Now that I own a bandsaw lumber mill I need to be able to dry wood a lot more efficiently and hopefully with better control than air drying it in stacks. So I built a solar lumber drier. The design is very similar to one published in Wood Magazine several years ago. It has an 8 x 12' footprint, with 96 ft^2 of glazing and can hold about 1000 BF of lumber up to 10' long.






The solar panels are wired to two 12V car radiator fans to circulate air though the lumber stack.

I plan to start with AD lumber to learn how to operate the kiln, following the max. daily drying rates given in the Virginia Tech. kiln documentation. But if anyone has any hands on experience with a solar kiln, your input would be greatly valued. Thanks.

John