# A few questions about drying green lumber



## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Ok i have a stack of about 400 bf of maple. It was sawed 2 weeks agoand had no type of seal in the end grain so i sealed to today. Will not having it sealed rite away cause it to check? 

How much can i expect to loose in thickness and gow well does maple dry (checking problems, warping staining)? 

Its being dried in my basement which has a temp of around 65 degrees and 35% humidity, but thats before the wood was moved in. Will the wood dry to fast in these conditions? I aslo have a fan running. 
Last question can you apply anchorseal in low temps? I have some logs outside i want to put it on but the high temps around 45.


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## TomC (Oct 27, 2008)

I am no expert in this area. I'm sure that someone with more experience will respond and correct me if I am wrong. If you are drying in a basement the moisture is going into the air in the basement. You will need to remove the moisture from the basement air to aid in drying. I did this same thing last year. Set up a dehumidifier in the basement to control the amount of moisture in the basement sir.
Tom


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

I have a dehumidifyer sitting in the same room set on 35% the humidiy raised to 59% with all the wood moved in.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

If the ends of the boards were checking before you applied the anchorseal, they'll probably keep on checking. should have cut fresh ends on each board and then applied. Yes you can apply Anchor Seal at around 45 F. Or at least I have. It takes a little longer to dry.


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

Maple is prone to mold staining you may consider a second dehumidifier for a few weeks. Sticker stain is a problem as well. The sooner you can get the MC of the wood below 17-20% the better. I second the point made about checking. I have used anchor seal below 45° with minimal success when it dries in warm temps it dries clear it will dry white when applied in freezing temps.

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Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

I have a second dehumidifier on it now ans the fan is blowing full speed humidity in the room is around 55 for now.


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## bikeshooter (Nov 5, 2010)

I have built 2 kilns using Darens plans. The size is up to the builder and can be used in your basement. Highly recommended.
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f23/small-wood-drying-kiln-plans-dry-your-own-lumber-3103/


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

I second Bikeshooter, Daren's plans are great and informative. By building kiln, this will keep the extra humidity seperated from basement humidity. As most basements they usually don't need any extra help with moisture.

Have a Blessed day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I agree Darren's plans are good I built one of his kilns also. It seems Kevin may have put the cart before the horse in this case. Kev you could put some thick painters plastic over the pile to separate the wood pile from the rest of the room. If you do this make sure there is good clearance around the pile and at least 1 dehumidifier and a fan is under the plastic. I had a customer of mine do this with some large walnut beams I cut for him. It worked well for the walnut. Maple is prone to staining if the moisture stays to high in there a 2nd dehumidifier would be a good idea.

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Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Well the second dehumidier is broken it ices up. It looks like ill only have one running. Should i keep the fan blowing at all times or give it a break at night or is that only if its outside? Im goin to be getting Darrens plans here shortly


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

How is the humidity in the house/ basement? When I dried stuff in my basement I only did 100bf or so at a time. I had a space heater and a fan only on the stack. I was able to open the door and allow the warm moist air to escape the basement. There was condensation on the widows it was early fall so I could open the windows and let it all out. If you can't keep the humidity down with one dehumidifier I would say start taking the pile outside until the one can keep up with what is left.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk

Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

humidity ranges if i have the fan blowing hard on the wood humidity is around 65% If i have the fan blowing away from the wood and more doors open i can get it to around 55% In a little less than 20 hrs i had about 3/4 of a gallon in the dehumidifier.


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## truckjohn (Oct 31, 2011)

Put a clamp on lamp fixture with a flood lamp where it can shine on the frozen coils... Run it with a vacation lamp timer... Usually it doesn't take too long - maybe a couple minutes an hour...


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

I had a little cube heater like 2 inches away and that seemend to keep the ice down but it did not seem to catch much water.


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## bikeshooter (Nov 5, 2010)

Kevin07 said:


> Well the second dehumidier is broken it ices up. It looks like ill only have one running. Should i keep the fan blowing at all times or give it a break at night or is that only if its outside? Im goin to be getting Darrens plans here shortly


Probably better to let the fans run for air friction over the wood. Without a closed box this is gonna take quite a while. You'll do much better with Darren's plans and the tech support that comes with them. I ended a cycle today and the final numbers were 115 degrees and 20% humidity.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Just got the plans a few hrs ago and plan on staring to build tomorrow. quess i need to buy one of those moisture testers now, they look pricy


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

Kevin07 said:


> Ok i have a stack of about 400 bf of maple. It was sawed 2 weeks agoand had no type of seal in the end grain so i sealed to today. Will not having it sealed rite away cause it to check?
> 
> It would have been better to cut off the ends before sealing. There may well be checks already started that will continue to widen as the lumber dries. When stickering the pile, make sure to place a sticker within about 2 inches of each end. Checks do not usually extend past the first sticker.
> 
> ...


If it's above freezing, you can apply it. Anchorseal is a water-based emulsion so it will freeze if the temp is below 32 degrees.


I'd suggest downloading a copy of the USDA Publication "Drying Hardwood Lumber" by Denig, Wengert and Simpson. It has loads of info on all methods of drying lumber and it's free. :icon_smile:

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr118.pdf


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## bikeshooter (Nov 5, 2010)

Kevin07 said:


> Just got the plans a few hrs ago and plan on staring to build tomorrow. quess i need to buy one of those moisture testers now, they look pricy


They can be. Ya might consider something like this.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/MMETER2.html


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

You can get the General meter at Lowe's or many other places, like Amazon. It was on sale for $19 a while back. I have one and it's pretty consistent with my pricier Lignomat meter.

http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-MMD4E-Digital-Moisture/sim/B00275F5O2/2


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

woods still quite wet its at 24%


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

As daren's plans says.......let do it's drying and not open and close alot.....it just has to catch up again for what humidity was readded via door or what ever was open. I bought a cheap weather station that had humidity reader and left it in the kiln and monitor in room where I could watch the changes and not open kiln.

From my experience so far, your looking at 3- 4 wks depending on alot of factors.....DON'T rush it....it'll drop quicker in the beginning than towards the end.....the moisture's gotta come out farther...LOL. 

Have fun, this is ADDICTIVE:thumbsup::laughing::shifty::yes::icon_cool:.

Have a Blessed and Joyful day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Yeah i dave a small digital weather type thing in there it shows humidity snd temp. I have to go in every now and then because its in my basement and the closes drain is over 30 ft away and it just wount drain that far so i drain the dh bucket every day and have about 2 gallons every 24 hrs. temp and humidity dosnt seem to change much afer i go in and out


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## bikeshooter (Nov 5, 2010)

How's it going?


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Down to 7% planned a piece to see what it looked like and its got sume curl to it.


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