Firewood Kiln, How Much Weight Did We Lose?

Drying 7 facecords in my kiln. It the first time I stacked one tote. This is the results of weighing each tote to see how much water we extracted from the wood.
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Tesmen TWM-186 Pin Style Moisture Meter
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[@paulweakley3440]

Less evaporated weight than I expected. I'm guessing your wood is dryer than I thought before you started it. Random thought - It might be worth you cutting down some totes into 1/6 cord sized for specialty wood so you can stack more efficiently in your kiln. Happy to see your subscribers jump recently!

[@Treestofirewood]

Yeah I thought about that as well about different totes to be able to be more efficient. And yeah subscribers have definitely bumped up recently. I’m hoping the new intake makes a world of a difference.

[@aksub.4316]

You extracted 157.37 gallons of water.

[@RandomThingsKeithDoes]

I was going to ask about your fresh air intake (if you had one). This is going to be a game changer for you IMO. I also agree with other comments about feeding the fresh air into a heat exchanger to keep the air temps high. Where I am, seasoning wood all winter works great. Its a combination of wind and low humidity that does the trick here, but we get down to -40F at times, but humidity is down to 20% or less, and we are pretty windy overall. I'm looking forward to your results at different configurations. I'm a geek, so I would have a control system to monitor and try to maintain a differential humidity controlling the exhaust fan and the intake to maximize the ability for the air to absorb moisture. Great work on the continuous improvements!

[@Treestofirewood]

I also think it will be a game changer to have an air intake. And yes it will be controlled by parameters I set. Not sure the differentials yet. Will depends on how the system responds to the fresh air.

[@lyleharkness-rv5vf]

I enjoy your updates and content. Thank you

[@Treestofirewood]

Thank you. And the videos will keep coming along.

[@ElijahPerrin80]

Good thing wood doesn't shrink when dried or it would look tiny.

[@iamthefixr]

Glad you’re considering an intake, especially before installing the big fan. I was one of the people who asked if you considered that. Ideally, it will be something that has a damper. It’s gonna be another variable but I think some amount of being able to control airflow and control the amount of pressure differential between inside and outside the kiln will be key. When you mentioned cracking the door and the difference in the exhaust fan tone and the louvres being more opened, I was like, “Man I hope he considers some kind of air intake control.” I really do think it’s gonna make a big difference, even if the air coming in isn’t the driest. It should really help pull the moisture out faster. And if for some reason it doesn’t, all you have to do is close off the damper on the intake and you’ll be back to your current setup (which is working great). Great experiment. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m learning a lot from these videos.

[@Treestofirewood]

I’m thinking it will definitely help get the moisture out. I think I will have to make some adjustments with timing of the vent opening. And if it doesn’t work your right all I have to do is close it off. And I’m glad you’re learning a lot. Because I definitely am as well.

[@ElitePropertyCare]

Random thought about the venting. What if your cold air inlet came in directly behind the heater so that way it isn't completely ice cold before its mixed with fan air. Maybe achieve this by using some singlewall duct pipe from the hole in the container to a 90 behind the heater. That way you may be able to warm it up a little.

[@Treestofirewood]

Yeah that is a good idea. I may do that eventually. Only thing is the heater doesn’t always run unless I’m doing a full kiln cycle. I would be concerned tho with it venting right behind the fan that it would create suction and force some outside air inside. But that is a good idea

[@kendriedger151]

Good on decision on letting more air in so it can have more volume on the exhausting ! I think you'll be happy with the results ! Good on Not double stacked...it just can't circulate properly !!😊 Have a Good Day !

[@Treestofirewood]

Yeah no double stacking with the way I have it set up currently. Down the road if I change the design I could but not right now. Hoping the intake vent works good.

[@user-sp6ki8ty2j]

I think you are on the right track with the air intake. As long as the exhaust fan and the intake open and close at the same time you should not loose to much heat. If I understood you correctly you are going to set the exhaust with a 5% parameter. Instead of the constant pull you are currently using. That is a sound idea. By itself having the exhaust fan turning on and off should help your operation become more efficient. Are you using a mechanical damper or a power damper. If it is a mechanical damper which opens when there is a vacuum created by the exhaust fan, you will have to keep an eye on it to make sure it does not stick open. That will create heat and humidity loss into your shed. Are you going to have the heat running constantly? Or are you going to have it shut off when the exhaust is running. There are pros and cons to both. Anyway thank you for another informative and educational video. You and yours have a great day.

[@Treestofirewood]

The intake will be a power damper that will open when the exhaust kicks on. I will use a parameter of at least 5% depending on how the system functions.

[@bcltoys]

What if you made some racks to center them all somewhat higher then floor level maybe center up.

[@Treestofirewood]

Yeah I could do that. I’ve thought about that as well. I’m going to see how adding the air vent does and then I may go back to putting 8 totes back in the or going with 6. Not sure what I’m going to do yet.

[@winneswood1335]

Great video. How crazy does your electric bill get when running the kiln vs not?

[@Treestofirewood]

The electric bill actually doesn’t go up much at all. It’s crazy. Because if you think about it it’s just running fans. Yes they draw power but it isn’t much. Maybe 20$ for the month.

[@trinitylandscapingandexcav7965]

What works best for advertising your wood in your area? Are sales slower than normal?

[@Treestofirewood]

I use every avenue I can get. Website. Social medial, our town newsletter. They all work. And right now they are a little slow. But it’s all because right now it’s warm.