Wood Kiln Drying Time Chart

Drying times and kilns the traditional rule of thumb for air drying lumber is to allow one year of drying time per inch of wood thickness.

Wood kiln drying time chart.

Wood and softwood species. We air dry for about one month then rack the wood in the kiln and use a dehumidifier and small fan. See table 1 for actual dimen sions presumably because of the lack of data these values are only ranges of time estimates. In the original dry kiln operator s manual written in the early 1950s some species were not used in high quality products.

With the insulation we can use the kiln in the winter in ohio as the returned heat from the de humidifier and the fan motor are sufficient or we can add a small heater. As a result the kiln schedules were too severe. In 1949 a chicago company introduced a wood drying kiln that used infrared lamps that they claimed reduced the standard drying time from 14 days to 45 minutes. The kiln is nearly air tight and the de humidifier drains through the floor.

This adage obviously only takes a few of the aforementioned variables into account but it s at least a rough starting point in understanding the time investment required in order to properly air dry lumber. Also today we are often kiln drying no 2 common lumber which requires a milder schedule than upper grades. The authors state that the minimum air drying times listed are for lumber stacked for drying in southern locations in the spring or early summer. 1 since 1977 nyle has been building the world s most energy efficient lumber dryers.