Condensation trap/moisture removal ???

[skyhuck]

My Kiln is up and running, its a very well insulated container with a 30KW convector fan and a movable insulated partition. So I stack the timber near the blower and move the partition up to create a room no bigger than needed.

 

It gets very, very hot in there and is drying the timber pretty well, but I would like to reduce humidity. I don't want to simply vent the air, as it will waste a huge amount of heat. I would like to suck air from the top of the kiln, remove some moisture and then reintroduce the air at the rear of the blower.

 

What products are best for trapping the moisture?? all help gratefully received

[treequip]

I know a man who had good results in an insulated container with a small heater and a de humidifier

 

No swapping the warm air out, just take the moisture out of the warm air

[farmer rod]

there is a product for the domestic ventilation market which transfers the heat from outgoing air to fresh incoming air, dont know if they are any good though.

[openspaceman]

there is a product for the domestic ventilation market which transfers the heat from outgoing air to fresh incoming air, dont know if they are any good though.

 

Do a search on whole house heat recovery unit. They are pricey.

 

You can recover small air to air heat exchangers out of condening tumble dryers.

 

The idea is you bleed off a small amount of the warm saturated air from the kiln and pass it over a heat exchanger that brings in the cold dry air from outside. Water condenses on the cold surface and the heat from this is transferred to the incoming air.

 

It should be practical to make ones own with a long box, dowels and cling film.

[Farmer Tom]

I think a lot depends upon your budget.

DIY using a condenser tumble drier is a good idea ( just leave the door open?)

LIDL or ALDI 400W dehumidifier for around £40-50 IIRC.

Maybe push the boat out and look at a small air conditioning unit or air-sourced heat pump.

All need mains though.

[renewablejohn]

there is a product for the domestic ventilation market which transfers the heat from outgoing air to fresh incoming air, dont know if they are any good though.

 

Thats what I use on my kiln

[openspaceman]

I

DIY using a condenser tumble drier is a good idea ( just leave the door open?)

 

I think the flows would be to hard to plumb, normally the drum is a closed circuit with one side of the heat exchanger and the cold air in and warm air out are an open circuit outside. For the kiln you want the warm air back in the kiln and cold saturated air dumped outside.

 

LIDL or ALDI 400W dehumidifier for around £40-50 IIRC.

Maybe push the boat out and look at a small air conditioning unit or air-sourced heat pump.

All need mains though.

 

A small dehumidifier is about 150W and can condense out around 10 litres of water in 24 hours at a cost of around 3.6 kWh(e) if the op is running 30kW delivered into the kiln that could be shifting as much as 40kg of water an hour.

 

It all becomes a balance between temperature verses cost of airflow and if splitting, case hardening and distortion aren't a problem tends to point to higher temperatures being most economic.

[farmer rod]

what temperature are you running the kiln at? (roughly)

[skyhuck]

what temperature are you running the kiln at? (roughly)

 

Don't know yet, its only been running for just under a week. It gets real hot, feels like sauna.

 

I need to get a thermometer in there and a moisture meter to check how fast the logs are loosing water.

[openspaceman]

Don't know yet, its only been running for just under a week. It gets real hot, feels like sauna.

 

I need to get a thermometer in there and a moisture meter to check how fast the logs are loosing water.

 

How about a lascom data logger on the input and output, this with a sample log which you can weigh during the cycle and you would have good empirical evidence of efficiency.