Small Solar Kiln question

[DonE911]

Has anyone built a small solar kiln?? Physically small for small loads

I have some coffee table slabs (figured oak )I'd like to start drying a little faster...  they are 2x16 or so and around 4' long.  I'm making and selling log furniture now and I'd like to start using these slabs as soon as possible ( but cheap as possible ofcourse ) Maybe only 10-20 pieces per load.

I've also got some walnut and hickory slabs about the same size I use for chair seats and tops for small stuff... same load size.

How small can a kiln be to still be effective?  I live in a heavily wooded area with only small full sun areas. I have a spot picked out for a larger solar kiln, but it will be used for longer 4/4 and 8/4 stuff. I'd rather have 3 or 4 of these smaller kilns that could be loaded at different times with different stuff.

I was thinking something around 6 feet long... 3 feet wide and maybe 3 foot tall..  just rough sizing.

I've read everything on the other site and printed every kiln design, but there's nothing even close to this small.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Sounds like a perfect size for sliding glass doors as the Collector covering. You can always add collectors to increase amount of heat. They are EZ to build and add on.

  I bought a small hot water pump, to move water in a Solar Kiln in Arkyland. Thermostat would turn on and off at 140° or so. Got it from Grainger, a long ways back, now.  ;D ;D

[oldschoolmiller]

If anyone has some plans on how to build a good small solar kiln i would be interested, there are a lot of plans out there, I was just wondering what one is the best for a small operation? and of course fairly cheap?  :D

[DonE911]

I can't use the glass for the collector, your right though it would be perfect.  I've got little kids and a small kiln would be easy for them to try and climb on or bounce a ball off of...  just not safe for my situation....   I was going to use some clear plastic to start off with, just to see how it works for me... maybe some of that clear roofing stuff.... 


If you go over to woodweb you can download and print about 30 different designs for solar kiln's... some are small, but nothing as small as I'm talking about....  The larger one I plan to build will be a combination of several of those designs...

[Dan_Shade]

i think as long as you stick with 1 square foot per 10 board feet for roof area, you'll be allright

I saw a thing where I guy once used a lightbulb and a computer fan to dry wood for chair making or something. small quantities

[twoodward15]

a harbor freight green house with an added fan would do nice I'll bet.

[Dan_Shade]

it probably would, but i believe the direct sunlight may degrade the wood inside, not sure about through the glass, but that would be easy to fix by draping a canvas or a tarp in there.

[DonE911]

Well I'm gonna give it a try as soon as I get a few pines or poplars down and on the mill.
I have a book "sawmilling for woodworkers" that has a solar kiln design in it.  I'm going to shrink it down and give it a try.   

I think I'm going to build them on skids so I can move them around with my atv or put it on a trailer and set it up at other locations.  Maybe rent it to a customer so they could dry small amounts of wood for personal use.

 

[Rockn H]

Hey, Now there's an idea.  Solar Kiln rentals for the do-it-yourselfers.   :D ;D
Saw their lumber and rent'em a kiln.

[low_48]

How about the back of a mini van? Kinda kidding there, but I have several racks of ink pen blanks in the back of my work car almost all summer. It's been mid 90's almost all summer and the production rate is really high. In the winter I cover the tops of my furnace main trunk line with blanks. Furnace on, the blanks warm up, furnace off, the blanks cool and they never case harden. Easy stuff like ash goes near the furnace, burls are the furthest away. Wood turners are now soaking there bowl blanks in denatured alcohol to speed up a gentle drying. The alcohol mixes with the water and the mixture will evaporate faster. I have not tried that. So, maybe get a beater mini van and go park it at the mall all day!!! :D Just don't use a Ryder truck and park it too near the courthouse!!!!!!!

[Part_Timer]

Don

I have a small kiln I built in the garage.  It is 5 feet tall 5 1/2 feet wide and four foot deep.  It cost all of $150 dollars.  Basically I took and framed a box in the back and mounted a fan on the top.  THen you load the front 3 foot deep and 5 feet wide.  I have a box store dh for a house.  I weight the stack and then set the dh on top of the stack.  I leave the front open for a couple of weeks and just run the fan.  Then I put some OSB across the front that comes up half way and use Plastic to cover the top part of the opening so I can get to the dh to set the control on the front and empty it.  I have a thermostat and humitity gauge in it. 
     I have a couple of copies of an article in a woodworking magazine that have the safe drying rates for wood done in pints per hour per board foot.  All I do is set the dh and empty it every 12 hours.  Measure the H2O and make sure it stays below the Safe Drying Rate. 
    I know that it is fairly crude but I have dryed 700bf so far with no problems. I'm not trying to set pitch or Kill bugs with it.   The lower temps it runs at (110-125)help a lot with case hardening.   
   I know that a lot of the higher tech people here will start raising cane with my method but it works for me and the customers that buy it.
    If you want some pics let me know just remember it is not built for pretty just to work and work cheap

[DonE911]

I have a small dh running in the basement now.  It's slow, but its working.  The wood weighs less than the wood outside air drying... cut on the same day from same tree. It pulls alot of water, but I'm sure the majority of it is from the air in the basement in general.   I just sticker the good wood in heavy duty shelves in the basement shop.  The cool thing is the house is rented ( they rent the upper level only )and the renters circulate lots or air down there for me by running the ac all the time.

I'd like to see the pic's of your set up and I'm sure everyone else would too.