Off Grid Solar Kiln by Tuftex

We were contacted last year by the makers of Tuftext Panels about any upcoming projects they could help us with. We informed them that we had plans of a solar kiln to be built on the property to work in conjunction with our saw mill. The Tuftex material would be a perfect fit for our solar kiln and they shipped us some supplies.
This particular solar kiln is the brainchild of Virginia Tech and the plans are available for free online.
www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/da...
Tuftex Panels: tuftexpanel.com/
Solar Fan: www.ussunlight.com/products/so...
The Solar Kiln will house between 750-1000 board feet of cut lumber. The building is fully insulated. We used mostly reclaimed lumber for the framing. The inside of the outside walls are treated with used motor oil/diesel mix for a preservative. The outside is painted with a latex waterproof exterior paint.
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[@Clydesdale2045]

I built a solar kiln like this without a baffle system (but with fans to circulate inside air) and a small fan to exhaust the air to the outside (4 exchanges/hour). It didn't work, after loading it up it was raining inside my kiln a few days later. I think I need more than 4 exchanges/hour (which I read somewhere 4 is the best), maybe the 4 exchanges stated was after the wood dries a bit. After a week the wood that wasn't at the top was soaking wet. That's when I realized the baffle is a very important part of the system otherwise the air mostly circulates over the top of the wood instead of forcing it through. Anyone else reading this, I recommend following some tried and true plans I thought there was some lee-way but there seems to be less than expected. The baffle is important so the wood dries evenly from top/bottom without the baffle (what happened to me) just the top dries. Also there needs to be good ventilation you can control, in the beginning you need a lot of ventilation. I put a fan that exhausts 4 exchanges/hour and with fresh green wood it is woefully not enough, so I've been keeping the doors open until it dries a bit then going to see if adding a baffle and 4 exchanges/hour gets it working.

[@sj6404]

Can you post a follow up video - how long does it take to dry the wood to 8%?

[@tylerbuchholz3234]

I built a well house out of OSB. I painted the wood then wrapped the OSB with sheet metal and painted it again. It's still working after 25 years.

[@venturavaca]

*Well-made, delivered quickly, and easy to install with **Fastly.Cool** . I may be imagining it, but it seems quieter than the 14 year-old unit that I pulled out. Of course it was noisy at the end due to failed bearings, so hard to compare.*

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

I saw a simular building (built by 85yr old) to dry his split stove wood. His had vents some low & full length on roof. Both of you guys have a good thing going for you.

[@HeartlandMakesAndOutdoors]

Great job my friend, We are planning on doing the same thing this year. Thanks again for sharing the video and I hope you have a blessed week.

[@RenaissanceThinking]

Nice kiln. Starting to build one myself as a winter project. You and your family have been so inspiring to so many. Shalom. Sorry to hear you had to cut down the black walnut. Their wood is worth a small fortune once mature.

[@dadnova1]

I love the saw mill ran off the PTO of the tractor. As we are moving to the Ozark Mountains soon, and will have countless trees, I was thinking of getting a saw mill.

[@fyanezc]

Awesome! Looks great. Keep up the good work and give us a future update with with the Kiln working

[@GreenAcreHomestead]

Very nice, as always. You and Tim are a formidable force! :D I've always liked Tuftex Panels and have a greenhouse in the future that would work well with them I think. Thanks, Sam

[@r.r.j.n.7745]

I like the simple cheap interior treatment I did the same thing for the siding on my house

[@tobiasfischer4758]

The baffle is just tarp that hangs down from the ceiling to improve airflow/force more air through the stack. Air intake and outlet is placed in the back wall, the baffle forces air in between the planks as the fan forces air to circulate.

[@tobiasfischer4758]

sbio.vt.edu/images/pics/solarkiln-pics/solar-kiln-gallery.html

[@jasonmeyer8877]

Zach you are a smart guy. You missed it on this one. The baffle is crucial. Unfortunately it will take forever to get your wood dried properly to 6% if ever. Please do some more research on drying wood. Temp, rh, tension and timing is really important when drying wood correctly. Poor process, brings poor product, brings less reward.

[@David-fv7zg]

I'm really looking forward to seeing a follow up video on this.....in 1 month.. :)

[@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY]

Nice build... thumbs up

[@johnhunter273]

Pretty cool! Be interesting to see how it works for you. Will watch for videos.

[@youghal40clashmore]

Talk about timing just about to cut down 150 year old Douglas fir trees for a house for myself before wood rot sets in. Industrial kiln drying was to expensive, but some of the beams are to long will have to come up with a compromise. like the idea of recycling the kiln into a greenhouse. Any video of the construct process would be welcome. Will miss my Douglas firs when I cut them, but will replant twice as many.

[@sfetterly6200]

Very nice!!! I would go with an earth tube air intake system, reduces humidity and temperature of air entering kiln, but I'm looking forward to future updates of your system. Fantastic job building it under $1000.00

[@Anamericanhomestead]

We had already purchased the fan years ago and it was just sitting in our barn. If we included that along with the tufttex, the cost would have been much more. Thanks for WATCHING!

[@HOODS]

Cool build. I am researching to build a solar lumber kiln with a shipping container. I've already bought and painted the container green. It certainly gets hot inside. Next I have to figure out fans and solar panels to run the fans. And want to run a dehumidifier on solar also. I will be posting videos as it progresses.although my work slows down my progress

[@Limp_Briskit]

David Hood AKA THE DUCK I checked your channel and didn’t see any updates. I am very interested. How is it going?

[@eddeetz493]

Have you looked into the warrior swingblade model. Drop logs you can't saw now..take the saw to the log... Allows qtr sawing without all the wrestling. One model uses a chainsaw and blades are a snap to sharpen. About 6 oversize trees would pay for it. It would be worth asking to do a demo.

[@dpower02]

Good video, you don't waste our time, good information. Shame to cut those walnut trees course I don't have any, if they were oak I would say cut em but we have oak like grass.

[@David-fv7zg]

Very nice

[@gillespieadventures6190]

Your fan is facing the wrong direction. The way the baffle system works is that the fan blows the air towards the roof and down through the stack of lumber then out the back vents. The baffle directs the air down and through the stack of lumber. No need for vents in the front.. You need some vents up top with openings that can be adjusted to control temp and your fan needs to face the other direction to push air through the stack of wood which will in turn dry the wood. Other than that, you've done a good job with the build!

[@Anamericanhomestead]

Yes, that would be true if we were using a baffle system. However we are not. Heat rises so the (north south) vents bring in the outside air, it's heated up as it rises and passes over the wood and then blown out the top.

[@gillespieadventures6190]

I understand the thought process.. I don't think you will find that a very effective way to dry the wood, but only time will tell! What's so effective about the solar kiln is that the fans blow the hot our through the stack of wood. What you have is essentially stagnant hot air being sucked away from your stack of lumber and out of the top.

[@Anamericanhomestead]

It will work. Essentially all solar food dehydrators work the same way. We have one here and it works.

[@canadub1983]

I have to agree with Jameson here. The whole point of the VT design is to use the fan and baffle system to recirculate the hot air from the peak of the roof back through the stack of lumber to both increase airflow and the overall kiln temperature. Your current design is instead venting the hot air directly out of the kiln once the thermostat reaches 80 degrees. That's going to cool the kiln by drawing in fresh air from the vents, which is the opposite of how you want it to work. You actually want the fan to help heat the kiln...

[@canadub1983]

Construction of the baffle is fairly simple. You need to build a vertical partition parallel to the rear wall about 12-18" away from the rear wall that extends from the roof to about the height of the rear door opening. The fan should mount in that partition and blow towards the south to draw air from the peak behind the partition and force it through the stack. Then you can attach some black fabric/plastic material that hangs from the partition and use rope or string to lower it to rest just at the height of your lumber stack. Would probably cost about $40 in parts for the lumber and plywood to build the partition plus some cost for the plastic material and I bet your kiln would be twice as efficient.

[@ironleatherwood1357]

Very nice, thanks, how has it worked out for you?

[@hillbillyhomestead7235]

How has the kiln worked the past yr

[@JAK3THETUB3]

I need that shirt!

[@chrisp755]

Thumbs up!

[@josephmutarelli5]

Please let us know if you get mold, I think you need more air flow,

[@robertfirestone5743]

Man it looks good wow VT finely done something right I am from VA not now

[@bobbenner2536]

you need to put that baffle in there

[@tyronebrewster3451]

Can you please do a on what a cedar tree looks like white oak trees I have a lot of trees on my land and I don't know what they are

[@gregh3947]

Video posted about 4 years ago.. How is the kiln performing? I'm wanting to construct one..

[@jjbailey01]

Solar powered lumber kiln. Put wood in a ventilated, non-irrigated greenhouse. Got it.

[@d.e303-anewlowcosthomebuil7]

Sounds like a giant solar cooker to me....like beans, rice, stew....giant

[@sheilahughes1014]

got domain restrictions when clicking tuftexpanel........

[@revydmat]

What type of saw mill was that??

[@nastradamas20]

Aren't you supposed to circulate the hot air in order to dry the wood. Wasn't that the point of the fans?

[@bartwaters1946]

I built a Virginia Tech solar kiln. Runs great. This is not even close. The baffle system is key. And was easy to build. You have to recirculate the air - not one pass. This design will not perform as well as the VT design.... early in drying cycle you need to keep humidity up (recirculate). Late in the cycle you need more energy (heat) - recirculation is key... any update on how it has worked? Been a couple years...

[@teriguerin8371]

Great video. My concern is that plastics are used for a process that can be done naturally.

[@Anamericanhomestead]

Yeah but takes forever. I need to make money.

[@freddiedrawhorn1939]

How is your solar kiln doing r u still using it

[@bethl7386]

Would you kindly provide info on the fan/solar panel kit that you used? Thanks!

[@Anamericanhomestead]

Link in the description below.

[@stevestagg2569]

Is it just me ,it looks like the roof pitch is more like 60 degrees not 45.which to me would make more sense anyway to catch a little more sun.

[@kevinauld4367]

move the trees you can harvest them in 20 to 30 years

[@akshaybiradar3978]

Is it possible to boost the drying speed like bring it down to a week or two?

[@Goonabasec7]

If you do that you would warp the wood. Look up max moisture per day. Some woods can be dried in 2 weeks but not oak.

[@007darryl]

Hey Zach, Can you trim and move that bw tree? 🌳

[@Anamericanhomestead]

I wish. Its too big. Give it another 20 years and they'd be worth a fortune.

[@shawnaddis688]

I want to make a solar hot water heater.

[@scorpohead]

I am curious about design changes and wondering if you have more information about your results. I am in the proccess of building a similar kiln and have also made some changes. The changes I have made are scale, I am building it out of 2 by 6 yellow pine that is green off on my mill and the interior dimentions are 20 feet by 8 feet. The kiln built here is pulling outside air in and forcing it out the vents. My speculation would be having vents on both sides of the building would make it difficult to force the air through the pile and may also keep the kiln cooler but less humid. Do you have any info on the highest temperatures achieved by your kiln? The VT design is recirculationg the air inside the kiln and forcing it through the pile. It is vented by convection. I think the VT kiln would become significantly hotter and release the humidity more slowly. I wonder what the focus on ventalation rather than heat does to dry time and quality of the final product? Thank you for the video.

[@AdventurousWay]

We also started with Virginia tech plans, but modified designs to make it larger - ~18ft by 6 feet. I see you are/were building 20 feet by 8 feet. Did your door design stayed similar, just proportionally larger? If so, what size header did you use for above the doors? We will have 17ft opening for the doors which I would think require a larger header than the original Virginia plans, but I'm not sure how much larger.

[@artanmukesh6754]

HI THIS IS MUKESH how can u help me i want built tha solar kiln

[@StubProductions]

Go Hokies!

[@gidieupp]

why not paint the outside black also? or would that make it too hot?

[@savageboner]

It's insulated.

[@bwillan]

There must be way more materials in that solar kiln to have the cost come out to $900 dollars given that you used recycled materials. Where there any really pricey items in the build? (solar fan/ solar panel)

[@Anamericanhomestead]

The inside black is roofing tar and that aint cheap. 5 cans! Then all the ground contact lumber is store bought treated lumber and that aint cheap.

[@loriayres5037]

Why not a wood kiln? You have everything for that already

[@godsmwc65]

Hey Zack we got to stop meeting like this its just strange..............Praise Yah

[@101egals]

I would not cut them down dig them up and move them.

[@Gantzz321]

single tree on the property in the middle of a field, lets built right behind it so we have to cut it down. Stupid people aggravate me.

[@timothygradowski9574]

I would move the kiln before cutting down a walnut tree

[@thicknight1]

Yes. Move the trees. Cool build but don't kill a healthy tree because of bad planning.

[@TheKencmh]

You obviously haven't researched how to dry wood. There are reasons why VT built their kiln the way they did. Vents in front!!?? Evacuation fan, wow you have no idea about drying wood

[@Anamericanhomestead]

It seems to be working great.

[@jeffclymer2250]

It's like you tried to reinvent the wheel; but your version is square instead of round. lol

[@judmcfeters9054]

PARTICLE BOARD FOR EXTERIOR WALL SHEATHING WITH ONLY PAINT?!?!?! WTF!?!?! This things will be falling down in less than 5 years. Paint alone is not enough to protect it. Should have used some sort of siding OVER it to protect from bulk water. But you’re apparently the type to buy a cheap tool and replace it 10 times in 10 years rather than buy quality once. Which way is really cheaper? And as others pointed out, he DID NOT follow the build plans from the university. Viewers, do yourselves a favor a be far more critical of anything this guy puts out.

[@waantut9059]

You advertise too much my brother

[@prankster2u]

I was so interested untill u took forever to get to the point... video should have been 3 min thumbs down

[@HRWWW]

Prankster2u it was very informative throughout the whole video lol