What to do?

Fla._Deadheader · December 10, 2002, 03:02:52 PM

Ya know, it seems that all this govt. crap needs to be addressed. I'm STILL waiting (2 weeks) for some moron to sign a stupid piece of paper saying I can use a dirt access to take logs. Those in charge wrote the letter giving the permission. NOW, some clerk, (new at the job and just put in charge of ALL Deadhead permitting), is playing around with MY TIME and MY MONEY.

It's high time for a revolution by the REAL workers in this country, to REMOVE ALL the inefficiency in this Bureaucracy !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya'll can have the platform now, I'm going loggin !!!!!!!

DanG · December 10, 2002, 04:45:32 PM

I know whatcha mean, Harold. Those county-level bureaucrats are the pits. As far as I know, the restriction here is for bringing one into the county. If it is already here, they don't seem to care what happens to it. I'll certainly check on it, before I commit myself. I'm not sure I want the thing "decorating" my place, anyway, but the price is attractive, and it might be a way to get into business a lot quicker.

Kevin_H. · December 10, 2002, 06:34:41 PM

Hey danG,
I dont know if it would make any difference to the county but those over seas containers are getting kinda cheap to buy, might even be easier to control the RH in one of those. I have always. thought you could make a good looking DH kiln out of one.

CHARLIE · December 10, 2002, 07:28:48 PM

Jeff, I'd much rather hear your guitar pickin' than your singin'.

DanG · December 10, 2002, 07:43:58 PM

That's a good thought, too, as is a semi-trailer. The advantage of the mobile home is, that it is already insulated(well, sort of, anyway :

) and the ducting is already there for the a/c. I'm not saying it is an ideal solution, but it is quick, easy, and cheap. Those things might be necessary for some of us. It is also big. It would take several shipping containers to equal the capacity, and that would mean more systems to maintain.
There are other alternatives, such as old school busses, etc.

WV_hillbilly · December 10, 2002, 07:52:33 PM

DanG if you could get a hold on an insulated semi that was used for refrigerated hauling you might be in business with out having to add much insulation if any. That's my 2 cents worth.

Hillbilly

DanG · December 10, 2002, 08:13:42 PM

That has been my thought, as well, Hill. However, a dead reefer would set me back about $4,000, and the MH would be free. Besides, what better way to simulate the environment of a house, than to use a house, or a reasonable facsimile, thereof? The main problem I can foresee is, the neighbors would think I'm moving a herd of Mexicans in.

Kevin_H. · December 10, 2002, 08:23:35 PM

You know if you put to many of the MH together, they attract tornado's. ;D

OneWithWood · December 11, 2002, 06:42:24 AM

DanG,
Have you given much thought to the load bearing capacity of a MH floor? How were you intending on moving the lumber about? Might be something to consider... :-/

DanG · December 11, 2002, 07:17:09 PM

Yeah, One. I thought of that, but I haven't come up with a solution. Maybe it could be end-loaded on carts, with the vwheels directly over the main beams.

I don't really plan on doing this, though I think it is doable, but I did manage to drag a few responses out of all you sleepyheads. ;D

CHARLIE · December 11, 2002, 08:17:20 PM

My Uncle Pete is converting a semi trailor to a kiln. I don't know how it'll work but I imagine it'll be better than nothing.

Tom, I think that if I owned that mobil home, it might have just caught fire and burned to the ground. 8)

Paul_H · December 11, 2002, 09:35:19 PM

DanG,
I like the idea.Wondered about the floor also,because I lived in a trailer for a while and it had press board for floor.But you have the heat and insulation in place,and the price is right,it shouldn't be too difficult to overcome.

Frank_Pender · December 12, 2002, 08:46:45 PM

DanG, I followed through with the idea of useing a refer trailer for a kilnd about 4 years ago. l It works great. I got one for $1,000 and reinsolated the walls and put a number of electrical outlets in for fans, heat exchanger and my Ebac Dh unit. I have dried sever thousand feet of lumber ,very successfully. I am going to purchase a 42' sea going refer unit for the next kiln unit I install. A friend of mine in a near by town has two of them and is drying our very challenging Western Oregon Oak,with great success. Some of the flooring he has dried was 2nd to none that has even been sawn in the country. He then build a "warning room" to make sure the flooring does not absorb more moisture before it leaves the mill site.

Fla._Deadheader · December 13, 2002, 04:28:23 AM

DanG,DanG. Wished I lived a lil closer to ya. Rigging up a system for placing wood in a box type trailer (MH) would be a snap. Make some tracks out of boards,shaped like channel, and make a couple of carts with enough tire and frame strength, to fit the track. Off bear directly onto the cart and sticker as ya go. Then pull the carts into the box with a small tractor or whatever, close the doors (on both ends) and "Bob's yer uncle". When dry, pull it back out ,or on through, and insert the next load. The track would run longways and bridge the cross framing of the MH. Floor COULD even be rotten, so long as it keeps out moisture.

DanG · December 13, 2002, 08:51:52 AM

I figger to offload directly from the mill to some sort of drying cart, whichever way I go with the kiln. I've been thinking of making carts from old truck frames. I'm modifying my trailer to be the same height as the mill bed, which is just above the height of it's 15" tires. The truck frames could be set up the same height, so I never have to lift logs or lumber, once it is on my trailer. I gotta check with the junkyard to see how much I can buy the truck frames for. :P The carts could be moved about with a towbar setup.
I know I can get old wore out trucks for next to nuthin, but I don't really want to be in the junkyard business. I have a couple of rolled over wrecks on hand, though, thanks to my step-son's driving skills, so I'll start out with them, and just haul the other parts to the junkyard. I got a feeling I'm gonna be working real cheap doing this, though. If they work out ok, I'll just buy more, already stripped down.

Tom · December 13, 2002, 01:30:36 PM

Hmmmm. I just had a thought. If you are concerned about lifting weights, why don't you make each step, log to mill, mill to kiln truck to kiln to storage area, a little down hill from each last step. that way a log can be rolled to the mill, boards can be put on the truck without lifting too high, the truck can be moved more easily, rolled to the kiln and then to the storage area. An empty cart could be pushed back up a slight incline back to the starting place easier than a loaded one on level ground. It wouldn't have to be much slope. :

:P

DanG · December 13, 2002, 07:34:47 PM

That's kinda sorta what I had in mind, after a fashion.

Only problem is, my place don't have no slope. Oh well, I always preferred to keep things on the level, anyway.

I figger that I can possess these carts for under a hunnerd bucks each. That way, if I need another cart, I won't have to break the bank to get one. Now, if anybody can come up with a down-side to this idea, I'd like to hear it now, before I start clutterin' up Ms Linda's place with a bunch of useless truck frames. :D :D

Don P · December 14, 2002, 07:02:41 AM

Only down side I could think of is the frames are high, wasted kiln space, but if the price is right its one of those complicated equations. The airflow must be forced through the stickered stack so you'll need to baffle the cart to floor area well or it'll short circuit and just go around the pile. You guys get old hay racks around there? I've used them in shops and on jobs, already got the tongue and a simpler running gear.

Frank_Pender · December 14, 2002, 07:37:56 AM

DanG, what I have done is created a pallet that is 54" wide and 9' long. When there is to be lumber run trhrough the kil I place the lumber n the pallet at the time of sawing and it is also stickered. After the lumber has air dried for 30 to 60 days I simply remove the lumber from the pallet and place on the kil carts and pull them into the kil. The kil carts are the same size as the above mentioned pallets. 90% of the lumber that is put into the kil is not over 12' long. Most is 8' or 10' in length. I can usually dry about 2500' at a time. I do also go against what some "experts" say you should not do, and that is mix the species when drying. I have had great success in the mixing of species as well as just one species at a time.

DanG · December 14, 2002, 07:18:12 PM

Frank, I like the idea of the pallets. I had thought of that, but I don't have a forklift. By the time I have a kiln, I will probably have a forklift or loader, and will probably go that way.

Why don't you share a little bit about your kiln? I think you said you were using a wood-fired unit in a reefer trailer? How do you exhaust the moisture, duct the heat, handle the circulation, etc?

Frank_Pender · December 14, 2002, 09:37:29 PM

Venting is non-existant. the moisture is remove via an Ebac 800 and metered nto a 5 gal pale. Air circulation is with 5 24" fans plus the heat exchanger fan. time for drying ranges from 25 to 32 days, depending on amount of air dried time ans species.

Frank_Pender · December 14, 2002, 10:11:50 PM

I usually use the loader for my 5300 Johnnie Popper which is a 740. I make up the units of lumber so that they are easy to lift and move about with a set quick release designed forks. I the event I have something , usually logs, that exceed the capacity of the load I will use my early 1950's Gerlinger lift truck which has a capacity of 18,000 lbs. It was made right here in good ol' Dallas, Oregon for use in lumber companies and sawmills.