Kiln Dried Wood
Case hardening describes lumber or timber that has been dried too rapidly.
Kiln dried wood. Kiln dried firewood is great for use as logs and kindling when building and starting a fire as the typically low moisture content helps the wood to catch fire more easily and burn more quickly. Kiln-dried wood is wood that has been seasoned in a special wood-drying oven called a kiln. The kiln process involves the drying of wood in a chamber where air circulation relative humidity and temperature can be controlled so that the moisture content of wood can be reduced to a target point without having any drying defects.
These kilns can be as simple as a small backyard hut with a fiberglass roof called a solar kiln but theyre typically giant gas- or electricity-powered industrial ovens. Kiln dried firewood can be burnt in any form of wood burning fireplace whether its a traditional open fireplace or wood burning stove. Allowing you to dry wood to the desired moisture content faster than air-drying.
There are two reasons wood is kiln dried. Kiln dried wood is lumber that has been rough-cut from logs and then dried in a special chamber built for that purpose. The kiln drying process is dependent on the wood species being dried including the logs size diameter and moisture content.
Wood initially dries from the shell surface shrinking the shell and putting the core under compression. When burned our Kiln Dried Fire Wood produces a fantastic flame picture in any stove or fireplace and its high calorific value and low ash content make this a best quality fuel. The first is to reduce the moisture content to a level where the wood can be used for fuel and wont lose much energy evaporating moisture.
With a kiln you can control the environment such as temperature humidity and steam levels for a set period of time. Usually the wood is sawn before drying but sometimes the log is dried whole. In other instances it may be necessary for the lumber to acclimate for one to two weeks and the wood may pick up some additional moisture during this time.
Depending on its final use kiln-dried woods are dried to a specific MC range. Kiln Drying Is Not Permanent. Kiln-dried wood is wood that has been dried in an oven kiln.