Spent the weekend building and filling a #SolarKiln ... which is a thing for rapidly drying firewood without any additional fuel.
In Scotland, it can take a year or more to season wood. The idea here is to accelerate that process by increasing the temperature.
I knackered my back about a month ago loading pallets into our car. They were sodden, and weighed about 30kg each.
Anyway, I reckon the temperature in there will get up to ~35-40ºC this week, given our weather forecast.
I'll measure actual temperatures over the coming days and record them here.
Meanwhile, here's what the contraption looks like (trigger warning: it looks like a £30 Lidl greenhouse, 3 pallets, and half a tonne of wood.)
A note on the design of this: the cover is not taut enough over the roof section to prevent pooling when it rains heavily.
The weight of the water can get to a point where it causes the frame to sag.
I solved this using a sheet of 2mm perspex between the frame and the cover. It gives just enough rigidity to ensure the rain is drained away efficiently.
When it's empty I will add some timber to support the frame at the back.
David O'Brien