Lumber Kiln

[Marklambert61]

Team,

Anyone our there ever build a lumber kiln that use's there OWB as the heat source?

I'm considering building a kiln using a comersial dehumidifier and my OWB and my heat source.

Just wondering if others have done the same?

Mark

 

[carvinmark]

Sounds like a good idea, don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[Brmorgan]

I could tell you if I knew what an OWB was... Oil furnace?

My little kiln box uses four heatlamps and a small dehumidifier, and a furnace duct with an inline fan running from end to end of the box to circulate the air. Haven't used it much, but it can dry wood faster than I want it to. Lost a few dozen BF of birch to twist/warp the first couple runs.

 

[Backwood]

I could tell you if I knew what an OWB was... Oil furnace?

.

I think its outdoor wood burner ( or boiler ) or something like that.

I dont see why it wouldnt work. How big a kiln are you talking ? The dehumidifier will give a lot of heat. some 100w light bulbs ( with an inline thermostat ) is all I use.
Some people use a 1000 watt electric heater. there has been some debate about which is safer, the light bulbs or the electric heater??? Which would you guys feel safer with ? I feel more comfortable with the light bulbs.

 

[Brmorgan]

1000W is nothing... A guy I know uses one of those 240V shop cube heaters to heat his kiln box. I think those are in the order of 3000-4500W. He only dries cedar with it though, so wood movement from drying too quickly isn't as much of a problem. My box is lined with that foil-clad bubblewrap for insulating things like hot water heaters, so it really heats up and keeps the heat with the lamps. I can hit 110F with only two bulbs on in a matter of minutes. I too think the bulbs are safer than a direct heater, but who knows. I have two light fixtures on the bottom of the box, each with a Y adapter so I can run two 250W lamps out of each fixture for a total of 1000W. So far I've only used one in each though. The lamps are also wired through a hot-water heater thermostat that I bolted to a piece of aluminum angle-iron in the box, just in case something gets way too hot. It ain't real pretty, but it works.