Got A New Kiln Today

[woodman58]

I have a friend who has a friend that was living in a mobile home. He moved the home to build a house. He had a insulated refrigerated truck box for a shed. It measures 8'X22'. His wife told him he had to get rid of it before they moved in. My friend knew I was looking for a kiln. The guy told him that if I could come and get it today, I could have it for free. I called a tow service and they sent out a roll back. It took a total of 2 hours and $150 to get it moved 20 miles to my place. I am going to level it up on sunday.

My question is until I get a dehumidification unit, can I use 2 house dehumidifiers? i know they might not dry as quick as a big unit, but will it work?

I will also be putting 4-24" fans in it. I'm not sure what type of heat to use. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

[DanG]

Yes, the home d/h units will work, just not as well and not as long.  The acid from the wood will eventually eat them up, but they will last for a while.  I've also heard of using window a/c units for dehumidifiers.  There is more hot air coming from the back of them than cool air from the front, so they provide your heat as well.  For a strictly temporary measure, I would consider using them instead of the home d/h units.

[pineywoods]

I run a solar kiln about the same size, and have a small room de-humidifier mounted inside. works good. A small a/c unit will do the same thing. Between the d/h and the fans, plus the solar heating, it gets plenty warm. Run a hose from the d/h unit through the floor or wall, so you can see how much water is being extracted from the lumber. We get up to a couple of gallons a day from 500 bd ft of cypress.