kiln dryer

[Johny Walker]

does anyone use a diesel burner to heat the kiln?

surely less investment, no down time to refuel etc, and a constant 24 hour heat

 

thats what im hoping

[Duffryn]

does anyone use a diesel burner to heat the kiln?

surely less investment, no down time to refuel etc, and a constant 24 hour heat

 

Heating oil is 20p a litre locally. Energy is 11kwh per litre so 1kwh will cost 1.8p. Woodchip would cost circa 2.8p per kwh.

 

Conclusion excluding RHI then heating oil is way cheaper and easier. Factor in RHI on med tariff and its a different story.

 

The big risk with oil is of course the price shooting back up again.

 

Writing this after a couple of glasses of wine so sorry if maths is out !

[Lancer]

Lancer - With a woodchip boiler delivering 100kwh constantly and a 20ft insulated kiln you would dry 16m3 in 3-4 days for a lot less fuel. The more and more I think about your situation I think you are better off using your existing woodchip boiler.

 

Yeah agree with that, I had a good chat with one of the guys on here earlier who has GF setup. He was very honest about it and it works for him but do not think numbers quite stack up for me on it now the tariff has dropped. Do you think our 3000 litre accumulator will be big enough for the 20 foot Kiln?

[ash_smith123]

I have thought about getting a oil heater to keep the kiln warm overnight. Our issue is we can't make the fire last all night in either of our kilns without the tank being cold in the morning so turn the fans off at around 9/10pm.

[Duffryn]

Yeah agree with that, I had a good chat with one of the guys on here earlier who has GF setup. He was very honest about it and it works for him but do not think numbers quite stack up for me on it now the tariff has dropped. Do you think our 3000 litre accumulator will be big enough for the 20 foot Kiln?

 

Which woodchip boiler do you have ? Whats is the capacity of the boiler and what is the size of the water jacket around the boiler ?

[cornish wood burner]

Heating oil is 20p a litre locally. Energy is 11kwh per litre so 1kwh will cost 1.8p. Woodchip would cost circa 2.8p per kwh.

 

Conclusion excluding RHI then heating oil is way cheaper and easier. Factor in RHI on med tariff and its a different story.

 

The big risk with oil is of course the price shooting back up again.

 

Writing this after a couple of glasses of wine so sorry if maths is out !

 

Our wood chip energy costs us about 1.5p/kWh.

[Duffryn]

I have thought about getting a oil heater to keep the kiln warm overnight. Our issue is we can't make the fire last all night in either of our kilns without the tank being cold in the morning so turn the fans off at around 9/10pm.

 

For the benefit I don't think the costs would add up ???? Have you tried turning the fans right down to the minimum ? Have you looked at increasing the size of the accumulation tank ?

[Duffryn]

Our wood chip energy costs us about 1.5p/kWh.

 

What are the calcs on that ?

[cornish wood burner]

What are the calcs on that ?

£60/ tonne 4000kwh/ tonne

[Duffryn]

£60/ tonne 4000kwh/ tonne

 

£60 per tonne assumes you are buying green wood, seasoning it and hiring in a chipper ?

 

Assuming above assumption is correct re cost of fuel then Woodchip at 30% is c 3500 kwh per tonne. Boiler will be max of 90% efficient so 3150 kwh per tonne or 1.9p per kwh.