The Common Challenges of Drying Lumber
Everyone wants to dry lumber as fast as possible while at the same time losing as little product as they can due to degradation. This can be a very fine line, especially if you’re drying wood the way it has always been done for the past 100 years. In addition to drying faster, all business owners want to save costs wherever possible. The innovation of wet-air venting™️ allows business owners to dry more wood in less time with minimal degradation while keeping energy costs lower.
Traditional wood drying dries wood from the outside in. Often, lumber will air dry for a period of time out in the yard, creating a hard shell. This makes it more difficult to dry the center of the wood without causing stress and degradation to the wood itself. But what if there is a better way? What if wood could be dried from the inside out without too much stress on the wood? Wet-air venting™️ coupled with our programmed dump-rest cycles will do just that, and the results we have seen for our customers over the years have been incredible. This article focuses solely on our wet-air venting™️ system and will cover what it is the the amazing results you can expect if you use it.
Save on Fuel Costs by Drying Wood Faster
Wet-Air Venting™️ is a product that should save approximately 20-30% on fuel costs and allow you to dry 20-30% faster. It is a must for drying species, including maple, poplar, pines, ash, or any other fast-drying species or species susceptible to stain. In drying oak or other slow-drying species, the wet-air venting™️ will allow you to dry at a lower wet bulb temperature, giving brighter lumber with less degradation. This patented process can end some, if not all, of these problems.
The History of Wet-Air Venting™️
BolDesign kilns have outperformed competitors’ kilns since 1986. The primary reason for this is the patented wet-air venting™️ system. This is the most effective venting system available because it vents the air as it exits the lumber while it is saturated and before being mixed with outside air or reheated. The system vents much less total air, giving substantial savings on heat. These powered ventilators reverse direction to push or pull the required make-up air into the kiln when venting is necessary. The reversing action of the vent fans is tied directly to the direction of the main fans to exhaust moisture-laden, saturated air only from the exiting side of the load. This design ensures higher efficiency operation and more precise EMC control.
BolDesign offers this effective system as a retrofit kit to install on existing kilns. The system consists of Vent Fan Units, one Control Panel, and trim packages for masonry or prefab. The vent fan units are typically mounted in the rear wall of the kiln and utilize the existing row of roof vents nearest the front of the kiln. This system has proven very effective on faster drying species, saving 20% to 30% on drying times.