Pine board seasoning in a solar kiln in Montevideo (34º 50’ 13’’ Lat. S)

Abstract

In order to study use feasibility of a semi-greenhousse solar kiln in Sayago, Montevideo (34° 50' 13" Lat. S) a model was constructed and a stack of green Pinus taeda 25 mm -thick- boards was dried during spring 1996. A matching air-dried stack was used to compare results. Relative humidity, temperature and equilibrium moisture content, were studied both inside and outside the kiln. Drying homogenity and posible sources of variation are discussed. Results indicate that solar kiln efficiency is good. The solar kiln stack took 56 days to dry from green to 6,8% moisture content while the air-dried stack reached 14,8% in the same time.