does the fans blow air from the back to the front or do they blow from the front into the back ? I know the air needs to cycle, I just don't know which is more efficient -- to blow onto the clear plastic panels or to suck from that area instead.
It seems to me to make sense for the fans to blow towards the clear panels, which are angled, so naturally deflect the air down and then through the stacked board piles. Works very well. Two decent sized fans do the trick.
Great looking kiln, in the process of building one myself.....can you please put links on the parts used in your control panel....thermometer plugs and power plugs....thx
I added this to the description... Humidity controller is an Inkbird IHC-200. Temperature controller is an Inkbird ITC-608T. Both controllers bought on-line. The fans come with thermostats built in, which switch off at 50 F. But the fans don't really need to run in the winter when humidity levels are low.
The fans are both 1650 cfpm. In this size kiln, I think two of them work really well. Lots of air flow through the wood stacks. They're on Amazon.ca at: www.amazon.ca/Ventamatic-CX2500UPS-Attic-Ventilator-Construction/dp/B002TXL5P0/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3FH1W35MOREGE&keywords=ventamatic&qid=1640493950&sprefix=ventamatic+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-8 I debated two or three, but seems two is sufficient. So far reliable, appear well made. As for the results, a couple of days ago I ran a few maple boards through my jointer/planer, moisture was exactly 6% in all the boards, so I think the combo of air circulation, sunshine and dehumidification is quite effective.
I put fresh cut boards into the kiln in July, wood at around 30% moisture, and by November some boards were down to 7-8%, with a few thicker ones lower down at 9-10%. The kiln is in a fairly shady location during the summer when the sun is high, but gets more direct sunlight spring/fall when the sun is lower. I'm sure the would dry faster if it was in a really sunny location with no trees around, but good airflow from the fans with the combo of some sunlight and the dehumidifier seem to work well enough. For the first two months or so, the dehumidifier was removing a lot of water. A neighbour with a greenhouse in the open that he uses to dry lumber commented that, in his case, the greenhouse gets really hot in the summer and the lumber tends to dry too fast [more splits/etc.]. So, bit slower/steadier may actually be better, less stress on the wood. I'm going to leave most of the wood in the kiln over the winter [when humidity levels here in Ontario are really low anyway], not running the fans, and then in spring take out the dried wood and replace it with the rest of the lumber I cut, which is in my garage and remains at around 15-18% moisture.
Whole lot going on in this video!
does the fans blow air from the back to the front or do they blow from the front into the back ? I know the air needs to cycle, I just don't know which is more efficient -- to blow onto the clear plastic panels or to suck from that area instead.
It seems to me to make sense for the fans to blow towards the clear panels, which are angled, so naturally deflect the air down and then through the stacked board piles. Works very well. Two decent sized fans do the trick.
Great looking kiln, in the process of building one myself.....can you please put links on the parts used in your control panel....thermometer plugs and power plugs....thx
I added this to the description... Humidity controller is an Inkbird IHC-200. Temperature controller is an Inkbird ITC-608T.
Both controllers bought on-line. The fans come with thermostats built in, which switch off at 50 F. But the fans don't really need to run in the winter when humidity levels are low.
@@001TFS Thanks for the info.
What size in CFM are your duct fans
The fans are both 1650 cfpm. In this size kiln, I think two of them work really well. Lots of air flow through the wood stacks. They're on Amazon.ca at:
www.amazon.ca/Ventamatic-CX2500UPS-Attic-Ventilator-Construction/dp/B002TXL5P0/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3FH1W35MOREGE&keywords=ventamatic&qid=1640493950&sprefix=ventamatic+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-8
I debated two or three, but seems two is sufficient. So far reliable, appear well made. As for the results, a couple of days ago I ran a few maple boards through my jointer/planer, moisture was exactly 6% in all the boards, so I think the combo of air circulation, sunshine and dehumidification is quite effective.
Hi. How long does the board dry in kiln?
I put fresh cut boards into the kiln in July, wood at around 30% moisture, and by November some boards were down to 7-8%, with a few thicker ones lower down at 9-10%. The kiln is in a fairly shady location during the summer when the sun is high, but gets more direct sunlight spring/fall when the sun is lower. I'm sure the would dry faster if it was in a really sunny location with no trees around, but good airflow from the fans with the combo of some sunlight and the dehumidifier seem to work well enough. For the first two months or so, the dehumidifier was removing a lot of water. A neighbour with a greenhouse in the open that he uses to dry lumber commented that, in his case, the greenhouse gets really hot in the summer and the lumber tends to dry too fast [more splits/etc.]. So, bit slower/steadier may actually be better, less stress on the wood. I'm going to leave most of the wood in the kiln over the winter [when humidity levels here in Ontario are really low anyway], not running the fans, and then in spring take out the dried wood and replace it with the rest of the lumber I cut, which is in my garage and remains at around 15-18% moisture.
@@001TFS I'm going to build in the spring too