On Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:43:04 AM UTC-5, Jeff Thies wrote:
On 3/11/2014 11:10 AM, Michael wrote:

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.



Forget the 3/4", Frame it up and use the rMax polyisocyanurate for the

sides. Reflective side in, you can paint the exterior if you like or

cover with thin ply. The half inch ($10) should be OK:



http://www.rmax.com/downloads/DataSheets/rmp3.pdf

Great information, Jeff! Will this rMax material hold up under rain and snow conditions, or will some kind of exterior skin be necessary?