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My new and improved waterless kiln

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Jitterbugdude

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This one's for you beekeepers out there. Based on the success of my electric oven waterless kiln I decided to play around with some extra bee boxes I had. These boxes are made of compressed styrofoam and are very durable

SSCN1180.JPG This shows two boxes stacked with another box partially assembled. The boxes are dove tailed so they are real easy to knock down when done. On top of the boxes is a queen excluder and a 100 watt heat lamp.

SSCN1179.JPG This shows how the heat lamp will set inside the boxes. I assembled 2 boxes, then put the queen excluder on and set the heat lamp on the excluder. The excluder is made of sturdy wire so heat will readily pass through.

SSCN1178.JPG I put another box on top of the heat lamp, added another excluder and then started filling the box with jars of tobacco.

SSCN1177.JPG Here is the finished product. The heat is controlled by a Ranco Thermostat. I ended up putting 11 different varieties of tobacco inside.

SSCN1176.JPG My configuration is 4 boxes high which equates to about 3 feet. If you want, you can keep repeating the sequence 2 more times so that you could put a total of about 33 jars of tobacco inside. This pic shows the next stacking sequence.

I like this system because it cost me nothing to make. All materials were leftovers. I do not have to add or monitor water levels. The downside is that it is only useful for small batches. I have enough tobacco in storage that this works out well for me.

The most amazing thing about this method is the smell. Since each jar has it's own specific tobacco the smell is very specific to the tobacco. I can close my eyes and tell you whether I am smelling BSS-Maden, or Monte Calme Brun.

Happy beekeeping.... kilning!
 

Jitterbugdude

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Yes, I open the jars once per day and reclose them. I only have them opened for about 2 seconds each, plenty of time for any gasses to escape. It's interesting to note the change in odor on a daily basis.
 

BarG

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One of the favorite things about tobacco growing and learning kilning and storage , has been the overwhelming wonderful smells you get.
 

FmGrowit

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Your design isn't far from becoming the first commercially available tobacco kiln. One of the biggest hang-ups with a manufactured kiln is the shipping cost. The knock down bee boxes are the perfect solution.

Very nice job.
 

Jitterbugdude

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The boxes are mediums. For the floor I'm using a 1 inch thick piece of insulated foam board. For the roof I'm using a "styrofoam" bee hive top.
 

istanbulin

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Very good job. My waterless kiln is, putting some very high case tobacco in a plastic bag and putting the bag on the radiator :) I'm openning the bag once in two days. This works well but treats little amount of tobacco.
 

Jitterbugdude

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Yes, the bottom box is empty, the queen excluder sets on the top of the first box and the heat lamp sets on the queen excluder. The probe is located on the 2nd queen excluder with the jars.
 

Knucklehead

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Four layers would run about $86.25 for the four boxes and three metal excluders if bought just for a kiln. Plus shipping. The thermostat and heat source will be needed on any kiln. It's most cost effective for people who have bees because the materials are already on hand. It beats building a small wooden kiln if you don't have the skill set or time and if that's the case the price isn't bad. This thing just knocks together and you're done. It also knocks apart for storage. It's smaller than an upright freezer that can't be taken apart for storage. This is a great idea and I think the best thing about it is the way Dude looked around and utilized what he had on hand. Yankee engineering at it's finest. Jolly good show old top. Folks need to hit the rep button on this one. (Small sheriff's badge shaped star in the bottom left of his post).

One more question. I'm assuming the humidity comes from inside the jars. What case do you start out with and do you mist inside the jars at any point?
 

Jitterbugdude

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One more question. I'm assuming the humidity comes from inside the jars. What case do you start out with and do you mist inside the jars at any point?


The tobacco is in pretty high case- nice, soft and flexible. After it goes into the kiln I have to vent the jars about 2 hours later because of the moisture vapor buildup. After that first venting I then only do it once a day.
And yeah, this was cheap. I've had those boxes setting on my shelf for well over 10 years, never having the heart to throw them away.
 
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