Who needs kiln dried...

[Woodlandmilluk]

I have a kiln and I don't get any rhi repayments from it and I burn all my crap off cuts from our workshop and scabs from our sawmill. We also take a lot of poplar and conifer arb waste which also goes on it. Along side my milled timber we dry logs. The benefit of the kiln is that you can put green split logs in there and bring them down to 20% within 10 days and if we leave them in longer say another 2 weeks they come down to below 5% .so I would say having a kiln is a benefit because I can do all these geeky moisture meter tests within a month whereas people with out kilns has to wait til the end of the summer to argue whether having a kiln is worth it. And if customers are happy to pay twice as much for kiln dried logs then that's awesome aswell

[openspaceman]

Certainly wood had a uniconfort global boiler and burnt their rubbish in it when I had a look around. Sawdust, recycled wood and a few logs, presumably short ends etc. so their fuel cost would be very low.

 

That was later

 

Originally it was dried using gasoil, which only cost about 10p/litre then.

 

Although RHI wasn't available there were a lot of other grants that paid for the kit.

 

The commercial reality was that the poplar boards were just about worthless and drying them quickly, splitting and packaging as kindling added value to a couple of thousand pounds a day.

 

Once the concept was proven it opened the way to expanding intoi logs in bigger kilns powered by wood (and electricity for the fans) using thermal oil as the heat transfer medium.

[samtheman365]

Naturally seasoned logs are like cake ... getting drier and drier when left out in the air.

Kiln dried logs are like biscuits ... going soft and soggy as they absorb moisture from the air.

[skyhuck]

Naturally seasoned logs are like cake ... getting drier and drier when left out in the air.

Kiln dried logs are like biscuits ... going soft and soggy as they absorb moisture from the air.

 

[Johny Walker]

 

think thats called a west country poem

[simonm]

Is this right or wrong. Wet log goes in kiln...comes out dry say 10%...log goes in customers log store in normal atmospheric conditions and rises to say 20%??? Why pay more for kiln dried???

[skyhuck]

Is this right or wrong. Wet log goes in kiln...comes out dry say 10%...log goes in customers log store in normal atmospheric conditions and rises to say 20%??? Why pay more for kiln dried???

 

I think most people who buy kiln dried, buy small amounts and don't store outside or for long enough to become damp.

[richardwale]

Is this right or wrong. Wet log goes in kiln...comes out dry say 10%...log goes in customers log store in normal atmospheric conditions and rises to say 20%??? Why pay more for kiln dried???

 

Yup.

Even worse when it's imported.

[Chalgravesteve]

Skyhuck is correct. My customer base is almost entirely people who have stoves but have little or no space to store wood, or no inclination to do so. I sell kiln dried wood in barrow bags, I deliver them, not to their door, but to their "store" whether that be their garage, shed or a forklift truck pallet and a tarp cover in the garden.

 

I don't drop it on the drive and leave them to clear it up.

 

I also have no interest in spending this year splitting logs and stacking them and keeping them for 18 months. I don't have any interest in doing the same again next year and still not getting any money for what I did last year!! Getting paid in two years time for the work I do today is, in my opinion, a bloody bad hobby!!

 

Each to their own. I know my market. I sell in relatively small volume (although my customers are used to buying nets from garages so they think my bags are huge) and I provide an exceptional service, prompt delivery and right to the place they want it.

[richardwale]

Skyhuck is correct. My customer base is almost entirely people who have stoves but have little or no space to store wood, or no inclination to do so. I sell kiln dried wood in barrow bags, I deliver them, not to their door, but to their "store" whether that be their garage, shed or a forklift truck pallet and a tarp cover in the garden.

 

I don't drop it on the drive and leave them to clear it up.

 

I also have no interest in spending this year splitting logs and stacking them and keeping them for 18 months. I don't have any interest in doing the same again next year and still not getting any money for what I did last year!! Getting paid in two years time for the work I do today is, in my opinion, a bloody bad hobby!!

 

Each to their own. I know my market. I sell in relatively small volume (although my customers are used to buying nets from garages so they think my bags are huge) and I provide an exceptional service, prompt delivery and right to the place they want it.

 

Barrow bags are a good way of selling logs. I'm guessing you buy imported kiln dried and break it gown into smaller volumes?