Thanks for the kiln tour ! Do you heat it with electricity? Firewood sure is a lot of work so pallets, racks and equipment sure does help eh. Fun to watch 👍
I'm building a 15ftx40ft firewood kiln. Wood furnace heated , kiln fans. spray foamed sheet metal exterior. So I can stack 2 ibc tall 10ft tall. On a old concrete slab
@@WoodchuckCanuck 8 cord possibly ten. If it takes weeks to dry it's still better than waiting a whole yr to season wood to sell. I have orders for wood all the time and I barely advertise. Rather sell quality than quantity. But 400 face last yr is still a ton of work to do by myself. 90% all delivered.
@@Garrett572xpg Sounds about exactly where we are at. And have the same business model, quality over quantity. That large a quantity of wood drying all at once you will really have to put a lot of effort into making sure air flow is right. If you build your temps too quickly and don't have correct air movement to remove the moisture, the wood will develop mold on the surface. Depends too on the method you decide to employ. Use a dehumidification system like Nyle's L200M like I have, or go the other route and use a wood boiler to get temps up super high (+100ºC) to literally boil the wood out.
I run the temp up to 125ºF and when the thermal mass of the firewood reaches about the same, then I shut the heat off. The residual heat from the 3 fans and the compressor are enough to keep the kiln temp at about 115ºF. It helps the bldg is well insulated.
It can take anywhere from 4 to 12 days for this 2 cord set up. It depends on how green the wood is and what time of year. During cooler months, 1/3rd of the energy used to bring the thermal mass temp up to 120-125ºF. You can get propane units that can take 6 cords from green to 20% in 2 days, using internal temps of 220ºF, literally boiling the water out of the wood but you consume a tremendous amount of propane.
Seems like you need to raise your prices. Nobody sells kiln dried firewood at breakeven. It's nice that you do that, but it's kinda crazy. Lucky customers, that is for sure.
We make a little bit on the firewood. The additional cost of kiln dried we don't. Its just a value added service. Pretty sure if we raised the price we wouldn't sell near as much as we do. For now it'll do but at some point in the future it will have to go up I am certain, especially if any of the hard costs go up such as fuel for delivery or logs we buy.
SENA TuffTalk M Communicator. Part Number# : TUFFTALK-M-01. www.mapleleafropes.com The less obstructions, the better the signal. While I am in the cab of the skid steer the comms can be a bit spotty. Up to 12 sets can connect for groups or private channels. Bluetooth comms for phone and music. The only complaint is when near loud sounds, like operating a chainsaw, other people on the same comm channel will hear the saw and it can be bothersome. I think a better mic cover would be needed. Instead of a foam pad, something like one of those fuzzy wind socks you see pro microphones have.
There has got to be a way to get away from the electricity.. have you looked into wood furnaces?? You'd make more if you burned your scrap to dry the wood I would imagine..
For the added cost of a wood furnace and the additional insurance, it's not worth it. There's also the extra time factor of keeping a dry supply of slab wood on hand for that furnace, and, managing the fire to keep the heat going. All extra time. Time or money, choose which to spend. Also, for this particular setup, the internal temp of the kiln shouldn't exceed 135ºF, if it does, the compressor safety shuts off to prevent overheating of itself. It can be reset, but it's a pain in the butt and just something else to monitor. Wood fired heating has its place in kiln drying firewood, judt not in this particular setup.
Great video. Very informative. Thanks for the time and effort put into just making the video!
No problem. Thanks for stopping by.
Nice set up. A lot of work to break even, it should keep customers coming back. Terry
That's the plan!
Thanks for the kiln tour ! Do you heat it with electricity? Firewood sure is a lot of work so pallets, racks and equipment sure does help eh.
Fun to watch 👍
Yes we do.
I'm building a 15ftx40ft firewood kiln. Wood furnace heated , kiln fans. spray foamed sheet metal exterior. So I can stack 2 ibc tall 10ft tall. On a old concrete slab
Nice. 4 ibc crates make 1 cord I guess. So how many cord you plan to dry at one time? How many kiln fans you going to run?
@@WoodchuckCanuck 8 cord possibly ten. If it takes weeks to dry it's still better than waiting a whole yr to season wood to sell. I have orders for wood all the time and I barely advertise. Rather sell quality than quantity. But 400 face last yr is still a ton of work to do by myself. 90% all delivered.
@@Garrett572xpg Sounds about exactly where we are at. And have the same business model, quality over quantity. That large a quantity of wood drying all at once you will really have to put a lot of effort into making sure air flow is right. If you build your temps too quickly and don't have correct air movement to remove the moisture, the wood will develop mold on the surface. Depends too on the method you decide to employ. Use a dehumidification system like Nyle's L200M like I have, or go the other route and use a wood boiler to get temps up super high (+100ºC) to literally boil the wood out.
I may have missed it but how hot does it get in the kiln and how long to dry 2 cords?
I run the temp up to 125ºF and when the thermal mass of the firewood reaches about the same, then I shut the heat off. The residual heat from the 3 fans and the compressor are enough to keep the kiln temp at about 115ºF. It helps the bldg is well insulated.
It can take anywhere from 4 to 12 days for this 2 cord set up. It depends on how green the wood is and what time of year. During cooler months, 1/3rd of the energy used to bring the thermal mass temp up to 120-125ºF. You can get propane units that can take 6 cords from green to 20% in 2 days, using internal temps of 220ºF, literally boiling the water out of the wood but you consume a tremendous amount of propane.
@@WoodchuckCanuck thanks for the info Jim
@@buckinfirewood No problem. Only other data I can add is that the amount of elec used during a cycle can vary between 600-1,200 kWHr.
Seems like you need to raise your prices. Nobody sells kiln dried firewood at breakeven. It's nice that you do that, but it's kinda crazy. Lucky customers, that is for sure.
We make a little bit on the firewood. The additional cost of kiln dried we don't. Its just a value added service. Pretty sure if we raised the price we wouldn't sell near as much as we do. For now it'll do but at some point in the future it will have to go up I am certain, especially if any of the hard costs go up such as fuel for delivery or logs we buy.
I'd be interested in knowing what headset is for you .
Brand and model please.
SENA TuffTalk M Communicator. Part Number# : TUFFTALK-M-01. www.mapleleafropes.com The less obstructions, the better the signal. While I am in the cab of the skid steer the comms can be a bit spotty. Up to 12 sets can connect for groups or private channels. Bluetooth comms for phone and music. The only complaint is when near loud sounds, like operating a chainsaw, other people on the same comm channel will hear the saw and it can be bothersome. I think a better mic cover would be needed. Instead of a foam pad, something like one of those fuzzy wind socks you see pro microphones have.
There has got to be a way to get away from the electricity.. have you looked into wood furnaces?? You'd make more if you burned your scrap to dry the wood I would imagine..
For the added cost of a wood furnace and the additional insurance, it's not worth it. There's also the extra time factor of keeping a dry supply of slab wood on hand for that furnace, and, managing the fire to keep the heat going. All extra time. Time or money, choose which to spend. Also, for this particular setup, the internal temp of the kiln shouldn't exceed 135ºF, if it does, the compressor safety shuts off to prevent overheating of itself. It can be reset, but it's a pain in the butt and just something else to monitor. Wood fired heating has its place in kiln drying firewood, judt not in this particular setup.