internet.user.human
ArboristSite Lurker
Hi there,
I've built my own 4' x 4' x 12' wood drying kiln with fire resistant plywood, rockwool, and plastic wrap around the outside of the kiln. I use a small 70pint dehumidifier paired with a box fan when I put freshly milled wood in to draw out as much moisture as I can for about a week. My normal loads are >100 BF of red maple, red oak, white ash etc.
Once I've reached a general 6-8% M.C. (checked with a prong moisture meter - I know, not the most accurate but I'm learning and starting out small) I take out the dehumidifier and box fan. I then fire up two 500W halogen work lights inside the kiln and get the kiln up to ~170 degrees F. I leave it there for 24 hours for sterilization of all the buggies.
My concern/question is, I never see the dehumidifier pulling any water out. The basin/container is bone dry, and the hose I have hooked up never empties any water into my bucket outside of the kiln. With just the box fan and the dehumidifier running, the kiln reaches about 120 degrees F and 25% R.H. I monitor this with an Inkbird temp and humidity controller (linked for reference). My question is, am I seeing this because my wood loads are so small? Or is the dehumidifier not working? I've tried two dehumidifiers and get the same result. By the time I'm all done with the process the wood seems to be pretty stable and I haven't seen any indication that the moisture content ramps back up, in my basement the wood usually stays around 8%. So I guess I shouldn't complain but I expected to see more water being pulled out of the loads. The picture showing the wood inside the kiln right now is very small even for my normal. I usually have 3 or 4 more rows of planks stacked and stickered.
See photos of my setup, attached. Any suggestions or thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!
I've built my own 4' x 4' x 12' wood drying kiln with fire resistant plywood, rockwool, and plastic wrap around the outside of the kiln. I use a small 70pint dehumidifier paired with a box fan when I put freshly milled wood in to draw out as much moisture as I can for about a week. My normal loads are >100 BF of red maple, red oak, white ash etc.
Once I've reached a general 6-8% M.C. (checked with a prong moisture meter - I know, not the most accurate but I'm learning and starting out small) I take out the dehumidifier and box fan. I then fire up two 500W halogen work lights inside the kiln and get the kiln up to ~170 degrees F. I leave it there for 24 hours for sterilization of all the buggies.
My concern/question is, I never see the dehumidifier pulling any water out. The basin/container is bone dry, and the hose I have hooked up never empties any water into my bucket outside of the kiln. With just the box fan and the dehumidifier running, the kiln reaches about 120 degrees F and 25% R.H. I monitor this with an Inkbird temp and humidity controller (linked for reference). My question is, am I seeing this because my wood loads are so small? Or is the dehumidifier not working? I've tried two dehumidifiers and get the same result. By the time I'm all done with the process the wood seems to be pretty stable and I haven't seen any indication that the moisture content ramps back up, in my basement the wood usually stays around 8%. So I guess I shouldn't complain but I expected to see more water being pulled out of the loads. The picture showing the wood inside the kiln right now is very small even for my normal. I usually have 3 or 4 more rows of planks stacked and stickered.
See photos of my setup, attached. Any suggestions or thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!