Who needs a kiln?

[Two Acres]

Silly hot here today. Its making me wonder what the temperature differrence is between the great outdoors and a kiln right now? If its possible to season logs in week, or even days, in a kiln then surely a couple of months of this would be similar?

[Mortimer Firewood]

It's not all about temperature.

[Stubby]

I would say even if its as hot or hotter out side the humidity would be higher . warm dry wind is the best for outside rather than out right high temp . Life is a compremise

[Logan]

That said, we're felling ash right now and I can almost see the moisture leaving it in this heat. Can't wait to get some over the weighbridge before it loses weight...

[openspaceman]

Silly hot here today. Its making me wonder what the temperature differrence is between the great outdoors and a kiln right now? If its possible to season logs in week, or even days, in a kiln then surely a couple of months of this would be similar?

 

I posted a picture of 3 freshly cut logs last week with their weights in another thread.

Using a c30gram sample of each I calculated their initial moisture contents which match reasonably with the mensuration handbook 39 (blue book) although the oak was lower than expected green. Logs were placed separate and sheltered by a corrugated perspex roof, temperatures would have been higher than ambient. Unfortunately I cannot see how to tabulate the cells so the numbers don't fall under their column headers

[

• 
   
  
• initial mc 26/06/15 30/06/15 02/07/15 04/07/15 04/07/15 8day mc
  
• oak 42.59% 2789 2398 2309 2289 2254 28.97%
  
• birch 41.38% 1275 972 924 909 890 16.02%
  
• ash 33.33% 2317 2107 2054 2039 2014 23.30%
   
  

 

Bear in mind the birch log was half the size of the oak and ash so as well as less distance for the moisture to migrate the surface area exposed was proportionately higher too.

[Two Acres]

 

I posted a picture of 3 freshly cut logs last week with their weights in another thread.

Using a c30gram sample of each I calculated their initial moisture contents which match reasonably with the mensuration handbook 39 (blue book) although the oak was lower than expected green. Logs were placed separate and sheltered by a corrugated perspex roof, temperatures would have been higher than ambient. Unfortunately I cannot see how to tabulate the cells so the numbers don't fall under their column headers

[

• 
   
  
• initial mc 26/06/15 30/06/15 02/07/15 04/07/15 04/07/15 8day mc
  
• oak 42.59% 2789 2398 2309 2289 2254 28.97%
  
• birch 41.38% 1275 972 924 909 890 16.02%
  
• ash 33.33% 2317 2107 2054 2039 2014 23.30%
   
  

 

Bear in mind the birch log was half the size of the oak and ash so as well as less distance for the moisture to migrate the surface area exposed was proportionately higher too.

 

Thanks Openspaceman, those figures are pretty remarkable. I'm guessing that you're reading from the surface of the cut log and not cutting again to get a new reading? If so presumably its a surface reading and to get a true reading you'd need to split the log and check MC in the middle?

[Two Acres]

I would say even if its as hot or hotter out side the humidity would be higher . warm dry wind is the best for outside rather than out right high temp . Life is a compremise

 

We've had a warm dry wind here today Stubby butit did rain last night. I guess that would mean much higher humidity than a kiln?

[openspaceman]

Thanks Openspaceman, those figures are pretty remarkable. I'm guessing that you're reading from the surface of the cut log and not cutting again to get a new reading? If so presumably its a surface reading and to get a true reading you'd need to split the log and check MC in the middle?

 

I'm not using a meter, I took a small sample of each log's other half when I split them and dried this in the microwave to give an estimate of the actual moisture content (actual weight-oven dry weight = weight of water, weight of water/green weight=moisture content)

 

The having a fair estimate of the green moisture content I can estimate the progress of drying by weighing the log each day and doing the same sum for each day's weight. True oven dry weight cannot be had until I dry the logs in the oven at 1`20C for 24 hours.

 

You can plug my figures into a spreadsheet but give it 30 minutes and I'll update

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/firewood-forum/89345-last-month-process-logs-sell-coming-winter-12.html#post1321484

 

I should,of course, have sat the temperature and humidity data logger alongside whilst the experiment was running and should repeat the experiment in midwinter if I remember but it does indicate when temperatures are high and humidity low that given sufficient air movement drying can be very fast.

[Two Acres]

Many thanks again Openspaceman

 

Interestingly I've just measured some birch I cut and split about three weeks ago. I split a log and the mositure meter says 29% in the middle. Mind you its cooled off today and its tipping it down

[openspaceman]

Many thanks again Openspaceman

 

Interestingly I've just measured some birch I cut and split about three weeks ago. I split a log and the mositure meter says 29% in the middle. Mind you its cooled off today and its tipping it down

 

Does your moisture meter measure moisture content on a wet basis or dry basis?