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Thread: What is the simplest way to heat sterilize wood

  1. #1

    What is the simplest way to heat sterilize wood

    Got a bunch of old barn oak that I've got roughed down to 3/4 thickness. Before I do a final S4S, thinking I need to deal with the obvious powder post bugs this wood obviously has. Don't know if it was already in there, or happened while it sat in my outdoor wood rack. Either way, not feeling like bringing bugs in the house! The wood in my no-HVAC shop is roughly 7-10% MC with my cheap meter. Definitely not green wood. Loading it in the truck and taking it to a mill that has a kiln is labor intensive, and after a few calls this morning, I'm learning is very very cost prohibitive. I know a lot of you build DIY kilns, but everything I'm seeing is geared toward getting the moisture down. I'm good on moisture, I just need that 4-6 hours where the entire inside of the wood is 140 deg. I've looked at boracare, but I live in a log cabin. If one single beetle gets in there I'm doomed. Is there any way of constructing something where I can do maybe 100 bf at a time without having the DEA raid my house due to excessive electricity usage?

  2. #2
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    You don't need a lot of power; what you need is good insulation around the wood. A 1.5 KW heater would be more than enough if you put R13 insulation on all 6 six faces of a box. If the box is 3 x 3 x 10', more than enough to hold 100 BF, twice over probably, the heat loss will be

    HL = Area x delta T / R value

    HL = 138 x (150 - 60) / 13 = 955 BTU's/hr



    John

  3. #3
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    You can search the forestry forum for discussion and details. I believe it is recommended to hold the inside of the wood to 133 deg F for 30 minutes to kill any existing bugs. I read once that bringing the temperature on the surface of the boards to 160F was suggested to achieve the proper internal temperature. I don't know how you would prove the inside was the right temp without monitoring, perhaps with a thermocouple sealed into a hole. Very thick wood might take a lot longer that thinner boards.

    The heat will kill bugs inside the wood but not prevent re-infestation. Boracare applied to the outside can prevent a new infestation.

  4. #4
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    Thomas, do you have any back issues of FWW magazine? The November, 2008 issue had an article by Christian Becksvoort about a shop made sterilization chamber which is inexpensive, simple and effective.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott T Smith View Post
    Thomas, do you have any back issues of FWW magazine? The November, 2008 issue had an article by Christian Becksvoort about a shop made sterilization chamber which is inexpensive, simple and effective.

    Scott, I couldn't find that article. Perhaps it's in a different issue?

    John

  6. #6
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    Here is a US Forest Service article about this:

    https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/37413

    John

  7. #7
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    You could heat pieces in your wife's oven if she would allow it.

  8. #8
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    I had that issue. I was told the bugs were not active by somebody who did not know what they were talking about. After building a small table it became obvious there were some live ones.

    I put the parts in the trunk of a hatchback with a digital thermometer and left it in direct sun on a bright clear summer day. When I came back that evening the thermometer was fried. I figured that was a good sign. Left it there then next two days.

    Has been 15 years and I have never seen any signs of bug activity.

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