Thank you for sharing what you would change. I planning to build one this spring and had planned on making so it would take 16' stuff and a concrete slab. Good to hear those are changes you would like as well.
Like I said in the video I made it out of stuff I had laying around, But I still am amazed by what it does. I just emptied a load of Ash and even in the middle of winter the temp got to 97 degrees a couple of days ago. I don't think you will regret building one. Good luck and thanks for watching.
What I found is that you have to take into consideration how much volume the sun will have to heat up, and the mass inside. You will have to match the collecting surface to those other factors. I winged it and got close, but in the winter when the days are short here it takes most of the day to just bring the kiln up to temp. Also the days when we have complete sun in the winter are few and fare between. I am going to start putting smaller loads in during this time of year. They are a great idea and I'm sure you will have success.
Hello @@BrianBozak Have you seen how people make window boxes? Rectangular box, angled up into a house window. Inside is painted black and there are water bottles inside. Sunlight heats the box and the hot air rises into the house. I haven't made one but when you said your kiln reached 82....I was thinking there is nice energy for the house in there!
Do you think solar kilns could be fire hazards? How do you keep peace of mind knowing you are heating wood to 150 degrees on your property? Thanks for your videos!
You know I had never thought about it. The thing is it doesn't stay at that temp. for very long, and I think it is far from the combustion temp of the wood. I will have to look up the critical temp. that wood has to reach before combustion. Thanks for watching.
@@BrianBozak Thanks. I want to build one, but being in northern california I'm always considering fire safety. The other question I have is about direction to position the solar kiln. On my property, we don't get hot sun until the afternoon, when the sun is already past the zenith. Would it make sense to position the kiln to get more of that afternoon sun? Or to try to keep it parallel to the sun and point it south, hoping to get some of the morning sun but sacrifice a bit of the afternoon? I think I need to build a mini solar kiln first and test it!
I wonder how it would compare against other species of timber in terms of time taken to dry. Any problems with excessive cracking or twisting with it being so hot in there or do those breeze blocks weigh them down enough to mitigate that
I have been told that you can dry white pine as fast as you want. I talked about the oak ,that was in the first batch, and how i think it should be air dried a little first. Not an expert , just learning.
Awesome video! I’ve been looking at building a kiln and can’t seem to find anywhere why there are two sets of vents, one up high and one down low. Also, how often do you adjust the vents, or is it set it and forget it? Thanks for putting out great content!
Thanks for leaving a comment. I put in the two vents up high and the ones down low, because I was following someone else's ideas. They actually work . You can feel the warm moist air exiting the upper vents when the load of lumber is just installed. I have tended to leave the vents all the way open at the beginning and close them not all the way as the lumber dries. Near the end of the cycle you want the temp. to get as high as you can . Good luck . Have any questions ,I'll try to help.
Rick ,the pine planed up nicely and it certainly feels dry. I still don't trust the moisture meter, even using the pine inside our house as a base line. thanks for the message.
Yeah I was surprised & didn't know your thinking, when you made it 14 ' & didn't make it 16' . I love the fact that you make timber frame stuff . Great job
Good stuff. Exactly what a guy with a sawmill needs!
Your right , every sawmill owner needs a kiln. Took me to long., to figure that out.
Thank you for sharing what you would change. I planning to build one this spring and had planned on making so it would take 16' stuff and a concrete slab. Good to hear those are changes you would like as well.
Like I said in the video I made it out of stuff I had laying around, But I still am amazed by what it does. I just emptied a load of Ash and even in the middle of winter the temp got to 97 degrees a couple of days ago. I don't think you will regret building one. Good luck and thanks for watching.
I plan on using a poly tunnel that way you can drive your tractor in and out of it if need be. Super cheap to build also
What I found is that you have to take into consideration how much volume the sun will have to heat up, and the mass inside. You will have to match the collecting surface to those other factors. I winged it and got close, but in the winter when the days are short here it takes most of the day to just bring the kiln up to temp. Also the days when we have complete sun in the winter are few and fare between. I am going to start putting smaller loads in during this time of year. They are a great idea and I'm sure you will have success.
looks like it is working out well. I suppose a concrete based kiln would have you loading it with a tractor. tHanks for the update.
Thanks for watching ,just checked out the kiln temp ,it reached 82 deg. today. That's good for this time of year.
Hello @@BrianBozak Have you seen how people make window boxes?
Rectangular box, angled up into a house window. Inside is painted black and there are water bottles inside.
Sunlight heats the box and the hot air rises into the house.
I haven't made one but when you said your kiln reached 82....I was thinking there is nice energy for the house in there!
Yes I am planning to use some sort of solar collector for my future shop.
Nice Kiln !
It will be nice when I get the time to finish it. Thanks
Do you think solar kilns could be fire hazards? How do you keep peace of mind knowing you are heating wood to 150 degrees on your property? Thanks for your videos!
You know I had never thought about it. The thing is it doesn't stay at that temp. for very long, and I think it is far from the combustion temp of the wood. I will have to look up the critical temp. that wood has to reach before combustion. Thanks for watching.
@@BrianBozak Thanks. I want to build one, but being in northern california I'm always considering fire safety. The other question I have is about direction to position the solar kiln. On my property, we don't get hot sun until the afternoon, when the sun is already past the zenith. Would it make sense to position the kiln to get more of that afternoon sun? Or to try to keep it parallel to the sun and point it south, hoping to get some of the morning sun but sacrifice a bit of the afternoon?
I think I need to build a mini solar kiln first and test it!
I don't think I am the person to ask. The more sun the better, because it will cool of as soon as the sun is gone. Good luck let me know how it goes.
I wonder how it would compare against other species of timber in terms of time taken to dry. Any problems with excessive cracking or twisting with it being so hot in there or do those breeze blocks weigh them down enough to mitigate that
I have been told that you can dry white pine as fast as you want. I talked about the oak ,that was in the first batch, and how i think it should be air dried a little first. Not an expert , just learning.
Awesome video! I’ve been looking at building a kiln and can’t seem to find anywhere why there are two sets of vents, one up high and one down low. Also, how often do you adjust the vents, or is it set it and forget it? Thanks for putting out great content!
Thanks for leaving a comment. I put in the two vents up high and the ones down low, because I was following someone else's ideas. They actually work . You can feel the warm moist air exiting the upper vents when the load of lumber is just installed. I have tended to leave the vents all the way open at the beginning and close them not all the way as the lumber dries. Near the end of the cycle you want the temp. to get as high as you can . Good luck . Have any questions ,I'll try to help.
ive been waiting to see how the moisture content is
even sounds dry as kindling...lol
Rick ,the pine planed up nicely and it certainly feels dry. I still don't trust the moisture meter, even using the pine inside our house as a base line. thanks for the message.
Yeah I was surprised & didn't know your thinking, when you made it 14 ' & didn't make it 16' . I love the fact that you make timber frame stuff . Great job
Your right it should have been bigger ,but we are all cheep and I built it with stuff I had laying around.