Kiln Drying at PowerWood

PowerWood Conventional Kiln

  • 2 kilns at 80 MBF Conventional Kiln
  • Can dry to higher temperatures
  • Installed in 2021

PowerWood Dehumidification Kiln

  • 2 kilns at 40 MBF Conventional Kiln
  • Low temperature and gentle cycle prevents over drying
  • Dehumidification units consumer are lower energy
  • Installed in 2016

PowerWood Converted Container Dehumidification Kiln 

  • 5MBF, converted container kiln
  • Ideal for surface drying timbers, or for small 1″ charge
  • Low temperature and gentle cycle prevents over drying
Dehumidification-Kiln facility
dehumidification kiln interior
loading the kiln at PowerWood facilities
dehumidification kiln
conventional kiln
dehumidification kiln

Wood can be dried by many applications including: Air Drying, Conventional Kilns, Vacuum Kilns, Radio Frequency vacuum Kilns or Steam Kilns.

You can destroy or properly dry any product in each method.

  • Drying too fast can cause damage.
  • Drying to statistically tested moisture ranges is the most important quality control metric. The average and standard deviation combine to tell you how much of the wood is dried to an acceptable moisture content.

A kiln is essentially a large oven designed for lumber that uses heat and airflow to dry wood quickly and evenly. It’s a critical step for many woodworking projects as it helps to minimize the chances of warping, shrinkage, or other moisture-related issues once the wood is in use.

At PowerWood, we expertly dry our wood in our Kilns, bringing the cedar to its optimal moisture content for its final destination making our high quality products.

How dry is dry enough?

  • Phoenix 6-10%
  • Napa Valley 9-13%
  • Miami 11-15%
  • Alaska 13-17%

Wood will try to achieve equilibrium with its climate.

The range is more important than the average – ie: if you are in Phoenix with an average of 8%, it should be good, but if the standard deviation is 3%, you will have many pieces over 10% and those pieces will continue drying to achieve equilibrium – resulting in shrinking and warping.

  • Wood continues to shrink by ½ – 1% per 4 percentage points MC under the Fibre saturation point (~ 28%).
  • Wood gets noticeably more brittle as it dries further. Harder to machine and install without checking, chipping and breaking.

Want to Customize?

PowerWood can manufacture any profile from standard book patterns to unique profiles for a single use – cut to order for your special requirements.

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