On Monday, March 10, 2014 7:14:10 PM UTC-5, Jeff Thies wrote:
On 3/10/2014 3:59 PM, Michael wrote:

I'm going to make an insulated solar kiln to dry out 6 -8 foot stock. Any advice. It's just going to be an insulated box with repurposed house windows tilted at 45 degrees (Wisconsin),



I don't know the wood bits, but I do know solar.



The angle varies by season. Whatever angle about an hour before solar

noon. You can also add reflectors to bounce more light in. Polyiso foam

RMax, or reflective bubble wrap. With either you can tape/tack together.





I use corrugated panels like SunTuf when I make anything solar. That

brand also has a UV shield, if you wanted to add a layer of mylar for

extra insulation.



Thinking outside the box, probably too far out:



The solar heater can be separate from the wood.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_drying



It seems that drying benefits by air movement:



and a small fan to circulate air. Any important things I need to keep

in mind?



Larger fan and the cross section small so the air speed is higher.



I use fan forced solar hot air to heat my house during the day and I can

see how solar forced air could dry wood. A mix of recyled and fresh air.



Arduino humidity/temperatu



http://playground.arduino.cc/main/DHT11Lib#.Ux5T8fldV2Q



I think keeping a relatively constant humidity may be more important

than the temperature.



Thanks.



Thanks for the good thoughts. My goal is to keep the costs way down. I have most of the stuff laying around already, including windows, but not the 3/4 sheets of plywood or the fan. The suntuf looks like a great suggestion. I'll see where the budget is.