Encyclopedia of fire safety

How to make a drying chamber for wood with your own hands. Dryer for boards: creating and using a drying chamber. Drying chamber for lumber

And the physical and mechanical properties are improved. If you use unprepared wood, defects in the product cannot be avoided: moisture evaporates unevenly, which causes cracks, deformations, and fractures.

Wood drying methods

Previously, lumber drying was carried out by evaporation and waxing, which made the wood very durable and wear-resistant. Nowadays, these methods are practically not used, because modern technologies allow you to achieve excellent results at a much lower cost.

Atmospheric, natural drying does not require special equipment, which is an undoubted advantage of the method, but the drying period itself is quite long, from several months to two years. With this method, the wood is placed on outdoors, under a canopy or in a room with good ventilation. The blanks are stacked on special stands in such a way that there are gaps for the penetration of air flows.

As a rule, the edge boards dry faster and are more likely to deform, cracks may appear on the ends - all this should be taken into account when harvesting wood.

The most effective is chamber drying: different types cameras and process automation allow you to choose best option drying for a specific type of tree species, but this method is used only in large or small industries.

The wood drying chamber produces lumber with a certain degree of moisture at the output, which cannot be achieved by other methods, but the process itself requires considerable energy and financial costs in general.

How to make a dryer with your own hands?

If there is no opportunity to use industrial drying, you should try to build a drying chamber with your own hands.

DIY wood dryer- opportunity to achieve good results with minimal cash outlay.

To build a dryer you will need: aluminum profile, metal sheets, thermal insulation, waterproofing, sawdust, heat gun.

Stages of construction and use

Frame sheathing with aluminum sheets, door installation.

Laying thermal insulation up to 15 cm thick.

Covered the floor with waterproofing material and sawdust.

Checking the tightness of the structure and eliminating air leaks.

Construction of stack supports. In order to raise the bottom row of boards above the floor surface, it is necessary to install supports made of bars or other material.

Laying boards indoors. The lumber is laid out in rows using spacers from the bars so that air can freely penetrate between the boards anywhere in the stack. You can lay out the boards up to the ceiling.

Installation of a fan heater or other heating equipment. forced circulation air contributes to a faster drying process. The direction of flow must be perpendicular to the location of the boards.

Do-it-yourself dryer for boards is ready!

There is another way to create a dryer with your own hands - inside the house or cottage. It is suitable for small volumes of lumber.

First of all, you will need a room with a fireplace, a stove or an electric oven, where the dryer will be located.

Then partitions, doors and vents are installed. The tightness of the room must be perfect, otherwise drafts and air currents can affect the quality of drying. All cracks, crevices, holes are sealed with sealant, and the walls are tightened with insulation.

To maintain heat from the stove, you can overlay the room with bricks.

In case of insufficient circulation warm air fan is installed.

For laying lumber, metal shelves are constructed with reliable fasteners to prevent collapse of the structure. The boards themselves are arranged according to the same principle: in even rows with gaps and spacers from the bars.

A drying chamber for wood will improve the properties of wood, increase its strength and durability, that is, it will allow you to get the highest quality raw materials for construction.

Photo sources: sawwood.ru, yugmassiv.ru, zharbond.ru, makilplus.ru, dnepro.com.ua, house-lab.ru, hobbyblog.org, stroydrev.by, sushkadrevesiny.com, saw-wood.com, strport.ru

Buy materials for thermal insulation on DOM.BY

As you know, freshly cut wood is not used in production and construction, due to the presence of a large amount of moisture in it. Such lumber is called wet. To improve its mechanical and physical performance, a drying chamber for lumber is used. As a result, biological stability increases, the level of strength and other qualities of wood rise.

The need for drying lumber

Previously, in the manufacture of various fakes using wood, timber that was chopped years earlier was used so that they could dry out evenly.

It is very important to get rid of wood moisture. For example, when making wooden furniture lumber that is too wet will cause it to dry out over time. After all, a tree can dry out, its size decreases and leads to damage.

Manufacturing door door from a very dry material may cause it to swell, as a result of which it will not close. If the door panel is selected from blanks that are dried intermittently in volume, then a rupture may occur or it will warp. Its deformation is noticeable in different planes and at different speeds. As a result, tension lines appear inside the material, which cause cracks.

In addition to the fact that the board is cracking, transverse deformation is also possible, it can arch and raise the edges unevenly.

Basically, cracks in the board are observed along the fibers, initially from the end.

Therefore, all logging is advised to dry. Moreover, drying the wood protects the material from damage by a fungus that destroys the tree, prevents the change in the shape and size of the tree, and improves the physical and mechanical qualities of the wood.

Drying takes a long time, this procedure is complicated and expensive. According to established technologies, the material is heated with superheated steam or hot air flow.

Dried, it lasts longer. And also during use lumber does not give in to deformation. Drying takes place in steam chambers, where damage to the material inside is excluded.

The concept of lumber moisture

Absolute humidity is the percentage of the weight of the liquid present to the weight of the dried material of a specific volume. The presence of relative humidity is characterized by the percentage of the weight of the eliminated liquid (by 2 weighings) to the initial mass of the material.

The usability level is calculated taking into account the relative humidity. The value indicates the readiness of lumber for gluing, drying out. With a moisture value of more than 30%, the tree is considered damp, there is a threat of the formation of a fungal infection.

Moisture in wood is divided into two groups.

Free moisture- present in cell cavities and intercellular spaces. The presence of such moisture is calculated by the conditions in which the tree grew and how the sawn blanks were stored. When drying, free moisture leaves the board very quickly.

Related (structural)- a liquid that is part of the walls, cells. Each type of wood has its own norm for the presence of structural moisture. Liquid elimination is slow, so drying can take months or years in a typical environment.

Wood is divided into three categories:

  • Wet - the relative moisture content is more than 23%.
  • Semi-dry - moisture content 18-23%.
  • Dry - moisture content value 6–18%.

Moisture indicators of lumber for different types of work

Depending on the purpose of the wooden blank, the material is dried in different ways. Wood is dried to 6–8% moisture if it requires mechanical processing and collection of products for combination with high precision that affect the level of use (skiing, parquet, musical instruments).

The transport presence of moisture contains 18–22%. This presence of water in lumber corresponds to long transits during the warm season. Wood that is dried to this moisture content is most often used in building a house, making containers, or if there is no need for interchangeability during installation.

Carpentry moisture has subspecies. The molded material includes a board for terraces, sheathing, floorboard, in which the humidity should be 15%. Lumber products, such as doors, windows, stairs, made of solid or glued material, endure 8-15% humidity.

Furniture humidity, depending on the degree of the product and the use of solid or glued material, is 8%. It is at this humidity that the wood exhibits optimal qualities for finishing, gluing, and subsequent use. Basically, the moisture content is reduced to 7–10% with the completion of partial disinfection of wood and taking into account the regularity of moisture throughout the material, maintaining the mechanical qualities of the board, and the absence of cracks that form outside and inside the lumber.

Features of drying chambers

The industries that process wood process up to 1 thousand cubic meters every year. lumber. The main role in this process is played by the drying chamber, which provides the material with the required quality.

Drying equipment is used to quickly dry wood, which makes it possible to harvest quality products and immediately send it for further processing. Boards that dry out on their own can delay production by weeks or sometimes months. In addition, such material may have defects and shortcomings that are unacceptable in mass production.

Industries that produce wood drying chambers provide a full service to their customers. They design modern chamber dryers and professionally install equipment, run it, set it up and provide service.

When manufacturing a drying chamber, specialists calculate the acceptable volume and number of chambers, providing customers with big choice equipment under different needs. Chambers for drying wood produce a volume of 30-300 cubic meters. m and more. In addition, the equipment may differ in the type of chamber loading and warming method. The most popular are cameras that are heated by water, steam, electricity.

Structural Benefits

The advantages of drying chambers that are made to order include:

  • design and creation of drying plants for the required volume and needs of the buyer;
  • production of drying equipment made of aluminum and stainless steel;
  • remote control of material drying via the Internet.

The lumber dryer has a modern ventilation equipment, which is equipped with fans of German and Italian manufacturers. Installation, start-up and configuration of the device is carried out at a professional level.

Which drying kilns for lumber are better

In the woodworking industry, they use different ways timber drying. These are atmospheric, chamber drying, contact, drying in liquids, as well as induction, rotational, radiation and PAP drying.

The required energy in convective drying equipment for wood is transported by air circulation, and the necessary heat transfer to the material comes from convention.

Camera types

There are 2 types of convection chambers - tunnel dryers and chamber dryers.

tunnel dryer is a deep chamber where bales of stacks are pushed from the wet end to the dry end.

Such chambers must necessarily be filled at one end and empty at the other. The process of pushing the stacks is carried out by 1 piece, the interval between each is 4-12 hours. They are used by large sawmills, they only do transport drying of lumber.

Chamber installation most commonly used in industry. The process takes place in a gaseous environment. Is it hot air or superheated steam atmospheric pressure. Drying in such equipment is carried out regardless of climatic and atmospheric conditions. The whole process is adjustable, which allows to obtain material with different final moisture content.

Atmospheric drying of hardwood takes place in an open warehouse or under a canopy. At low temperatures, the air has a low ability to absorb moisture vapor, so it passes slowly, and in winter it may stop. This method is used for drying exported lumber at factories with shipment of material during the season.

According to the circulation method, there are chambers that have incentive and natural circulation. Wood drying chamber with natural circulation outdated, inefficient.

The drying mode in them is practically not regulated, and the rate of uniformity of lumber drying is unsatisfactory. Such drying is not recommended for modern construction.

Making a drying chamber for lumber with your own hands

To make a drying chamber yourself, you first need to choose a material for the frame. The most commonly used metal racks from the corner or, and also need wooden bars treated with antiseptic. The walls are covered with metal sheets, moisture-resistant plywood panels, profiled rolled products. Thermal insulation is carried out with the help of polystyrene foam, mineral moisture-resistant wool.

Before construction, they are determined with the location of the dryer in order to make concrete foundation. The foundation is necessary so that the structure is stable and the load on the ground is evenly distributed.

The frame is assembled by welding or bolted connections. Then you should sheathe the walls from the inside, insert doors and windows. The layer of the heat-insulating floor should be at least 12–15 cm. Then you need to check the chamber for leaks by placing a powerful fan heater with hot air directed parallel to the boards.

Drying boards is necessary to obtain high-quality raw materials. After all, building a house using wet lumber will lead to distortions and a violation of its integrity. Therefore, it is important to take the elimination seriously excess moisture from wood.

Video: Do-it-yourself drying

Maintenance problem optimal humidity lumber is relevant both among builders and among those who like to make something in their own carpentry workshop. Drying wood at home allows you to save a lot on its purchase, because dry raw materials always cost more than wet ones.

By the way, if you don't have time for construction works, then you can dry the wood at home or in the country even under atmospheric conditions.

Some owners adapt ready-made haylofts, sheds or other suitable buildings for these purposes. Here is a way out of the situation found by one of our members of the forum.

Timakval member of FORUMHOUSE

I used for drying the attic of the yard (former hayloft) the size of 10 * 5 m. I laid it out, as it should, through the linings of each row. Total 3.5 cube boards of different categories. The advantages of this drying place are always shade, finished roof and it ventilates well. Picked up last May different size boards, bars and timber - blanks for small-scale construction. The boards were heavy from moisture. During the time of lying in the hayloft (1.5-2 months) they dried up to fluff, they were not twisted or arched.

Drying under atmospheric conditions is a rather lengthy process, and since we have decided to take a comprehensive approach to this issue, let's look at the sequence of building a home dryer with our own hands, which allows us to more effectively achieve the required moisture levels. As a suitable room, we suggest that you choose a building of the required size, and after that you can already start working. The room can have dimensions of 2 * 3 m or 4 * 3 m (more possible). It all depends on your needs and scope of activities. But, when choosing a building, you should remember that there should not be much free space left in the dryer. After all, drafts and chaotic air movement adversely affect the quality of wood.

DIY wood dryer

The room chosen for arranging a home-made dryer should be heated by a stove or a specially installed fireplace. It is good if a heater is pre-installed in the room. If there is none, then do not forget to leave a place for it.

Here is a project for making a home dryer offered by a member of our forum.

Nikolai Valen FORUMHOUSE member

Available capital garage with water heating, a potbelly stove on wood and mining is installed as a boiler. There is a pipe with a diameter of 800 mm and a length of 2.2 meters (former ventilation box With industrial enterprise). The idea is as follows: install sealed covers at both ends of the pipe, leave fittings with a diameter of 150-200 mm for supplying and discharging hot air. Air is heated by a radiator (it can be a car stove). Air supply - table fan. 0.3-0.5 cubic meters of lumber is loaded into the pipe, the furnace is melted (the temperature of the coolant reaches 90 degrees, I think that the supplied air can really be heated up to 50-60 degrees).

If you have chosen a room too large sizes, then the space planned to be used for homemade dryer should be insulated and sealed. For these purposes, wooden partitions, you can use insulation, brick and other materials that allow you to create your own microclimate in the dryer. Do not forget that it is necessary to leave a window in the chamber for ventilation and front door. After all, we should not get a hut without windows and doors.

Fans installed in the drying room will help create a forced air flow and make the drying process more efficient.

mfcn FORUMHOUSE Member,
Moscow.

It is advisable to place the fans on the floor to the side of the stack so that the blow is parallel to the spacers. Remember that when drying wood, it is necessary to evaporate about several hundred liters of water from each cubic meter of wood.

To place lumber in the dryer, special shelves or flooring should be installed. These products can be made of metal - so that the structure can withstand relatively large loads. Dry wood should be up to indicators corresponding to 8-12% moisture. Its measurements are carried out using a special moisture meter.

It is necessary to dry the tree, observing certain rules. Otherwise, the material will be hopelessly damaged and cannot be used in construction. To do this, the wood must be stacked. And between each new layer, gaskets from boards of the same thickness should be placed. Wood of any species, stacked in neat piles, will never suffer from fungal infections, retain its integrity and excellent consumer qualities.

Lao Czy FORUMHOUSE Member

Gaskets need to be made higher so that air ventilation between the boards is better. They dry better. You can put your sliced ​​\u200b\u200bsticks 25 * 30 or 25 * 40 on the edge. The reason for limiting the height of the stack is to prevent the boards from being led by a "helicopter blade", fix the uppermost layers of the boards in the stack with self-tapping screws. For the 3rd year I have been storing my boards using this method at a dacha in the Moscow region. They are in excellent condition!

Between the boards located in the same row, gaps should also be left. This will ensure unhindered air movement inside the stack and improve the drying quality.

Wood kiln project

Wood can be dried quickly and efficiently in well-equipped and free-standing kilns. The construction of such a chamber on the scale of a dacha or suburban area is not always appropriate. After all, this type of building will be very expensive, and its construction will take a lot of time.

The construction of such a room can be quite called the implementation of a full-scale construction project. You cannot avoid the laborious operations associated with pouring the foundation, with the erection of walls and the installation of complex equipment.

How to make drying for a tree can be understood from the diagram.

Do-it-yourself chamber drying

Such a mini wood dryer requires the placement of not only the main equipment (heating and ventilation), but also additional automatic control systems.

Drying chamber operating modes

The chamber dryer does not imply strong heating during normal operation. A full cycle works related to the drying of one batch of wood can be divided into several stages.

    The first stage lasts from 15 to 20 hours. During this period, the air in the chamber warms up to 45Co. The ventilation does not turn on, and condensation forms on the walls of the room.

    The second stage lasts about 48 hours. It involves connecting ventilation and heating the air in the chamber dryer up to 50 Co.

    The third stage lasts until the required final moisture level is reached during internal structure wood (8…12%). At this time, the air temperature rises to 55 C, the exhaust dampers are fully opened, and the fans operate at full capacity.

After the humidity reaches the required values, the heat supply should be stopped. The fans must remain on for another 24 hours. As a result of this heat treatment, you will get dry wood, completely ready for use during carpentry or construction work.

You can get acquainted with the practical developments of our members of the forum regarding the correct construction of a stack in the "" section. Those who wish to learn more about the lumber drying technology can visit the "" section. For those who want to see a master class on wood aging technology, we recommend watching the corresponding video.

7 Reasons Every Craftsman Should Have Their Own Wood Dryer

The better the dried wood, the better the finished product. Therefore, you spend a lot of money on drying wood. Give only to trusted places and patiently wait for the end of the process. But this stage can be accelerated and made less costly. Plus, get 20% more output. quality material! If you get your own dryer for the FlexiHIT board - our production.

Why do you need a personal FlexiHIT lumber dryer?

  • 20% more quality material! The output is flawless wood without deformations, internal stresses, warping and cracks. 15-20% more workpieces than with industrial drying. What is the reason? Drying occurs in the most natural way. Infrared radiation acts as gently as the rays of the sun. But thanks to a special design and innovative solutions, it dries faster and more evenly.
  • From one board to 10 cubes. For the first time in the history of professional drying, you can dry any amount of wood! From one board - to stacks in in large numbers. No more wasting money on drying or stockpiling large volumes of wood to load. At the same time, the cost of our kit is several times lower than the cost of a drying cabinet.
  • Material ready in 3-7 days. Assembling a wood dryer takes no more than a day. Installation is easy thanks to detailed instructions. The duration of drying depends on the type of wood and the amount of moisture in it. On average - from 3 to 7 days. Drying period for soft woods, the drying time will be from 3 to 7 days to 6 - 8% moisture, for hard woods from 13 - 20 days to 6 - 10% moisture. Stable result - up to 8% humidity in 7 days!

  • Automatic drying process. The drying procedure is absolutely comfortable and does not require your participation. After loading the material, the wood dryer is completely autonomous - you do not need to constantly monitor the wood drying process as when drying in an induction dryer. No special space required! Dry the wood at least under open sky in the courtyard of the house, even indoors. Anywhere and without supervision.

wood dryer cost calculator

Wood dryer price:

1. Infrared cassettes: 29,700 rubles.

2. Control cassettes: 12900 rubles.

3. Control panel: 12002 rubles.

4. Cabling: 8286 rubles.

5. Lathing: 1257.76 rubles.

Total: 64,146 rubles.

The price calculated by the calculator is indicative, to clarify the price of the wood dryer

4 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Make Your Own Dryer

  • For a long time. A lot of time will be spent on experiments, design and construction. We have been building the dryer for 10 years, with other successful developments in the field of infrared heating behind us.
  • dreary. It will take a lot of time to debug the dryer so that the lumber is of high quality. We have done thousands of experiments.
  • risky. You may not be able to create a normal dryer. It's not easy, trust us.
  • Expensive. There is a chance at first to spoil the dried lumber, which will lead to even greater cash costs.

FlexiHIT - 3 years of improvements!

  • Our wood dryer has been improved for more than 3 years. You don't have to walk this path on your own. It is enough to assemble the device according to detailed instructions.
  • There are many materials on the Internet about IR devices created by amateurs - and you are assured of high efficiency process. But there is no conclusive evidence.
  • We have been doing IR heating for ten years. We produce functional equipment for industry, construction, medicine. We have serious production facilities and professional designers. At the same time, the development of the dryer was not easy for us. A high-quality dryer cannot be created “on the knee”!



How does the FlexiHIT wood dryer work?

As a result of 10 years of testing and development, the board dryer is a set of special thermoset cassettes with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The cassettes are arranged in a stack of lumber prepared for drying in a certain sequence.

Drying of wood happens due to warming up of wood by infrared beams. This drying method does not require a heat transfer medium. Therefore, there is no need to maintain its precise parameters, ventilation and complex automation.

The resource of work, subject to the instructions and careful operation of the heating cassettes, is at least 3 years, a 1-year warranty.

Video of the FlexiHIT dryer device and instructions for assembling and drying wood

Comparison of modern wood dryers and drying technologies

vacuum induction
Aerodynamic
Condensation
convective
Dryer FlexiHIT
Loading volume from 4 to 20 m³
6-9 cubic meters of lumber
6,12,15 or 20 m³
-
from 8 to 200 m³
Any minimum, from 1 log
The complexity of installation and connection Difficult
Difficult
Difficult
Difficult
Creation of foundation, chamber, rail track, power supply
and pipelines
Average
Control Sophisticated automation: you need to monitor the parameters of the coolant and pressure
Requires regular monitoring to prevent wood fires
Automatic
Automatic
Delicate, attentive. Requires compliance with safety regulations
Automatic
Does not require control, but if necessary, it is possible to influence the process
Drying time Pine board with relative humidity 50% to 8% humidity 16-18 hours
Pine timber 200x200 mm with a moisture content of 50-70% up to 18% in 22 hours
Pine boards with a thickness of 25 mm dry for 2-3 days, and 50 mm boards - 3-4 days to a moisture content of 8%
40mm pine board 9 days, 50 mm - 12 days, 70 mm - 18 days
From 3 to 6 days
3 to 7 days
Size Unit in the form of a parallelepiped with a loading volume of 4 m³ - 4800x1700x2005 mm
Chamber for drying 6-9 cubic meters of lumber, - more than 6 meters
Chamber for 9 m³ - 7 meters, for 20 m³ - almost 14 m
-
8 m³ chamber - 7.0x2.0x2.4 m
One thermoactive cassette 1230x650x1.5 mm. Standard set for drying 1 m³ of lumber includes 12 cassettes with a total weight of 69 kg.
Dryer weight Without aluminum plates 2300 kg
9 tons
imposing
Minimum 120 kg
imposing
With the crate, control panel and cabling, the weight of the equipment does not exceed 130 kg.
coolant The flow of air heated from heaters
High frequency currents 915-2500 MHz
Hot air blown by fan
Hot air flow from heaters
The flow of air heated from water heaters
infrared rays (sun rays)
Voltage electrical network 380 V
380V, 50Hz
380 V
380 V
Net alternating current 380/350
works from the mains 220V / 380V
Electricity consumption per 1m 3 15-37 kW
200-230 kWh/m³
240 kW/m³
140 kWh/m³
280 kWh in summer and 340 kWh in winter
1.5-2.5 kW
Transportation Rail or road container Special equipment Special equipment Special equipment Special equipment Easy to transport by car
Place for equipment installation indoors indoors indoors indoors indoors Both indoors and outdoors
What is suitable for For industrial production For industrial production For industrial production For industrial production For small volumes of wood
Possibility of manufacturing a dryer of non-standard size No No No No No Eat
Drying cost 1 m3 from 600 to 1400 rubles for the entire drying period
Price From 500 thousand to 1.5 million rubles. From 1,300,000 rubles From 410 000 rub. From 250,000 to 1,000,000 rubles. From 350,000 to 4,000,000 rubles. From 62 888 rubles.

stack guard

The stack shell consists of a polystyrene insulation located under the stack and on its upper part, as well as a reflective fence covering the stack along the perimeter. The shell is not included in the kit and can be designed for specific stack sizes.

You can also familiarize yourself with (one of the design options).

Examples of correct and improper styling cassettes for drying wood in a stack

Do you have any questions about home drying lumber with the FlexiHIT dryer?

During steaming, moisture evaporates from the middle of the wood. How this process occurs during local heating of wood - I have no idea. Also I don't understand why you can do without fans.

Why steam saturated steam when processing wood? In order to saturate the tree with moisture and dry it evenly at such a speed that moisture will migrate from the inner layers to the outer ones.

When using low temperature infrared emitters moisture is already "expelled" from the inner layers, which leads to intensive selection (condensation) of water in the first quarter of the drying process and removal of moisture. Steaming is not needed.

And in the chambers it is needed, because the coolant is hot air, and it does not penetrate into the wood, it dries slowly, starting from the surface. Therefore, you can’t rush, you need to wait for the water to capillary from the center to the surface.

And ultrasound, and high-frequency, and induction tear wood - it's clear why. I think that your method should tear not less, but even more. Are you also trying to warm the wood, as it were, from the inside?

We have a soft mode, this is natural drying, so it will not tear. This refers to the rupture of pores, capillaries, non-surface ruptures and cracks, which are obtained due to uneven drying of the board.

Do you have experience organizing a lumber dryer in the basement? What pitfalls can be? Under the dryer, a bath is planned to collect water. The temperature in the basement is positive.

"Pitfalls" depend on the volume and frequency of drying. It is to be expected that not all the water condenses - some of it comes out as steam, and if there is no good ventilation, the basement walls will get wet. At permanent job wood dryers can gradually warm up the basement, and heat outside the stack shell will change the dew point, condensation may decrease. Ventilation is required if the room is small. Up to 300 liters of water can come out of a pine cube, 500 from oak.

How to operate a wood dryer in winter period? How to control and regulate air humidity? How high are the stresses in the material after drying?

Steam collects in the chamber and reaches such a concentration that drying stops and the steam must be removed. Paradox: the chamber is needed to keep the air, but it increases the humidity. Therefore, wood drying is possible when the following mode is used: "air heating - ventilation - pumping out moist air - heating again". And when exposed directly to the water without a camera, everything turns out easier. We use isospan for uniform moisture in the stack and accelerate the drying of wood.

The construction industry today is experiencing an active stage of technological development, which is reflected in the tools used, and in the methodology for performing repair and installation operations, and, of course, in materials. At the same time, due to the availability and low cost, traditional materials, including wood, still retain their demand. Another thing is that it cannot be used in its pure form, since even solid rocks no longer comply with building standards in protective properties. This barrier can be overcome by special preparation operations, including drying of wood in drying chambers - a technology that improves a whole range of technical and physical indicators of the material.

Drying technology in chambers

The principle of drying in vacuum chambers is based on the laws of evaporation and water circulation. That is, the main tasks of the method are reduced to ensuring optimally rapid removal of moisture from the structure of the tree, but without negative consequences for operational qualities. The technology under consideration is focused on the implementation of this process. In practice, it is carried out using special installations that circulate water through the wood structure in the direction from the core to the outside. Further, water is removed from the surface through evaporation. But it is important to understand that getting rid of moisture is not the only task that wood drying in drying chambers implements. The technology also allows you to eliminate physical defects, but for this it is used optional equipment like presses. With regard to the technical implementation of the process, it is usually carried out by manually loading the material into the appropriate chamber. Further, due to the heating plates, the unit performs automatic heating against the background of intensive evaporation.

Features of the vacuum drying method

Compared with traditional drying kilns, new technologies of cylindrical vacuum drying enable a high speed of the process. This is connected not so much with the principle of impact on the material, but with the mechanics of loading and the location of the workpieces relative to the functional plates. But the thermal effect has its own characteristics. Since the wood material is compressed between the plates under pressure, a high intensity of impact on the structure is ensured - accordingly, more moisture is evaporated. In terms of energy consumption, vacuum drying of wood also has its differences. The features of the technology in this parameter are determined by the increase in the temperature of the plates and the optimization of the physical movement of the material inside the chamber. Therefore, in order to achieve the same alternative ways drying results such chambers consume less energy.

Drying steps

Automated cameras allow, without user intervention, to implement a standard set of technological steps, which looks like this:

  • Warming up the material. Primary heat treatment, during which the wood structure is prepared for subsequent stages.
  • Drying directly. At this stage, a combined moistening-drying operation is performed, which allows the material to be softened as much as possible in order to further dry out.
  • Cooling. In fact, this is the stage of crystallization of the structure, due to which the wood, which has become pliable due to heat treatment, regains optimal hardness characteristics.

As noted above, all stages of the drying process are controlled by automation, and the operator monitors the safety indicators. But even before the start of the event, the user is required to set the optimal drying mode. In particular, it sets the pressure and temperature, focusing on the characteristics of the material. For example, for coniferous blanks with a thickness of 2.5 cm, a pressure of 500 kg / m2 is required. Concerning temperature regime, then in this case it can be 80 ° C.

Drying chamber device

Modern cameras are made in the form of a parallelepiped or a cylinder. output side The structure is supplied with a lid through which material loading / unloading operations are performed. Moreover, the lid structure includes a rubber sheet fixed on a metal frame - this solution allows you to create an almost perfect vacuum with increased sealing. Each layer of lumber is lined with heating plates, which are usually made of heat-conducting aluminum alloys. To carry out the movements of the plate, they are equipped with roller mechanisms. Due to the movement of the heaters, a balanced drying of the wood in the drying chambers is ensured. The manufacturing technology of the chambers also provides for the connection of circuits with circulating water. Boilers with liquid are placed separately and provide their own heating. A special pump is placed inside the chamber to maintain a stable vacuum.

Application of hydraulic press

It has already been mentioned above that in the process of passing through the stages of drying, the structure of the wood softens and becomes pliable. This state, within the framework of the drying process, is secondary and redundant. Actually, to eliminate these consequences, the final stage of cooling is provided. However, the softened structure of the material can be subjected to a hydraulic press, which will save the workpiece from physical defects - at least ensure its straightening. Such presses are introduced into the general complex of capacities, where wood is dried in drying chambers. Pressing technology, in turn, eliminates and possible defects that were acquired by the material in the chamber. The final workpiece will be “correctly” deformed with the parameters that are needed for working lumber.

Drying methods

On this moment technology development, there are three main methods of vacuum drying. The first two methods have already been considered - this is directly drying and press-vacuum preparation of the material. But there is also a method of steam processing in a vacuum chamber. Its relevance is due to the possibility of excluding heating plates from the design of the chamber, since hot steam covers the entire space without requiring a special flow direction to separate sections blanks. This approach gives a lot of advantages, which provide steam heating methods for drying wood. Drying chambers, for example, allow loading not only labor-intensive manually but also with the help of forklifts.

What effect does drying provide?

Drying itself, as a process of optimizing the hygroscopic property, endows the wood with relatively high strength values. This is already enough to ensure that the material meets the basic requirements of building regulations. But large woodworking plants use the above technologies and methods for drying wood only as preparatory stage For further processing material. In particular, for impregnations, which will additionally give the workpieces the qualities of fire resistance, moisture resistance, frost resistance, etc.

Do-it-yourself drying organization

To make your own dryer with affordable means, you first need a separate room. In size, it can correspond to a small utility room or hozblok. The structure is preferably made of brick or concrete, and internal surfaces insulate and insulate with layers of foil-coated foam. The result will be, though not a vacuum, but a sealed dryer for boards. How to make elements of thermal influence? To do this, several convectors or radiators should be provided - their number will be determined by the design capabilities of the room and the requirements for the drying itself. heating equipment and will provide the effect of evaporation. For greater efficiency, the thermal effect function can be supplemented with fans.

Conclusion

During construction and repair operations, the question often arises of choosing between different materials. Limited financial opportunities often exclude metal alloys and high-strength plastics, leaving wood as an uncontested option. But even this decision is justified in many cases. technical specifications if a lumber kiln is used. With your own hands, without the cost of expensive radiators, such a camera will also not work, but in the long term, its investment will justify itself. As the practice of operating structures based on properly dried wood shows, the material can serve for years even in harsh conditions without losing its primary properties. Another thing is that much will depend on the type of wood that is planned to be used for such purposes.

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