Kiln dried firewood.

[arlen]

Ok does anyone have one of these ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Firewood-Drying...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:7|294:50

Could elimate all of the bug isues in firewood


David

 

[clutch25]

Hmmmm....looks like an old semi trailer with a Reznor heater and a couple of fans to me...

Pretty expensive unless it comes with the wood shown, baskets and a fork lift tossed in.

 

[leon]

firewood kilns

Ok does anyone have one of these ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Firewood-Drying...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:7|294:50

Could elimate all of the bug isues in firewood


David

Its the typical opportunity cost question.

It will eliminate all the bugs but what are you willing to pay to obtain it.

If you read the advertisement in the ebay posting he is adding twenty foot kilns to the line of converted kilns he offers for sale.

A big kiln is ment more for the firewood marketer who will buy all his firewood cut to length and ready to dry.


He offers complete systems with a pressurised boiler and fans and heat exchangers.

I asked them a while back about a twenty foot kiln and they said they wer enot making them- now they will be-go figure.

The problem is payback time in either a good economy or especially in a bad one as with what we are experiencing now.

I will tell you what the lumber kiln people told me when I was looking into buying a kiln.

They said and I quote: all you want is a forced draft kiln to dry the wood with heated air!!!!!!!! and you do not need all the equipment you need to dry quality lumber.

the other problem is air circulation as time is money and either the wood is thrown into steel bins or stacked=more labor.

Lumber is dried quickly simply due to the fact that there is an air space between each and every piece of lumber to allow for air circulation in the wood pile.


The only way to keep bugs out is to bag the firewood and seal it air tight with either a super sack with a plastic liner loade with moth balls with a tied top or an open mouth plastic bag that is heat sealed such as is offered by Gish Lumber

You can stack a lot of firewood in a holzhouzen round piles and cover it with a high quality tarpaulin for a semi truck which is what I am doing whenever the weather finally behaves.

There is a company in the carolinas that offers a complete insulated kiln delivered to you concrete slab. all you need to do is add a heat source and it is ready to go to work with an existing outdoor furnace.



leonopcorn::bang:

 

[avalancher]

You would have to sell a carp load of firewood to make that thing pay.Not to mention the cost of providing heat to the thing.Our area would not support the cost, thats for sure.most folks would rather pay for and burn wet wood.

 

[STLfirewood]

I have thought about getting one. Right now I can't justify it. There is a chance in a few years I might have to. The main reason to get a kiln to to become USDA certified. If your are is under a firewood quarantine and you need to ship you you need a kiln. It hasn;t hit here yet but if the emerald ash bore they found in Missouri last year spreads we will have a quarantine placed on us. If I can't ship county to count I'm screwed. I would almost welcome the quarantine. Not because I want the ash bore to come around but because it would eliminate a lot of the other sellers. I have the means to buy a kiln. I don't think there are any others in the area so I could really up my firewood sales. When i checked into a kiln they said if you used gas or electric heat it would cost about $15 a cord to dry the wood. That is an easy amount to add onto the firewood price. t's the 25k upfront that would be hard to add now. Prices around here have dropped some because of all the laid off people. I'm still selling at the same price but I have established customers and seasoned wood. That helps a lot

 

[Ductape]

Not to mention the cost of providing heat to the thing.

But if you can heat it with wood........... you'd have a self perpetuating machine !

 

[woodbooga]

But if you can heat it with wood........... you'd have a self perpetuating machine !

Hey, ductape, I remember reading in the Manchester Union back in November about a businessman with some significant capital who was going to set up a kiln-dried firewood business. Supposedly his set up would fully season split hard wood in 2 weeks. He was going to be dealing in quantities of hundreds and hundreds of cords. $300/cord, seasoned, split & delivered.

This guy's operation is in Belmont, which is I think close to you. Any idea how things are working out for him? If I recall, this was to be a side venture to his primary businesses.

I wish I had saved the article, but I used the paper for kindling only to find later the Union hadn't posted the story on its Web site.

 

[Ductape]

I never saw the article. He must be the one with all the ads on CL looking for grapple loads all the time? If he's in Beloment, he's not very far from me. Do you recall what his other business was? Landscaping materials maybe? Just wondering if its anyone i'm farmiliar with.

 

[woodbooga]

I never saw the article. He must be the one with all the ads on CL looking for grapple loads all the time? If he's in Beloment, he's not very far from me. Do you recall what his other business was? Landscaping materials maybe? Just wondering if its anyone i'm farmiliar with.

Sorry, I really don't remember what his other operation is. While I don't remember how or why, I seem to remember from the story that he had a good source of wood.

 

[wdchuck]

Why not use a solar kiln? Use proven plans from a university extension site, keep it in there for enough time period, track the temperatures, and keep perfect records for the folks that care.

 

[Mike Van]

I don't think solar alone will get hot enough - You need 170 or 180 F for X number of hours to kill off bugs, eggs, etc.

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

For $2-$3K you could get an insulated 20' cargo container, add a couple fans and a wood heater and build your own. $5K max.

I'd set it up so you could 2-3 wheeled carts, about 7' high, tied together and pull through each end. You could take one cart out, put one in on a daily basis and always have dried wood.

This is the way we process aircraft parts in drying kilns up in the big airplane plants in the Seattle area.

My .02.

Al

 

[arlen]

Good Idea

For $2-$3K you could get an insulated 20' cargo container, add a couple fans and a wood heater and build your own. $5K max.

I'd set it up so you could 2-3 wheeled carts, about 7' high, tied together and pull through each end. You could take one cart out, put one in on a daily basis and always have dried wood.

This is the way we process aircraft parts in drying kilns up in the big airplane plants in the Seattle area.

My .02.

Al

I like that Idea

 

[woodbooga]

For $2-$3K you could get an insulated 20' cargo container, add a couple fans and a wood heater and build your own. $5K max.

Al

I think this is similar to what's used the Belmont guy Ductape and I were wondering about. I think his wood burners are fueled by chips and other waste.

 

[K7NUT]

Ok does anyone have one of these ?

David

Oh course, I have two of them!?

I use tarps right now.

 

[Ductape]

I think this is similar to what's used the Belmont guy Ductape and I were wondering about. I think his wood burners are fueled by chips and other waste.

I guess i was thinking it may be Outdoor World, or someone similar. I know they were advertising alot of barkless firewood last year since they de-bark the trees for landscaping bark mulch. It would make sense for someone like that to be using a kiln.

Maybe someone can cut and paste this for me. Here is an ad today for kiln dried firewood @ $450 / cord. I can see a kiln being paid for a bit more quickly @ $450......... but personally I feel a person would have to be smoking more than wood to pay four fitty for a cord of firewood. Maybe i'm the one who's wrong??

http://nh.craigslist.org/grd/1032901520.html