry is going up I think 9k Jan Jan 1st.  So I would guess too late to get in on the lower pricing.
Wow, that's a big jump. May put that idea on hold.
My understanding is that the increase is largely due to the increasing price of steel. 
iDRY vacuum kiln, Nyle L200m kiln, Woodmizer LT15-Wide, Bobcat S300, Stihl MS880, 36" and 60" Granberg Alaskan Mills, Ford F550 flatbed.

Just Right

Thanks Busy.  So thick slabs on top are pretty stable then?  And of course the deeper in the stack the better they are?  How thick are you doing your slabs?  8/4 12/4?  I want to have a 8/4 finished product.  So just trying to figure what thickness to start with to end up with 2 inches after planing or router sled surfaced that only needs finish sanding. Have you thought of a weighted pallet to top off the stack?  Any input on that?  Thanks again.
If you are enjoying what you are doing,  is it still work?

Glenn1

We use 2" ratchet straps every 3' to put some pressure on the top boards.  It seems to work well and does not take up any extra room.
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Glenn1

We opened the kiln today and the quartersawn sycamore was ready.  The boards are spectacular! They range from 6" to 15" wide.  These were some really wide logs.
We cut the boards at 1 1/4" thickness.  Going with the theory that the IDry can dry 1" per week, we thought that it would take 9 days to dry from green.  Sycamore initially has more than 100% moisture in the log so that will also affect the drying time.  This load took 13 day to get it to 8% Mc.  I am very pleased with the results.  

 

 

 
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

PA_Walnut

Why no other controls than a big "GO" button?  PCS vac kiln has a control that looks like a NASA command center. What are we missing here?

Calling @GeneWengert-WoodDoc  Calling @Den Socling 
I own my own small piece of the world on an 8 acre plot on the side of a mountain with walnut, hickory, ash and spruce.
LT40HD Wide 35HP Diesel
Peterson Dedicated Wide Slabber
Kubota M62 Tractor/Backhoe
WoodMizer KD250 Kiln
Northland 800 Kiln

Just Right

Looking good Glenn and Busy. .. . . so maybe a silly question,  if you are going to be putting sawed lumber in the kiln quickly . . . . do you still anchor seal?
If you are enjoying what you are doing,  is it still work?

Glenn1

Quote from: Just Right on January 06, 2019, 10:01:12 PM
Looking good Glenn and Busy. .. . . so maybe a silly question,  if you are going to be putting sawed lumber in the kiln quickly . . . . do you still anchor seal?
Yes I do.  I would rather be safe
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

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