Kiln rates per board foot

[Nebraska]

Curious where some of you are with prices for custom kilnwork?  1.75$ a board foot a friend  was quoted  seemed  steep to me.

[Southside]

Was that for something thick and or otherwise difficult to dry?

[scsmith42]

Depends on species, thickness and moisture content.

I won't dry 8/4 white oak from green for only $1.75 a bd ft....

2" SYP would be less than that though, as would 4/4 anything.

[Nebraska]

It was 8/4 material, guessing Black Walnut. It was quoted  higher than i thought it would be by a quarter, but I don't know the market at all.....of course I know both parties involved  in the deal as both have livestock.

[bushhog920]

I don't understand how you can charge by the bdft. To many variables for drying time and it costs me $10 day in electricity so if get it wrong can go in the hole fast.. I charge by the day until final mc is reached. 

[GAB]

I don't understand how you can charge by the bdft. To many variables for drying time and it costs me $10 day in electricity so if get it wrong can go in the hole fast.. I charge by the day until final mc is reached.

How many bdft of 1" is a kiln load for you?
GAB

[Larry]

At one of the commercial kilns its 30 cents.  The kicker is you must have enough lumber for 24 layers.  No matter the species, it will be dried on a oak schedule.  They only dry 4/4 and all lumber must be 8'.  Doesn't matter the MC as it will sit in the yard for 3 or 4 months air drying.  And when its done their is always a chance it will get lost. 

The local I-Dry was at $3.00 a couple years ago.  I heard he is higher now.  He will dry anything but specializes in live edge slabs.....drying defects add character. 

I try to avoid custom drying as most folks are unreliable as to what MC their lumber is at and only want a small quality dried.  When I do get talked into it, I charge $600 minimum and it all must fit in my L-53 chamber.  It must be air dried first and I'll check it before it gets unloaded.  I have done it with a daily charge on higher MC but that is sort of iffy at times for the customer.  What if the load of walnut stalls?

[bushhog920]

I don't understand how you can charge by the bdft. To many variables for drying time and it costs me $10 day in electricity so if get it wrong can go in the hole fast.. I charge by the day until final mc is reached.

How many bdft of 1" is a kiln load for you?
GAB

L200/40' reefer so 2-4k bdft. 

[scsmith42]

It was 8/4 material, guessing Black Walnut. It was quoted  higher than i thought it would be by a quarter, but I don't know the market at all.....of course I know both parties involved  in the deal as both have livestock.

$1.75 for 8/4 BW is very fair IMO.  That's around a 60 day kiln run in a Nyle L200 - give or take.
At $25 per day per 1K bd ft, that works out to be $1.75 bd ft for a 4K bd ft load and 60 day kiln run.

[Brad_bb]

This is a subject that confuses me.  If I want to dry 4/4 material that is already air dried, and I load the kiln with 2100 BF.  It's going to take 2-4 weeks, somewhere in there.  If I don't max the kiln out with say 2600 BF, I think the 2100 BF will be done a little sooner.  

lF I put 11/4  air dried slabs in the kiln, they'll be in there for 2-3 months likely.

So charging by the BF is confusing because 1) it's difficult to be accurate when it comes to slabs.  and the time varies so much.  I would think time in the kiln would be better to charge?  Or maybe broken up charges that include kiln loading and unloading labor, a daily charge.  Not sure if any other charge should be in there.  It just seems like it makes more sense to charge by time in the kiln.  I understand that if you only have a partial load, it makes it more difficult, but I think you could figure out a percentage split.

What is the best way to charge?  Is it too difficult to charge any way other than BF?

[boonesyard]

If I do any custom drying, I charge $.10/BF/day. Takes care of any size, species or starting moisture questions. I'm very clear with the customer as to what we're starting with and try to give them a fair expectation, but as we all know, wood can sometimes have a mind of its own. Done a good amount of custom drying with no issues and happy customers. 

[blackhawk]

If I do any custom drying, I charge $.10/BF/day. Takes care of any size, species or starting moisture questions. I'm very clear with the customer as to what we're starting with and try to give them a fair expectation, but as we all know, wood can sometimes have a mind of its own. Done a good amount of custom drying with no issues and happy customers.

How many board feet does you kiln hold?  Do you require at least an X amount of board feet per load?  

[boonesyard]

The specs say the capacity is 2,000 bf but 1,500 is more in line with reality. I have a 500 BF minimum and if they have less than that, they're lumber will wait until I have enough of the same or a compatible species to make the minimum. Customers also understand that full loads have priority, which includes our own lumber. If they're willing to wait, I'll eventually get it in. 

 

[busenitzcww]

Nothing over 30% and ideally down to 20%-  $1.25 per bf and $100 minimum. We stay pretty busy drying our own slabs but do a load or two worth every year for customers. 

[Stephen1]

I custom dry at .18 cents a day per "kiln bd ft" I will do 1 piece but have a minimum charge of $175. I moisture test the wood when it arrives and will quote how long it will take down to 6-8%. I only put wood in the kiln when it is %25 or less.  If it is done in less time I only charge for the days in the kiln. If it takes longer then I eat the cost. Fair to both of us, and I am getting pretty good at outing the time in the kiln. I was only once wrong last year on a bundle of 4/4 Hickory, it took 2 more days to get it down. Next time I will AD them longer.
I can dry cookies as soon as I saw them, I like them to go in the kiln that day or at least the next day and I get very little cracking when I do that. I like putting cookies in with customers AD wood as some wood comes AD wrong, maybe to fast, and I like to think having that extra moisture from the cookies helps soften the outer shell of the customers slabs.