Well I've bene using the Nyle L200 kiln for firewood for about 2 years now. Only now getting time to throw in some experiments to see if I can figure out how to dry regular lumber. Of course, I can't start with something easy like a load of 4/4 fir or pine. No, I have to start with some 4" thick, 3-4ft long sugar maple, and a couple white birch pieces.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211012_162456-kiln-loading.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634073572)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211012_164258-kiln-loading-full.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634073572)
Initially I was just going to dro pthe tarp straight down as that's what works well for firewood.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211012_164434-kiln-tarp-straight-down.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634073573)
But then remembering to dry lumber you want air flowing through the stacks, so I draped the tarp over.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211012_165014-kiln-tarp-allthewayover.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634073573)
Reading start out at
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211012_171047-kiln-reading-start.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634073573)
Now, confession time. I really can't quite grasp drying schedules as explained in the guides and manuals. I have a general idea of the overall concept that for hardwood you can't just crank on the heat and dry as fast as possible. But the finesse of when to turn up the heat and widen the gap between WB and DB is still lost on me. Currently DB is 91, WB is 80. Not sure if that's right or what to do next really, flying by seat of the pants for now.
Jim I would strap them or really weight them unless you are going to saw that maple down to 2" or less when your done.
Are these green?
Quote from: Stephen1 on October 12, 2021, 08:44:26 PM
Jim I would strap them or really weight them unless you are going to saw that maple down to 2" or less when your done.
They're going to be bowl blanks. I was going to rough carve out some of them just to see what would happen. Likely would fracture though so I decided not to.
Quote from: Southside on October 12, 2021, 09:43:46 PM
Are these green?
Avg MC being almost 50%. The logs were in the log yard for over a year, stacked and about a foot off of the ground.
I would air dry them to at least 30%. You might get mold otherwise, you can only pull about 1/2 to 3/4% daily. Then use schedule 4 to finish.
Well guess what I forgot to do last evening? Switch on the auto vent. Checked the kiln this morning and the DB was 138 and WB was 89. Water was still dripping from the line. My understanding is the compressor overload is set at 130ยบ. Assuming now i have to reset. That being the case, can the unit remain running or do I have to shut everything off first. What's the procedure for that @K-Guy (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=35658) ?
By the time i grabbed the phone to take a picture the display was reading
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211014_101610-kiln-reading-day2-10am.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634218671)
My unit trips at 133 degrees DB temp with the compressor running.
@jimbarry (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=10037)
Watch this video
KilnTech Episode 10: High Pressure switch reset for L53/L200 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33RFb9klnE4&list=PLqigsI8-7_5gZaK7GXFIM-pSPbFJpOceH&index=4)
Thanks Stan.
I left the man door open for a while to help dump out some of the heat. Currently looking at
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20037/20211014_112735-kiln-reading-day2-1130hrs-after-opendoorfor1hr.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1634224367)