Kiln temperatures

[Gerald Lawrence]

I have acquired a kiln from the estate of one of our members. It is made from a mini fridge. I placed a bowl (sopping wet) of river birch in it last night at about 1100 Gm and this morning is at just below 900. I ste min temp at 90 and max at 100. I am wondering what temps do others use?

 

[Karl Loeblein]

I‘ve gone to 110f, but you need to hit 130 if you want to kill any boring insects. It’s important to keep the humidity high at first with green wood so wait until the kiln is mostly full before starting it up. Also, don‘t raise the temp up too quickly at first.

 

[Keith Mombourquette]

Mine is made from an old fridge. I use a muffin fan to take air from the top and blow it back into the bottom. A light bulb in the bottom provides heat via a temperature controller. When I am rough turning to fill the kiln, I leave the fan on but turn off the heat. Once it is full, I increase the temperature a few degrees each day until about 80F and keep an eye on humidity level. Once the humidity level starts to drop, I raise the temperature a few degrees each day until I reach 100F. I usually stop there, because that seems to give me stable results. It takes me about 6 weeks to dry a fridge full of bowls (about 40 bowls of various sizes).