Kiln dried firewood using bio digester waste heat!!

[richy_B]

'Chipping' in late to this thread. I built my own kiln based on a 20ft insulated container. Ibc cages work well but a custom built stillage is best for making the most of the space. I tried drying in vent bags to see how it worked - no good, not enough air flow.

 

In terms of what Sbtvf said about blasting air through, I'd agree. I have good airflow within the container from fans then vent/change the entire volume of air 4 times an hour vua heat exchanger. I don't actually know what the ideal is, 4 is just what my particular unit does compared to the volume of my kiln.

 

It does the trick though. I don't run at as high temperatures as many commercial kilns but leave it going for a few extra days. Mine is 'waste' heat as well.

Edited August 2, 2016 by richy_B

[Lancer]

Is your waste heat from an a d plant or something else?

[Stumpy Grinder]

A very large estate that I manage the deer on is currently installing a plant which burns wood chip to produce electricity and thermal energy.

The electricity is fed into the National Grid and the thermal energy is used to dry more wood.

Very sustainable and carbon neutral!

SG

[richy_B]

I looked at a CHP unit and they are great but one hell of a price tag!