I'm thinking about getting an L50 Kiln, anyone have one that can tell me how they like it and would you buy it again? Thanks!
R.T.
Call me with your location and I will check our records for L50 customers in your vicinity.
Joe, I'm in Curran Michigan, which is about 45 miles south of Alpena. I ordered the manual for the L50 but it hasn't come yet, figured I 'd see what it was all about anyway. Thanks!
R.T.
I have one. I did post some pictures of it in a prior thread.
Overall, I have been fairly happy with the unit. It was wired up wrong when I got it. The heating coil was not connected to the proper terminal on the relay. Once I fixed that, the unit has not given me any problems.
For the capacity rating, it does work well. Sometimes I wish that I gotten the L-200 just to have more capacity, especially for all of the white pine that I get around here. But for hardwoods, the capacity is just fine. Much more load, and I would have a hard time finding where to put all of the stuff.
The main advantage of the L-50 is that I can run it on an extension cord from an outside outlet.
I think that the heater could be a little beefier since I would like to run the kiln up to 160 or so at the end of the cycle to kill off the bugs.
I've had my unit for 3-4 yrs now.
Gary,
Did you build the chamber yourself?
I have told myself for the last couple of years that I needed one, I like the L200 but I dont know if I can come up with that much wood at one time to dry.
I sure I could get custom drying business as the only other kiln close to me is a woodmizer vac unit.
GaryW, hey thanks for the info, I appreciate it.
So whats the work around for heat when you need it? Do you just use another heater or does that cause a problem with the L50? I'll also be drying some pine so I hope theres way of doing it. What size is your kiln? I'll do a search, I always forget about that feature. ;D
Thanks again!
R.T.
I know 4 guys with Nyle kilns. Three have the L200 and one has a big 3-phase machine. I've quizzed them quite a bit on how they work, if they like them and no complaints from any of them. I would like to buy one this winter so considering all my options.
I'm trying to make a decision between the L50 and the L200 for hardwoods. A couple of L50's would make it easier to dry small loads of different species with different MC's.
You can get kiln plans from Nyle for something like 10 bucks and the manual for $50?
I always have a lot of questions so I've have emailed Nyle a few times and always got a prompt and detailed answer back from Tripp Lewis.
I know another guy that is running 2 Ebac LD3000 kilns. He has 2 electric baseboard heaters in each kiln to get the temperature up in the winter until the Ebac takes over. I would think they would provide enough heat to set the pitch but see what Nyle suggests.
Larry_Copas, thanks. Would you happen to know how long you would need to keep the temp at 160 in order to set the pitch in pine? And I'm guessing I'd have to turn off the Nyle if using another heater to set the pitch, is that right? Thanks again!
R.T.
Can't help on setting the pitch in pine question, as we don't have any around here.
With my Ebac LD800 at the end of the drying cycle I turn the machine off and put a milk barn heater in the kiln to get the temperature over 130 degrees for a couple of days to kill bugs. Check with Nyle and see what they recommend to set the pitch.
Ok thanks Larry, yeah I ordered there manual so maybe it will go into drying times, if not I'll give um a call. Thanks again!
R.T.
Hey guys, click on Joe_Beaulieu's name. You'll notice that he's a rep from Nyle.
No need for private phone calls, get your questions answered here on the forum so we all can benefit.
Well duh, so thats what he meant in his post above, he said to call him, but he didn't leave his number so I couldn't. lol. Thanks!
R.T.
Okay, so I took a long weekend. Number is 800-777-6953.
To set pitch in pine with either an L50 or L200 start by drying your lumber down to the target moisture content. Turn off compressor. Set the temperature at 160 F. Set the timer for four to eight hours for 4/4 lumber depending on the size of the load.
I ordered the kiln chamber plans from Nyle and roughly followed them to build my chamber. I posted pictures of the chamber in an earlier thread. I had left over material from the house, so that is what I used for the basic construction. For insulation, I used 3 1/2 fiberglass and 1" foam board in the walls. The floor got 6" fiberglass, with the ceiling getting 2 layers of 6" fiberglass and 1" foam board. All of it was lined with 6 mil poly and then faced with 1/2 plywood. Later I added on 2" and 4" insulated panels to the outside.
Pay very careful attention to the seals around the doors. Mine leak and I'm sure that does not help. But it does produce some interesting brown ice in the winter. :D
I can put in a stack 16' long by 3' wide and 5' tall. It is a little tight when loaded and I end up knocking the filter off of the unit when I am loading the last few layers.
I use the L-50 heater to get it up to temperature, though in the winter it does take a while. I end the drying cycles as close to 130 as possible. You just have to be careful not to put too much pressure when sanding so you don't heat the wood up too much and then the pitch will flow. I have had some pieces of pine leak sap. That is gooey. ;D
QuoteOkay, so I took a long weekend. Number is 800-777-6953.
To set pitch in pine with either an L50 or L200 start by drying your lumber down to the target moisture content. Turn off compressor. Set the temperature at 160 F. Set the timer for four to eight hours for 4/4 lumber depending on the size of the load.
Oh ok, so you can get the heat up to 160deg then, I didn't think the L50 would go up that high. This makes me happy. ;D I got the manual in the mail on Friday, but I've only had time to read it for a bit, lots of company over the weekend.
Once the kiln is setup and your drying a load of lumber, can you stop the unit for a short time to go inside and see how things are going, or do you just trust your settings and let her go? Like I said, I didn't read the book yet. :)
Joe, did you already check to see if there is someone in my area with an L50? If so I'll give you a call, figure theres no reason to bug you if theres not. It would be great to see one in action but I would understand if theres not, I do live in the middle of nowhere. lol. Thanks for your help!
GarryW, thanks for all the info. So are you happy with the L50 and if you did it again, would you make your kiln the same size, or would you go bigger? Would a ballpark figure be that the L50 is about half of the total cost to get a kiln up and running? I can already see its gonna cost more then I thought. Anyway , thanks for your time and your input, I really appreciate it. :)
R.T.
WoodChucker,
You can bring the kiln temperature up to 160 degrees using the heater in the L50, but the compressor must be turned off. Do not operate the compressor above 120 degrees F. It will take some time for the chamber to come up to temperature as the heater is only 1 kW. The size of the chamber, how well it is insulated and how well it is sealed will all have an effect. It may be necessary to use a supplemental heat source. Most L50 customers are drying hardwoods so the small heater is not usually an issue.
I just ran off an L50 customer list for MI. Call me and I can fax it to you.
Overall, I am happy with the L-50. Next time I would probably get the L-200, only because I dry a lot of pine and I would like to have the capacity.
And I would probably make the kiln a bit larger too. When I built it, my sawmill was a LT25, which only cut 16'8". Now that I have the LT40, it would nice to occassionally put in something around 20-21 feet. But, at least make the length 17 feet -- that allows you to end stack two 8 footers (8' to 8'6"). Since mine is only 16' long, sometimes I have to cut off the ends a bit to get them to fit.
I probably spent around $1500 on the building. I did have some left over plywood and 2x6s from the house. I was able to get the insulation panels for free. You might want to check with a local metal building installer, they might have some cut-offs or extra panels for the right price.
Joe_Beaulieu, thanks for the info. I gave you a call today but you were out of the office. I ask the girl that answered the phone how to pronounce your last name but she said she didn't no because she was temporary. ;D I got busy and forgot to call you back but I'll try again tomorrow. Or if you want to, you can email me the list at rt@thewoodchucker.com , I don't have a fax machine anyway.
GarryW, Thanks again for your help. I'm thinking about making mine 8' high, 8' deep and 18' long, do you think thats a pretty good size? I was also thinking about having the door on the wide side of the kiln so I could load it with my tractor using forks, but I'll have to come up with a good plan for solid doors. I'd like to be able to load 16 footers once in a while but I can see a problem making a door that big. What do ya think? Anyway, thats my plan, but I don't know if i'm sticking to it. ;D
R.T.
It might be a little tight only 8' wide (well, deep since you want side doors). You need room for the Nyle unit, the width of the pile, and some space on both sides for air flow. But then mine is 7 feet and it works but it is tight.
I like the side doors (wide side), but remember that you may need to get around to the back side to put the temperature sensor near to the stack. And yes, a couple of wide doors that size would be very heavy, so mounting them and getting them to seal properly could be a problem.