Solar Kiln ideas for slab/ lumber drying

A small company in our area built a portable solar kiln. He documented the build fairly well on his fb page. If you have access to fb look up Collins portable milling. Under his photo albums timeline photos half way down are his pictures. Pretty cool setup.
 
southsoundtree said:
Anybody, @colb, have info about building a small scale solar kiln, primarily for lumber, and conceivably, in a very secondary way for firewood?


Thanks.
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Hey, @southsoundtree , just about any public university extension has plans available online.

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/solarkiln/plans.htm

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...DjMQFgizATAY&usg=AOvVaw2UgAI12bXAZP7aCEkOudd7

Etc.

They are pretty straightforward to build. The downside is that the sun can really do a number on your boards if you aren't used to operating one. There are top vents that regulate the heat. You have to use them wisely.

For the record, I'm just a couch potato with no hands-on kiln experience yet. My black cherry logs are ready in my yard for winter work, my cypress slabs are drying under tin roofing, and I let my spalted 35" holly stump get blustain, lol. I'm planning to build a small Nyle kiln, possibly one that can link to another twin, and possibly each fits on a 16' roll-off trailer for very infrequent relocation, so 32' max slab length. This is all contingent on receiving payment for a couple large Irma damage jobs, lol, so it might be January before I'm doing this... I'm so sick of storm damage work right now.

I'm also gearing up to timberframe a modest pole barn this off-season with southern yellow pine. My timber will not be kiln dried, as per timberframing tradition. What project are you using dried lumber for?
 
None, presently. I'm air drying random slabs. And have a bunch of oak and maple to mill.

Hoping to buy a house this summer. Might end up short on firewood drying time for next winter, if I have wood heat.

I've gotten used to disposing of most all wood from the jobsite, and twisting to dial on the wall.
 
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