Nice one Gus! Great comprehensive Video. I'm doing the same thing drying wood discs in dehum kiln. I was told I needed 35 *C for effective drying (that's clearly for planks NOT discs) as your nifty video pointed out. Thanks mate. I'm gonna change my process and hopefully I won't be getting all these blinkin cracks.
Thanks Cathal, really appreciate you reaching out and hopefully my data will help as the key is to monitor the water extraction so you don’t case harden the wood, low and slow like a BBQ buddy! Thanks for commenting and watching my content 🙏🏻🤜🏻🤛🏻
Holy smokes TheMunkmeieter she is going to be massive! If it is Oak slabs be careful of whet dehumidifier you use as I got told by a trusted source that there is a chemical reaction with Oak and Aluminum so the fins on the humidifier gets eaten over time! Glad to be of service my man and thanks for sending me a message 👍
Gus, thanks for the video. Using your kiln as a model I built one very similar, I even installed casters so I can move it out of the way when not in use. I do have a couple of questions. What fan speed should I use, low or high? And would two dehumidifiers remove the moisture too fast? Thanks, Mark Stewart
That’s so cool Mark glad the video helped and yeh casters was a good shout! I used slow as I didn’t want to draw too much moisture out at a time and yeh 2 humidifiers would do the job quicker but it’s all about the calculation and what wood you are working with to make sure you avoid drawing too much moisture out and case hardening the wood. 🤙🏻👍🏻 thanks for watching and building, very much appreciated 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Will the particle board absorb the water as well? Was thinking I needed plywood for that reason but it’s more expensive. Also I understand these kilns will take out the moisture but my main concern is killing the bugs in the lumber? Any thoughts there? Thanks for the video.
Hi Joe, the boards are stabilised so are already at 8% moisture or lower so are I likely to absorb water in any great volume and I used it because it’s cheap to make. Sorry I don’t have any suggestions on killing bugs it’s not an area of knowledge for me unfortunately. Thanks for watching, really appreciated 👍🏻
Hi gus, just starting out with tree slabs/cookies/rounds etc lol, great video, was thinking of going down the freezer road but now done a uturn, do you think a thermostatic ceramic heater would work just as well? Or all separate items?
Hi Keith thanks for reaching out. I’ve seen all sorts of heating elements used from light bulbs to gas blowers so definitely think the ceramic heater would work but it’s a very low heat needed and it’s more about air movement and circulation coupled with the dehumidifier which is the tricky bit to get right I feel. A freezer! That’s a neat solution as it’s already insulated👍🏻 thanks buddy and good luck 🤜🏻🤛🏻
Hey Gus, I'm setting up a small kiln like this, and i'm having issues with my dehumidifier - it won't run if the humidity is too low, and lately it isn't collecting any water at all. I bought another one, and its having similar issues. Do you have any recommendations for getting this to work, or humidifiers that just run without all the circuitry getting in the way?
Hi Matt, not sure what’s going on with your dehumidifier, the one I used is linked in the description if it’s still live? It works in all conditions as it’s an electro type? I’m not an expert on dehumidifiers so don’t know why your one is cutting out, it might be to do with temperature though?
Hi gus, I’ve make a similar kiln with your recommandation. It works very very good. It works so good that the bowl blanks I’ve put in, goes from 20% to 7%. Unfortunately I had a lot of big cracks. Do you think drying was too fast?
Hi Stephan, so pleased you managed to get one built using some of my ideas and thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like you have dried too quickly and will have to be judged against the thickness of material your working with. Is the core of the wood at 7%? If you reference the maximum amount of moisture taken out to prevent case hardening then I would reduce the time even further. I would also watch out for harder woods and you should do this over weeks not days..........basically you will have to try different scenario for the wood your using. Please drop me back a note of what you come up with so it can be shared so others can use the information. Much appreciated thank you 🙏
Man Cave Makings Hi Gus. All my hard wood is dry so I can not test with. I ‘m going to continue the trial with cherry & apple tree. My bowl blank are about 25 to 30 mm thickness before drying. I will keep you informed. It’s not so easy for my to make measurements each because the kiln is in a room with 60 to 70% moisture and each time I open the kiln moisture increase a lot 😁. So it takes a long time to have a good air in.
That’s great Stephen, thanks for the update and like you say you will just have to experiment with temperature and times and yes please if you can update the loose results it might help someone els in the process. 👍👍
Thanks Stephan, I use the fan to heat the air and for circulation and I made the heating element only come on via the thermostat. Hope that helps if you have any other questions then please ask. Thanks for the support 👍
Hummmm that’s a tricky question to answer as the fan has a high and a low setting and it was always on the lower speed but unfortunately I don’t know what that speed is in a measurement though. 👍
Trivesh Hans both together and the fan is linked out to run all the time with the heater fist stage element of the heater linked to the digital thermometer which is what gives the temperature control. The dehumidifier runs all the time. hope that helps
Hi Trivesh, the simple answer is I don’t know what the maximum would be as my experience is solely based on the information and data gathered in this video. My table with all the temperatures and moisture contents and the times give the maximum temperature I took the wood to which is about 32 deg C. The thing you don’t want to do is case harden the wood which you will do if you heat it excessively which is why the process takes a bit of time. Thanks
Nice one Gus! Great comprehensive Video. I'm doing the same thing drying wood discs in dehum kiln. I was told I needed 35 *C for effective drying (that's clearly for planks NOT discs) as your nifty video pointed out. Thanks mate. I'm gonna change my process and hopefully I won't be getting all these blinkin cracks.
Thanks Cathal, really appreciate you reaching out and hopefully my data will help as the key is to monitor the water extraction so you don’t case harden the wood, low and slow like a BBQ buddy! Thanks for commenting and watching my content 🙏🏻🤜🏻🤛🏻
Great job with explanations. Like your enthusiasm and creativeness
Cheers Steve, thank you my man appreciate the support and time taken to comment 👍
Great vid just what I was looking for.youve inspired me to build a decent sized one for 18 slabs of oak I've just milled.
Holy smokes TheMunkmeieter she is going to be massive! If it is Oak slabs be careful of whet dehumidifier you use as I got told by a trusted source that there is a chemical reaction with Oak and Aluminum so the fins on the humidifier gets eaten over time! Glad to be of service my man and thanks for sending me a message 👍
Gus, thanks for the video. Using your kiln as a model I built one very similar, I even installed casters so I can move it out of the way when not in use. I do have a couple of questions. What fan speed should I use, low or high? And would two dehumidifiers remove the moisture too fast?
Thanks,
Mark Stewart
That’s so cool Mark glad the video helped and yeh casters was a good shout! I used slow as I didn’t want to draw too much moisture out at a time and yeh 2 humidifiers would do the job quicker but it’s all about the calculation and what wood you are working with to make sure you avoid drawing too much moisture out and case hardening the wood. 🤙🏻👍🏻 thanks for watching and building, very much appreciated 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Will the particle board absorb the water as well? Was thinking I needed plywood for that reason but it’s more expensive. Also I understand these kilns will take out the moisture but my main concern is killing the bugs in the lumber? Any thoughts there? Thanks for the video.
Hi Joe, the boards are stabilised so are already at 8% moisture or lower so are I likely to absorb water in any great volume and I used it because it’s cheap to make. Sorry I don’t have any suggestions on killing bugs it’s not an area of knowledge for me unfortunately. Thanks for watching, really appreciated 👍🏻
Hi gus, just starting out with tree slabs/cookies/rounds etc lol, great video, was thinking of going down the freezer road but now done a uturn, do you think a thermostatic ceramic heater would work just as well? Or all separate items?
Hi Keith thanks for reaching out. I’ve seen all sorts of heating elements used from light bulbs to gas blowers so definitely think the ceramic heater would work but it’s a very low heat needed and it’s more about air movement and circulation coupled with the dehumidifier which is the tricky bit to get right I feel. A freezer! That’s a neat solution as it’s already insulated👍🏻 thanks buddy and good luck 🤜🏻🤛🏻
Nice information
Cheers Mohammad, hopefully it helps other wanting to do something similar. 👍
Hey Gus,
I'm setting up a small kiln like this, and i'm having issues with my dehumidifier - it won't run if the humidity is too low, and lately it isn't collecting any water at all. I bought another one, and its having similar issues. Do you have any recommendations for getting this to work, or humidifiers that just run without all the circuitry getting in the way?
Hi Matt, not sure what’s going on with your dehumidifier, the one I used is linked in the description if it’s still live? It works in all conditions as it’s an electro type? I’m not an expert on dehumidifiers so don’t know why your one is cutting out, it might be to do with temperature though?
Hi gus, I’ve make a similar kiln with your recommandation. It works very very good. It works so good that the bowl blanks I’ve put in, goes from 20% to 7%. Unfortunately I had a lot of big cracks. Do you think drying was too fast?
Hi Stephan, so pleased you managed to get one built using some of my ideas and thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like you have dried too quickly and will have to be judged against the thickness of material your working with. Is the core of the wood at 7%? If you reference the maximum amount of moisture taken out to prevent case hardening then I would reduce the time even further. I would also watch out for harder woods and you should do this over weeks not days..........basically you will have to try different scenario for the wood your using. Please drop me back a note of what you come up with so it can be shared so others can use the information. Much appreciated thank you 🙏
Man Cave Makings Hi Gus. All my hard wood is dry so I can not test with. I ‘m going to continue the trial with cherry & apple tree. My bowl blank are about 25 to 30 mm thickness before drying. I will keep you informed. It’s not so easy for my to make measurements each because the kiln is in a room with 60 to 70% moisture and each time I open the kiln moisture increase a lot 😁. So it takes a long time to have a good air in.
That’s great Stephen, thanks for the update and like you say you will just have to experiment with temperature and times and yes please if you can update the loose results it might help someone els in the process. 👍👍
Very nice job. I enjoy your video.
Are also heating the air with the fan or only blowing?
Thanks Stephan, I use the fan to heat the air and for circulation and I made the heating element only come on via the thermostat. Hope that helps if you have any other questions then please ask. Thanks for the support 👍
Hello. Thanks for the video. could you tell me what the thermostat is as I am struggling to find one with an air probe. thanks
Hi Alex, thanks for the comment and view 👍 have you checked out the description as the link to the thermostat is there? Cheers
Man Cave Makings thank you. I didn't realise there was a description until now. thanks again.
No worries Alex hope it helps with your project 👍
At what speed do you use the heater
Hummmm that’s a tricky question to answer as the fan has a high and a low setting and it was always on the lower speed but unfortunately I don’t know what that speed is in a measurement though. 👍
Thanks for ur reply....wan to know u run heater and dehumidifier together or one by one
Trivesh Hans both together and the fan is linked out to run all the time with the heater fist stage element of the heater linked to the digital thermometer which is what gives the temperature control. The dehumidifier runs all the time. hope that helps
At what maximum temprature would you suggest to dry wood in kiln..
Hi Trivesh, the simple answer is I don’t know what the maximum would be as my experience is solely based on the information and data gathered in this video. My table with all the temperatures and moisture contents and the times give the maximum temperature I took the wood to which is about 32 deg C. The thing you don’t want to do is case harden the wood which you will do if you heat it excessively which is why the process takes a bit of time. Thanks
What are dimensions of your box?
Sorry akrenitz I don’t have those details to hand, basically you could make it any size and just adjust the heat and dehumidifier drying g times. 👍🏻