I condition all the wood myself in a #SolarKiln which is, in fact, a £30 greenhouse from Aldi and a couple of pallets knocked together.
Check the hashtag for more.
So, yeah. This was carbon that was going back into the ecosystem anyway. And when the woodburner is on, gas consumption usually stops at this time of year.
So. A small victory.
Welp! Turns out the wireless temperature sensor won’t report higher than 140°F due to a sanity check in #rtl_433. Fortunately the wired temperature sensor tracked the temperature all the way up to 164°F today. And it wasn’t even sunny all day!
#solarkiln #solar #homeassistant #esphome #homeautomation #woodworking #sawmill
Yesterday we finished the majority of the #painting in our #solarkiln - just a few areas to touch up in the corners that we couldn't get to while the walls were wet.
Also made progress on the #electrical. Using #esphome and #homeassistant we can now monitor two hardwired temperature sensors and control the fans.
Earlier this week the kiln hit 122°F (50°C) on a day when the outside high was 30°F (-1°C). And it started with snow on the roof that morning, so no direct sunlight until ~10am.
Achievement unlocked! Our solar kiln didn’t just reach 100°F today for the first time ever, it blew through the milestone - 114°F (45°C). Not bad when the outside temperature reached a high of 57°F (14°C).
Onwards and upwards!
Electrical rough in for the solar kiln is complete. Been working on the baffle, fan mounts and insulation. Made good progress this weekend - it was only 20°F outside, but it was over 70°F inside when we were working in there today.
It’s complex looking because the fans, light and a linear actuator to open / close the vents will all be controlled by an ESP32.
#solarkiln #building #construction #woodworking #sawmill #electrical #HomeAutomation #selfhosted #esp #esp32
Finally got myself a moisture meter. Took some readings across the woodpile to measure the moisture content of logs throughout the #solarKiln.
Surprisingly, the lowest values were towards the northern end, closer to the top.
I hypothesise that the air movement through the £30 + a back injury kiln is responsible for this.
So. Experiment over.
What, if any conclusions can I draw?
I consolidated all the data into one chart.
Interactive version here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSzBovgfOQXnE8DmAmNJb-NXycvQFiokGuL214XBjnN6OYd5iuUswN_UhIiRDpN-CCeSbMnOvBU1GX2/pubchart?oid=196703998&format=interactive
David O'Brien
Matt Knight (KN6HTM)
