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Smokin' Harleys Plywood Kiln build

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Smokin Harley

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No pics yet , since construction won't happen until Tuesday but I will post what I bought and the general idea of what I'm building.
Basically a 4Hx4Wx4D plywood box ,on casters,insulated with 1" foil faced foam ,foil taped at the seams . Thrift store wasn't open,but I'll get a 2qt crockpot .I already bought on of those fancy digital controllers like Deluxestogie did.

So far supplies are as follows-
two 4x8 sheets of 1/2 inch plywood
two sheets of 1" foil faced foam (R-6)
1- 8ft 2x6
1- 50 ft roll aluminum foil tape
1 lb box of 1 1/4" drywall screws,coarse
4- 2 1/2" rubber casters,all swivel base
2 pieces 4"x 20 inch tight mesh wire closet shelving
2 pieces shelf supports (the slotted "track mount"ones)
4 pieces shelf support brackets,20"
3- 4" strap hinge
3- 2 3/4" draw hasp
total bill was under $200 but picked up a 11% rebate off total purchase on my way out ...."save big money at Menaaaaards"

Basically , I'm building a 4x4x2 (outside dimension)box mount the whole box on top of two 4 ft 2x6's(front board will be slid out 3/4" and beveled to ease closing and to support the door bottom. slap casters under it to be able to move about the garage .Door will just be a simple 4x4 door mounted with the three strap hinges and then closed with the draw hasps ,should make a fairly tight seal as is. lining it with foam ,taping the seams, then mount the shelf supports in back corners so I can adjust the shelves wherever I need, I can hang leaf or just lay it on a shelf. Crockpot will be wired and controlled just like Deluxestogie , no sense trying to reinvent the wheel here.
Stay tuned, Tuesday should be the day of the build. I'll try to take pics as I go but I tend to get in the zone and just keep going until I'm done.

I've already spent way more than had I just bought a crapload of WLT leaf ,but I like to try doing things. And this should be useful for quite some time and over time "pay for itself" which brings me to be reminded of a joke...
This blonde gets swindled into one of those home window replacements ,and during the deal the salesman hits her up with the old "over time they'll pay for themselves with the savings of the heat and ac bill" so she has them come and install them . a year goes by and she gets a phone call one day and its the same guy who sold her the windows. He says Hi this is Bob, my company installed windows in your home a year ago and I was wondering how you like them . She says they are great . He says well, the real reason I'm calling is we still have not received payment for them ..she replies "well, duuuuuh, you told me they'd pay for themselves!!!"
bah dum dum...
 

Knucklehead

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I like your slotted track supports idea for the shelves. Adjustable is nice. I wish I had done that for mine.
 

Smokin Harley

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Thanks Knuck...I also thought that someday if by whatever reason I don't want or have use of a kiln I can still use the box as simple garage storage . I'm such a thinker and I hate wasting or throwing out things.
 

Chicken

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Sounds like you'll be curing leaf in no time..

I did a little bacca construction last night myself..made a rack to hold my bacca sticks during colour curing..,it turned out excellent..but I'm sure my neighbours was having a cow with me running the saw at 10:30 pm.....

But its too hot to do it during the day.,.
 

Smokin Harley

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Acquired a 3 qt crockpot at the thrift store for $8...I would have gotten a 2 qt but it had no lid...I'm sure for the kiln I wont need one but if I ever wanted to revert it back to its originally engineered used ,I got one with a lid.
Made sure I got one with a rheostat hi-low-off switch too.
Got a late start today ....Having a bite for lunch then heading out to build the box.
 

Smokin Harley

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Build pictorial-
cut one sheet of plywood in half, this is the door and back

IMG_2532.JPG

Cut the other sheet basically in 4 pieces. Two sides are 23"x47"...other two are top and bottom 23"x 48"
Always try to keep a factory edge and aim those all the same way in the build .
IMG_2534.JPG



Predrill and screw with 1 1/4" coarse screws(drywall) ,keep corners tight and flush.
IMG_2535.JPG



Cut the 2 x 6 in half so you have two pieces 4 ft long , attach the casters to the bottom with same screws as above like so...
IMG_2531.JPG


Box without door so far, caster block is mounted underneath with leading edge beveled and brought out a bit to aid door closing.
IMG_2536.JPG


Closeup of the beveled front caster block with the draw hasps attached
IMG_2539.JPG


Foam was cut basically friction fit ,back first ,then top and bottom and sides added last so everything is tight against one another .I added a few washered screws to keep the middles tight to the plywood. I didnt want to use any kind of adhesive for fear it would impart taste or bad aroma to the kilned tobacco. The door piece is made almost a full inch less than the opening and washer screwed to the door , when closed it makes a pretty tight seal against the edges of the other foam. I will go back and tape the seams ,I don't think I need to photograph that. Pretty self explanatory. The shelf support brackets are mounted with 1/4-20 machine screws to the back with t-nuts. wood screws just wouldnt be strong enough.

IMG_2542.JPG



Wire shelves installed ,controller mounted (square box with an extension plate then a cover plate was customized to accept the controller for a clean fit . temp probe ran through the top ,then taped down with the same tape I'll tape the interior seams. Tomorrow I'll do the wiring which will be verbatim as Deluxestogie so I won't reitterrate or show pics.
IMG_2544.JPG


Good days work ! I can't wait to get it going .
 

Knucklehead

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Great job! You're going to love the aroma when you open the door on kilning tobacco.
 
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bonehead

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that looks like it is coming together quickly. it sure looks nice. i have a box something like that that i ferment beer in so i can control the temp. precisely and change it for the second ferment in the bottles.
 

DGBAMA

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nice and neat. looking great.

just for arguments sake, I ran mine for 48hrs at max temp with nothing in it to allow any shelf coatings, tape adhesives, wood treatments, etc to "offgas" before putting my first tobacco in. if you are just kilning (125 deg) I would run it 140-150; if you are going to flue cure, 165 is max temp for the process, so I would bring it up to 180 or so.
 

Smokin Harley

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Thank you all...Given the dimensions ,how many pounds do you guys think this kiln will handle ? and whats best way to load it , hanging the leaf or just pile it up and lay it on a shelf and let it go?
 

deluxestogie

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My own preference is to hang in the kiln whatever was strung on a wire for color-curing, and to tie hands of the stalk-cured varieties, then hang the tied hands in the kiln. Odd things get tossed onto the shelves of the kiln. Each wire string or tied hand is tagged with a Tyvek identification label.

Bob
 

DGBAMA

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Will hold quite a bit for kilning.

As far as loading, you will want to run it empty a few days and see how temp and RH stabilize. If it will maintain 120-125 deg and 60-70%rh, you can load any way you want to best use the space. If it wants to dry out, may look at putting the leaf (in proper case) into bags or totes do they maintain the proper moisture level longer without misting or adding extra moisture. If kilning in piles, it is good to restack the leaf once a week or so, center to outside outside to center, for uniform results. The center of the piles will be warmer and moister than the outer leaves.
 

DGBAMA

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The "big boys" and their big piles for fermenting, monitor the core temp of the pile, when it reaches a certain temperature, they unpile and restack.
 

Gmac

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I use Brent's Ziplock tote method in my kiln and can stack up to eight boxes in it if nessacery.
Simple and cost less than Marl---s.
 

Smokin Harley

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So far all systems are GO !!! , wires all attached where they go as per Deluxestogies description. plugged it in and no breakers have blown so I'm going to guess I did it right, not bad for a carpenter. It lit up at 77.5* and I set the S button and the up arrow to 160* . The crockpot is on high right now .I'll let it run a day or so to "break it in" .
How do I set the drop or range of temp ? Or is it preset within the controller ?? I tried reading the instructions but the jargon may as well be chinese.
I used a two wire extension cord (with 3 outlets on one end) from controller to the crockpot and a 20ft extension cord to supply power at the controller. I didn't make anything constant on within the system since I already have a power strip nearby.
Since I took the pic and started writing this post the temp is already up to 93* .

IMG_2546.JPG
 

deluxestogie

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For setting to 125ºF, I set the max (HS) to 125ºF, and the min (LS) to 121ºF. This cuts off heat when reaching 125ºF, and will typically drift down to 120ºF before beginning to rise again.

Setting the values is as easy as doing Karate with a Nintendo control pad.
  • Press "set" key for 3 seconds to enter the system parameters mode
  • press "up" or "down" to find the desired parameter (you'll need to set both LS and HS)
  • press "set" once to enter the displayed parameter (i.e. while HS is displayed, press "set" to be able to change its value)
  • press "up" or "down" to change to the desired value (e.g. while setting HS, alter value to 125)
  • press "Rst" to exit
Bob

EDIT: Is your foam insulation rated for as high as 160ºF?
 

Smokin Harley

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Bob, I pushed and held the S button and here is what lit up that I have to set ...

Code code instruction setting range default data unit


HC.......Heating /refrigeration H/C C no
CP... slewing range of temperature 1~30 2 *F
LA......floor level temperature control -58 *F
HA... Up limit temperature control~194 194 *F
PU.......delayed start 0-10 2 minutes
CA........tem. correction -10 ~10 0 *F

Not sure what any of these really mean. nor hat do I do with them . Maybe I dont need all of them since I'm only dealing with heat.
I'm going to guess the R button is Resume or Return to the normal temp display or as you said ,Exit.

Foam temp rating , I have no clue.

I'm wondering if my controller is the same as yours . I don't see a LS or HS...also , you wrote that yours came with a 9' temperature probe. Mine was only about 3'. Just enough to come out of the metal box out and turn 90* and go down the dead center of the box with about 8 inches hanging.

I did back off the display set to 125 .I'm not just checking to see how long it sits until it gets down to that. (heat maintenance check I suppose)
 

Smokin Harley

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ok I had all those separated when I wrote it , then it squished it all together once it came up on the monitor. Timed out before I could edit in the spaces . hope its legible.
 

Smokin Harley

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I'm going to guess I only need deal with the HA ,CP and PU codes... HA for up limit, CP for the drop and PU for the time of delay before the correction/heating
 
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