Building a Solar Kiln on a Budget

Store bought Lumber is expensive and air drying my own lumber takes forever. So I decided to build my own solar kiln to make things faster and cheaper. Now I have an option to quickly dry some would I cut on the sawmill.
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#solarkiln #dryinglumber #kiln
Ecclesiastes 1:9

[@lennierichardson1387]

It might help it to heat up more if you paint the inside black.

[@chrisw5742]

AND the outside....

[@fishhuntadventure]

@@chrisw5742 probably the outside being black is important, the inside less so. Once the suns radiation gets inside the kiln that’s all the irradiance there is. Any reflected energy is going to escape out the glass as radiated energy or conducted through the clear plastic or glass. Nevertheless, I would have painted the “rafters” and back wall black, too.

[@mmmark61]

Would love to see how well this works. Never thought of building one this small and easily. Could work very well for my situation! Thanks for the inspiration!

[@gregmize01]

fantastic door design!!!!

[@leebratina1089]

You might want to consider an attic fan with a thermometer. If you can get one that can run off the solar power, you can set a max temp and it will kick on if it gets too hot.

[@daveryan7934]

Would love to see a video now of how this project has worked for you. It's been 5 months. Has it dried the wood enough. Cracking? Warping? Cupping?etc! That would be a awesome video! Thank you kindly

[@jaredomerhodzic9897]

A review on this after you dry some wood with before and after results wood be amazing. Great video

[@B30pt87]

Outsstanding! Thank you so much for making this video. Much appreciated.

[@newmanew]

Nice video. Interesting door design. You need a thermometer, just to geek out and admire your engineering skills. I'd paint the inside flat black and the outside dark gray.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you, I do need a thermometer, thanks for the idea

[@Joestacemazjojo]

Great build. Looking for a cheap one to build. I’ll go a little bigger. I’d also like to see a follow up if you have one. Thanks for posting

[@mrmoore9815]

Would adding a cheap little fan with a Dryer outlet help circulate air and control moisture help. Seems like a good idea. Love to know what the group thinks.

[@SpecificLove7]

I never thought of that but maybe.

[@torontogrove5396]

I cover my wood piles with old shower curtains. It's a similar idea

[@djcustardakapaulmayes9362]

Fantastic, I'm looking for a solution for kiln drying firewood. I have the perfect spot, and it's in the front yard 😂 (bonus). Some great ideas in the comments as well. I also have a suggestion. How about lining the bottom of the kiln with concrete blocks on the inside which will heat up and store the heat during the day then keep it warm for a few extra hours after sun down.

[@SpecificLove7]

That is a great suggestion. I've never tried it, but it sounds like it would work.

[@fosterheath]

To improve efficiency, you could coat the inside with some reflective foil to redirect sunlight and heat to the underside of the wood. May not do much though.

[@lincolndickerson1293]

Neat. Curious why you didn’t use more clear material all over to let in as much sunlight as possible? And will you be painting the inside a dark color to drawn in heat as well?

[@SpecificLove7]

If I would let too much sun in it could overheat the wood causing it to dry too quickly and crack. Plus if the Sun is beating down on the wood, it could deteriorate it.

[@kylehazachode]

I upgraded mine by adding a 12v RV dehumidifier. The solar panels I already had were big enough for the dehumidifier. Another upgrade I want to do is put a backup battery for the dehumidifier so it can run at night. The dehumidifier itself produces enough heat for the kiln so nighttime drying is definitely possible. I use mine for seasoning firewood, so the rate of drying and heat aren't a big concern for me. I don't know how a hotter temp and faster drying affects lumber drying. I've always wanted to experiment with painting the kiln with Vanta Black, the blackest black paint available, but I'm worried about it catching on fire.

[@fishhuntadventure]

Too hot and too fast introduces end checking (wasted BF) and puts a lot of tension in the wood against the lignin so when you rip it or cut joints it can ‘spring’ Lumber drying needs to keep some humidity so it dries slowly enough to not affect the usable material, but fast enough that the kiln is worth having.

[@bradleytuckwell4881]

Great job

[@locomokko]

One other comment, it would be interesting to mount an internal sensor for temperature. What is the "sweet spot" temperature for a solar kiln expected to be?

[@d4rk4ngel132]

This could be a nice high capacity solar dehydrator too.

[@SpecificLove7]

Very true

[@jimwhitworth2307]

You need 1 ft in front and rear for air movement

[@wyldwolf985]

Where did you acquire the solar fans?? This video may help my hobby out greatly.

[@SpecificLove7]

On Amazon, amzn.to/4dFkzLc

[@Jeremy_billsfan17]

Going to start building one soon. Do you happen to have a building material list? Just something as a guide when i purchase lumber?

[@SpecificLove7]

Sorry I do not

[@Rural53NZ]

I wonder how the concept would work as a firewood dryer?

[@ssbnman1630]

Why did you run the polycarbonate horizontally instead of the normal vertical? Water runs down the channel much easier that way.

[@SpecificLove7]

It was easier for me to install this way

[@TheChrisGreer]

This looks nice. I’m curious if you could see how hot it gets inside the unit.

[@SpecificLove7]

Not sure, we will find out in the future

[@Kirsten769]

Amazing! I may have to try this. Do you live in an area that gets cold winters? If so, is it effective year-round?

[@jerome8314]

Would it be possible to fill the kiln with cinder blocks, water barrels, or something of the sort then bent it into a building to act as a solar furnace? Basically an above ground climate battery.. Would this work??

[@SpecificLove7]

Good question, I'm not sure

[@jessicag630]

1:57 The concrete reusing is pretty nice. 6:17 Is clear polycarbonate safe to use for food dryer too?

[@fishhuntadventure]

A lot of refrigerators have polycarbonate bins if not acrylic. A lot of those fancy reusable personal water bottles are polycarbonate. As a non-contact component I’m thinking the light panels are fine to use.

[@alexreid4131]

Fantastic! I also have a concrete slab already to go that should work great for this project. Do you have any plans to offer...well...plans?

[@SpecificLove7]

Sorry I do not have any plans

[@alexreid4131]

@@SpecificLove7 roger that. I will try to replicate what you've done on the video then. Love your content brother and I am also a follower of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for what you do.

[@7ktimberco]

Great video, thanks for posting! What’s the software you used to sketch up the kiln with dimensions?

[@SpecificLove7]

It's called SketchUp

[@i_am_a_freespirit]

Wow 🧐

[@darrinlindsey]

Any thought of a dehumidifier, vented through and out.

[@SpecificLove7]

The heat from the sun should pull the moisture out of the wood without needing a dehumidifier.

[@pleappleappleap]

Too many jump cuts!

[@jamesbrunk9817]

Suggest blocks underneath to raise it off the concrete and let air circulate underneath to prevent rot.

[@ivanf4023]

If you don't get enough heat you could paint the inside of the kiln (wherever the sun hits) with something like Black 2.0 or Black 3.0 paint. It'll be expensive so use sparingly and only where the sun hits directly. Also... solar panels don't love heat. So... keep an eye on the temp inside. Or mount the solar panel outside somewhere that it doesn't absorb kiln heat.

[@Thomllama]

believe you should have a "black" layer/heat chamber above the actual wood stack. you also want to draw air in the top, through the heat chamber and then over the wood and finally out the bottom, this actually removes the moisture, otherwise you are just circulating the humid air.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you for the suggestions. I was thinking about using a black curtain over the top of the wood.

[@Thomllama]

@@SpecificLove7 yea, as long as it’s not in contact, but stretched above, need air flow… any thing along those line should work.

[@dichodichov6045]

@@Thomllama Hi , I’m new to this and actually building my own solar kiln. One of the things that bugged me the most in the project was where to put the fans. You say draw from top and out from the bottom to remove moisture. Google says moisture likes to go up because it’s lighter. So then will the fans have enough power to push it trough the bottom or would it be more efficient to draw from the bottom out the top? Also I know chat gpt has its bugs , but it’s suggestion is to use fans on the middle one end draws to the oposite out. What’s your take on that ?

[@Thomllama]

@@dichodichov6045 yea, for air, it would be better to go up, the issue is the "heat chamber" needs to be on top for the sun to hit it. so if you make a black box basically on top, then pull the air out of the hot chamber and over the wood it should dry it. you really don't want a LOT of air movement as then the chamber won't heat up! You want it to flow to heat in the chamber, and then move through the wood to pull the moisture out. That's my take on it anyway.... no scientist here thou!

[@mfrit67]

I think if you put a vent in the bottom and the top, convective air flow will help carry the humidifier air out. Vents need to be protected from rain and the lower ones not too close to the ground.

[@cartmanrlsusall]

Some insulation and black paint to absorb more heat and it should work nicely and be completely off grid with those solar fans

[@shaneramsey5053]

Have you dried any wood in the kiln yet? If so how long did it take and was you able to see how hot it got in the kiln?

[@SoilentGr33n]

So how well did it work?

[@kaf2303]

Every solar kiln I have seen are basically the same, what I wonder is why they all put the glazing up high. Seems to me since heat rises, it would be more efficient to put the glazing as low as possible to use gravity to your advantage. Insulation on all other surfaces. I will put the results on my channel when I build 1. It will pair well with the sawmill I built.

[@Woodworkerdad]

Hey did you ever release official plans? Love the design and might give it a go!

[@SpecificLove7]

Sorry no plans for this

[@NicoleCrystalCreations]

These are excellent suggestions!!! I’m curious as to how it’s going since the video was made. Also curious to see what upgrades you made after viewers made suggestions, and your own ideas as you went. I’d love to get my husband his own kiln, but not only are they pricey, they can be quite heavy 😂 for me to surprise him with, but if he could make one, I’d say he’d love the challenge (not too much of a challenge, so I wanted to get ideas, first).

[@GamingwithStilez]

Well, your $300 comes to be more than 5000 zar. Half my salary. Excellent built. Dehumidifier and a controlled vent with heat controller. Can set your perfect temperature, and it will automatically keep it there. (Test your temp reached by solar heating). And jip, cost just went up with all the upgrades.

[@locomokko]

Interesting build and video. Have you had a chance now to use it for drying? Does this work as well in winter as it does in summer? How long do you have to leave your slabs to dry in the kiln? And last question (sorry just came across this idea, and yours is the first I've seen), does this method also kill bugs? Or only dry the wood? Thanks! Scott from Japan

[@donovanross]

Might have to put some kind of covering over the lumber that is directly hit by the light, as not to discolor wood by UV light. Wouldn’t hurt to add a dehumidifier 👍🏼

[@pleappleappleap]

Also, this would be much better to use glued half-lap joints rather than pocket screws. They can be cut with a circular saw with no issues. Wood glue is great, but construction adhesive works too.

[@01sctacoma]

Hey this is great, what’s the temp inside during the warmer months?

[@ryanm2214]

Curious about an update before I start building mine. Thanks!

[@jwhodson]

Any chance you could share any temperatures that you got this summer??

[@SunshineRoadYearRoundRVPark]

I think what we all want to know how well does it work

[@guyfawkesuThe1]

Couldn't you do the same drying by just leaving the wood out in the open spaced on cinder block?

[@SpecificLove7]

You need the sun to heat up the internals like a greenhouse to really draw out the moisture, Plus you don't want the sun to directly hit the wood or it could deteriorate it quickly.

[@joshuastover1047]

You don’t ask the wife, you tell her

[@SpecificLove7]

I love my wife too much to do that