Drying wood, Solar Kiln?

[MetalEd]

This may be long for some, so don't read if you are not interested. I want to make sure I cover all the bases before I attempt to build this item.
I want to dry my wood more/faster than air drying. Especially the wood I resaw from logs myself and mail-order wood from humid states (our summers will warp this wood quick!) I have an idea for making a kind of kiln/solar dryer and I would like some input from anyone who has experience kiln drying wood or been really successful in drying their own cut wood. I already know how to stack with stickers and air dry them, but prefer kiln dried wood.
I was thinking of building a small shed like building, measuring 3' foot tall, 3' foot wide and about 6' foot long. Doors on both ends (would be closed when drying). Also small vents on each end to allow the removal of humidity. All of the walls and roof would be made of corrugated tin (the type used for patio or small barn roofs) and be painted entirely Black. One long side and roof would be positioned to get the most sunlight throughout the day.
The floor would be concrete or brick, so the ground would not affect the temperature or moisture inside. A solar panel would charge batteries to power a small fan intermittently during the day to circulate the air in an attempt to make everything heated evenly and remove the humid air out through the vents. (air in one vent and out the other, passing all the wood first.) The fan would be set to come on for a few minutes (10) couple times every hour, off at night. So it would be solar only.
Since the entire thing would be painted black, the sun should make it quite warm inside, maybe too warm for use in the summer months (110+F degrees in my area of SO. Calif. during summer months). The fan would remove the humidity and provide even air flow around all of the wood. I am planning on shelves to slide into both doors, square frames using plastic type of netting or hardware cloth, sort of like chicken wire... (reinforced to be flat, plastic instead of metal so no staining.) as the shelves for the wood to sit on, would allow best air flow compared to stickers between wood, shelves separated by inches...Maybe even rubber coated wire shelving be easier (just thought of it!). They would work like drawers that slide out of each end, that when closed would be a stack of dozens of drying racks. Or would a rolling rack with regular stickers be best? I thought drawer type shelves since wood pieces would be placed into the "dryer" all throughout the year, not just one stack at a time.
So, does anyone with experience have any ideas... would this work to dry wet wood quickly? More than regular air drying or maybe as much as a real kiln? Is there anything I am missing or any suggestions that anyone would have for improving this idea?
I do plan to dry wood about 1" to 1.5" inches thick, and resaw it thin for scrolling and such. But thinner wood bought by mail from humid states would also be placed in it since I can't just acclimate it to our extreme dry temps and warp quickly even indoors. Would I still need to paint the ends to stop checking? (purchased wood, previously dried) Would extreme summer heat be bad for it? I can imagine it getting up to at least a couple hundred degrees in the summer in full sun? What temps should I not use this at (doing more damage than good ?) Should the vents be open at night, or closed with the fan running intermittently to circulate the still hot air? Any ideas for improving my design that would make it more efficient?
How about leaving the wood inside for storage even after it has reached the 7-8 percent moisture I am hoping to achieve. That would probably damage it by drying it too much? If I can't store it in the "dryer" then maybe a good idea to put wood that has been dried and then stored in the shop back inside for a day before I work on it to remove any moisture it picked up while just sitting around.
Thanks for any ideas and all hints. No matter how big or small! I appreciate any help with this experiment!
Ed

[Jimmie]

I have been drying wood for ten years, first don't use a solar kiln, it takes to long, use elect or steam kilns.
You are best to air dry the wod till it is down ti 10-15 % before puting in the kilm, no meed to use the elect. to get it down to that. you want to dry the wood very slow, to keep it from damageing the wood.
after you have it at 6-7% you can leave it in thekilm, with no heat and the doors open.
don't put wood back in the kiln and redry it, you will have powder.
as with every thing else it is a tired and tired experance.
be sure you have fans and plastic like you said.
hope this helps

[sawdustus]

I have also been cutting and drying my own wood when I can get it free. Currently I have walnut, maple and cedar in the works. I generally take logs less than two feet long for weight reasons. Any bigger and they are too hard to move around. If they are fresh cut, I leave the bark on and put a thick coat of latex paint on the ends. This slows down the moisture loss and prevents checking of splitting of the wood. They can stay outside for year or more before I mill them into boards. My first step is remove the bark and then to split them in half using a chain saw. A wedge and maul would work also. I know this wastes some wood but it reduces the weight to where I can use my band saw to make boards. I generally make them between 1 and 2" thick. I then stack them, with hardwood stickers, in my workshop (unheated garage) until they are dry enough to use. Takes about a year per inch to get them down to under 10% moisture. In winter they get down to about 7-8%, in summer they go up to 9-10%. For most scrolling, this works just fine. If I am making furniture, I bring them into the house to get them down to 6-8% before doing my final milling to finished sizes needed. I can then mill them as thin as 1/4 inch with the bandsaw. After sanding of the marks, I have generally lost about 1/16 or so from a side so I end up with 1/8" wood. If I want them any thinner, I would have to buy the lumber.

By the way, found lumber is notoreous for having embedded nails and other metal objects with can wreck havoc with your tools. Buy a metal detector designed for woodworking and use it regularly.

[MetalEd]

Thank both of you for these tips, I already do most of them by sawing salvage 2' long logs into planks about 1.5" thick. Paint the ends with latex paint and stack them on my patio out of direct sunlight on 3/4" stickers. I stored some of these dried boards in my metal (dark painted) shed and they came out super dry, like professionaly kiln dried wood. That is what gave me the idea to build this "solar" kiln. I have wood stored indoors and out, everywhere <grin.> So having a quick sure way to ensure it's dry before use would be great.

Originally Posted by sawdustus

By the way, found lumber is notoreous for having embedded nails and other metal objects with can wreck havoc with your tools. Buy a metal detector designed for woodworking and use it regularly.

I metal detect as a hobby, so I can check the logs with a VLF and PI metal detector before cutting them. Not only nails, but bullets and buckshot and sometimes fence/barbed wire that has grown into the tree.
I have a small Wizard for testing store bought boards, especially the ends since home repair stores like to staple prices onto the end, you may not see the entire staple, but a piece may have broke off. A metal detector is a must for salvaging wood/logs!
Thanks again all!
Ed

[tomsteve]

the solar kiln is a pretty good idea. i live in northen michigan and know a person with one. it takes about 40 days to dry a load of wood. (500 b.f.) God gave ya the trees to make lumber out of. and he gave ya the sun fer heat. why not use the sun? i think he wood appreciate it. there's a lot of info on solar kiln construction and use online. the only down fall i have seen is it takes a little more time to dry the wood. yer idea sounds good and i hope ya go for it!!!!