On Tuesday, 11 March 2014 03:59:54 UTC+8, 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) and a small fan to circulate air. Any important things I need to keep in mind?



Thanks.

There's a bunch of good information on the Virginia Tech website: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/420/420-030/420-030_pdf.pdf

If you are electronically-minded, you can use an Arduino to manage/monitor temps and humidity.

From what I have read, kiln-dried wood that is brittle and hard has been badly kilned. Properly kilned timber to 7% humidity should be better than air-dried.

The key is, don't let it get too hot, don't let it dry too fast. Unless you constantly monitor and manage the drying process, you can only guess at the results. Managing that process by the use of a microprocessor-controlled venting circuit will take that guesswork away and result in a perfectly-dried product.

Building a control circuit would involve an Arduino, a solenoid of some sort and an appropriately configured vent. I am guessing a cost of $30-50 and some thinkin'