Kiln proportions

[gargynko]

Hi, I ve planted about 200 plants this year and I plan building a kiln. I would like to do kilning of maximum 3 rounds for whole yeld so could you please advise me how big my kiln supposed to be?? I will use AmaxB's method of kilning in plastic boxes. My kiln will be built of OSB boards insulated by polystyrene. I just wonder how big it must be to meet my requirements. Thank you for your answers!

 

[LeftyRighty]

loose (whole) leaf -- closet + size.
de-rib & baled leaf -- std refrigerator (20 +/- cu ft) about 2 rounds.

 

[Knucklehead]

LeftyRighty's refrigerator kiln: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/1694-kiln

 

[Chicken]

its nice to have too much room. instead of not enough room...

i use a old 70's era camper that i gutted and framed up the back half.

plenty of room. to '' get in there'' and move around.

that same area also doubles as a grow room. where i start everything. from bacca to veggies. to yard flowers.

 

[gargynko]

Thank you guys! You are right, Too much better than not enough. Still wondering about overall arrangement but I ve already got an idea...

 

[DGBAMA]

My box is fairly large. 4 wide 8 tall,2 deep. One thing I noted last year was difficulty keeping top and bottom temp the same (heat rises). If I had the floor space I would keep the size, but set it up more like a chest than an upright.

 

[Jack in NB]

Mine is 4 x 4 x 8 ft high. Pictures of the kiln and slats I use for drying and hanging are in the HTGT photo gallery, page 2, under my name. It would hold leaves from 130 - 150 plants depending on leaf size. You might get some ideas from that.

If I did this right, this url will take you there:

http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/cpg14x/index.php?cat=10155

 

[deluxestogie]

For just kilning (as opposed to flue-curing), remember that you've got the entire winter (12 one-month runs) to get your crop done.

To determine the smallest total kiln capacity for getting a crop kilned over a 12 month period, it needs to hold only 1/12 of your crop. Selling finished leaf into a commercial market requires that the entire crop be ready at a specific time. For home growing, you can spread the kilning load (and the required work) over the slower, winter months.

Advantages of a smaller kiln:

• requires less floor space
• is more easily moved
• reduces the risk of a catastrophe in a single batch
• is cheaper to build

I'm not advocating a very small kiln. My two kilns are too small for my needs. But a middle road is worth considering, when starting from scratch.

Bob

 

[LeftyRighty]

right on, Bob....
and your kiln can be used for other than just fermenting. I use mine to bring the leaf back into case, whenever it dries out too much. Just put the leaf in the kiln, at the 115-125 range, and throw in a wad of wet rags for added moisture. This will bring a bundle of leaf into case in a few hours or overnight. A thick bale of leaf may take a few days, but it's easy to do. I prefer this over spritzing the leaf with water as the leaf moisture is more uniform throughout.

As I am starting to brew my own beer, and am growing hops and barley. I can use the kiln for drying the hops (dry crockpot heat), and working on system for malting the barley in the kiln.

 

[gargynko]

You are right but non stop kilning would be expensive considering power consumption wouldnt be??

 

[deluxestogie]

You are right but non stop kilning would be expensive considering power consumption wouldnt be??

Each of my kilns uses a 2 quart Crockpot, set on "Lo." They probably consume between 50 and 75 watts each.

Bob

 

[gargynko]

Thank you for helpful hints, I will make my decision and will update this thread...I hope with pics of finished kiln also

 

[LeftyRighty]

You are right but non stop kilning would be expensive considering power consumption wouldnt be??

I had 100+ plants in 2013, these were air-cured and remained in my shed until this spring (weather conditions prevented getting them into case for de-ribbing and baling). All this crop was ferminted in one 4-week ferment. That's the only use of the kiln in the last year. Power consumption for a crockpot-on-low is cheap, cheap, cheap.

In my proposed use for hops and malting barley, I think I can get a year's crop of 3 hops plants dried in a few days max. And barley can be malted and dried in less that a week.