Fall/winter seasoning in Mini kilns

[Woodsplitter67]

WOW, this is awesome. I have some questions.

1. What about doing a whole cord, which would be two pallets in one 'unit' side by side together... 4x4x8.
2. How much does the wood shrink down in height? (Instead of being 1/2 cord, it should be somewhat less.)
3. What type/thickness of plastic do you use on top?
4. And the plastic on top, what are the dimensions, do you know?
5. You say you crown it such that the center/top is 14 inches higher than 4 feet? Just do this with wood splits?
6. A standard pallet is 48x40, so, how do you find 48x48 pallets?
7. On a 48x48 pallet, can you just make three rows of 16" splits and will they stand up in a cube without falling as you stack or how do you stack the pallet?
8. I have some 3 mil plastic that I bought for tops and it is 10'x25'. So, it could be cut to 5'x5' squares easily. Do you think a 5x5 square of this would 'fit' to make a top with a 14" crown using a 48x48 pallet? (Assuming that I could find 48x48 pallets.)
9. I hope there is no need to rotate these stacks regarding the sun. Is there?

BTW, I don't see any reason I couldn't use standard 48x40 pallets. For 1/2 cord stacks, I would just stack 58" high instead of 48".

I bought shrink wrap months ago and have wanted to do this come late spring. I guess I could start now!

Thanks very much to you and other posters in this thread!

this wood will shrink down but not so much that it makes a huge difference. There are many ways to do this, look in my signature for the threads that I have started. I am doing the mini kiln for a couple reasons 1 is to dry it during the colder months. 2 this is not my wood as I am selling it. 3 I want it on pallets so I can pick it up with my bobcat move it and load it into the truck without having to handle it again. You can do any size kiln you want I feel that a kiln that i did in the past 1 to 3 cords will not dry as fast in cooler temps as the air flow is high and kiln temperature is to low to make a difference. This smaller kiln is easier to regulate the temperature and keep it higher. the pallets I use are not 4x4, I just over hang the wood on both sides to make it an even 4'x4'. All the materials are the same as described in the threads I started. My wood is all 18 inches so I am using a cris cross method so the wood doesn't fall ..(one layer stack in one direction, the next layer stacked it the opposite direction) The top of any kiln needs to be higher then the rest for 2 reasons, 1 its vented and that is where your warm moisture laden air escapes and 2 snow/rain sheds off the kiln and doesn’t enter the kiln. Your kiln doesn't have to be on pallets unless you have a reason for it to be on pallets.. You can do a 3 cord kiln on 3 20ft racks side by side like in my threads use 1 sheet of 6mil plastic and do it all in one shot over the summer If your needing 3 or so cords to me the easiest thing to do is 1 large kiln if you have the space. You just stack the wood on racks, wait, wrap it, let it dry, unwrap it, then top cover and start burning. Having to stake on a pallet take a little longer then stacking on a rack..

 

[neverbilly]

So @Woodsplitter67 says that he uses the crisscross stacking method where the direction of the splits is alternated for each layer. I suppose that is the same as cribbing the end of a stack but he does it continuously. Do you other guys stack your pallets of wood in this matter or do you just stack it in a regular way with every split oriented in the same direction? Unless you stack crisscross it is hard to envision how the stacked pallet structure can be built straight up without falling apart as you stack. You have to build it 4 ft tall or more without it falling apart so you can then wrap it.