drying on my split wood

[Marshy]

You have my attention. Keep talking... What is 'due point temperature'?

Dew point is quite simple, it's the temperature at which the air is saturated with water vapor and begins to condens and forms dew. More specifically it is a measure of atmospheric moisture. The dew point is the temperature at which the water vapor in a sample of air at constant barametric pressure condenses into liquid water at the same rate at which it evaporates.
A high relative humidity implies that the dew point is closer to the current air temperature. Relative humidity of 100% indicates the dew point is equal to the current temperature and that the air is maximally saturated with water. When the moisture content remains constant and temperature increases, relative humidity decreases.
That is why I said a kiln works on this premis because all it does is raise the air temperature which lowers the relative humidity of the air which promotes evaporation of water. The wood gives up its water to the air and the air has the ability to hold more moisture when it is warmer. At some point there probably needs to be an air change so the relative humidity of the air stay low.

To get more technical check out this link.
http://www.philipmarshall.net/Teaching/rwuhp382/wood/wood_moisture_notes.htm

 

[turnkey4099]

You have my attention. Keep talking... What is 'due point temperature'?

Mispelt "dew point"

 

[NSMaple1]

I'm going with air movement > sun.

 

[Marshy]

Mispelt "dew point"

Misspelled "Misspelt"... lol

 

[olyman]

Misspelled "Misspelt"... lol

love it..................

 

[zogger]

Nice building like that, I'd make a small kiln inside, use your ugly pieces for heat, and cook one cord at a time, then stack it outside the kiln till you get to making bundles. Lather, rinse, repeat. No waiting. You can't get natural solar heat and wind in there, but you CAN make an insulated room where not much heat will make it super warm, like 200 degrees, and one small exhaust fan to move the moisture out. You'll get that wood drier than most any place outside of the high desert. You got to use the uglies anyway...

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I would like to know what works for you and the cost factor. Hope you will post your results when they are very positive. I remember when I filled one of my out buildings to the ceiling thinking that this wood will dry out so fast my head would spin, but no it just grew mold. Your humidity is very critical. One time a customer ordered about a hundred cords that lived near the Southern Cal coast. He was informed that the wood being cut and processed was green as ever. He said he did not care since he had more than a month to dry it out. What is your average daily humidity and he said no problem its dry. Sure enough after only two weeks he called complaining it is not drying, but molding. So I drove down to his place and yes the sun was shinning bright with 86% humidity. If you do not have low humidity days where as a circulating fan will be helpful or below freezing days then raising the air temperature will be an absolute. Installing some skylights would be helpful but not cheap. Thanks

 

[kingOFgEEEks]

I wonder if a simple plug-in dehumidifier would keep the air dry enough to prevent mold?

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I went down that road too with the dehumidifier, but electrical cost in California prevents that option as a possibility. When we have a very wet winter prices for dry wood goes through the roof. So there is plenty of incentive to make it work well. If one could be set up on three phase with a power company timer it might be an reasonable option. When setting up power for our water pump in my community a $10,000 deposit was required, but your provider might be different. . Thanks

 

[muddstopper]

I have a buddy that does a little cnc routeing. Nothing large, I think his CNC machine is only 2x2. Anyways, he uses a barrel stove, enclosed in a outside block building to heat his green houses. He has heat ducted to his wood shop using a small duct fan. Inside the shop, he has closed off where he stores his lumber and uses a small dehumidifier. It works pretty well for what he does but hes not storing a large amount of lumber. I dont have a clue how well such a set would work for a building of that size. I fine stacking wet wood next to my wood stove will dry it out pretty quick, but I aint drying several cords at a time either. Just throwing out an ideal.