Deluxestogie's Endoskeletal Wood Tobacco Kiln / Flue-cure chamber

[Knucklehead]

Thanks. I haven't completed the first 30 day run, and I'm already delighted with the capacity. It has almost the same capacity as my car trunk.

Bob

I get to empty my first load of cigar varieties in three days. I'm ready with a new, larger load of mostly sun cured flue cure varieties with a few additional cigar varieties I found in a forgotten box (webmost's magic rubbed off on me). The sun cured leaf was stored in 2.5 gal. zip locks (not vapor proof) and were extremely dried out, which means they haven't done much natural aging due to the lack of moisture. I'll give them a month in the kiln then store them in vapor proof poly nylon bags. This is fun.

You did a great job on the kiln build. As a first time kiln owner I'm still excited. Mine has that same refrigerator type gentle hum you mentioned. It is a soothing sound.

 

[DGBAMA]

Bob and Knucklehead, you both should be delighted with your builds and I am sure you are both enjoying the wonderful smell by now, nearing the end of first runs.

Knucks....... Took you long enough..... Bet now you with you had done it sooner. Lol.

 

[Knucklehead]

Bob and Knucklehead, you both should be delighted with your builds and I am sure you are both enjoying the wonderful smell by now, nearing the end of first runs.

Knucks....... Took you long enough..... Bet now you with you had done it sooner. Lol.

You betcha by golly!
But I'm kind of glad I waited as I had the opportunity to see other kiln builds that gave me ideas about how to build mine. I'm tickled pink. (As in Owens-Corning rigid foam pink)

 

[deluxestogie]

Speaking of tickled pink, both Knucks and I have toyed with the idea of a usable-size Crockpot kiln built from 2" XPS foam, but without a wood frame--and cut from a single $35 4' x 8' sheet.

Various layouts are possible. JB Weld Plastic Epoxy can bond the XPS foam securely, and Tyvek tape would seal it. I'm still pondering the hinge--hopefully something more durable than just Tyvek tape--and a latch--possibly just some self-stick Velcro. I (or Knucklehead) will create a new thread for it, once the details begin to make sense.

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

I like that idea, especially for new folks. A nice set of build plans for a 100-150 $ kiln build could benefit quite a few folks. Perhaps two blueprints,, a single sheet build and a two sheet build.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Its already been done. That was how I made my first kiln. It was all 1 and 2 inch rigid foam board. Inside was a crockpot and a hot water heater T-stat. I cut a small door into the front for access to the crockpot. I used a drywall saw and cut the door with a 45% angle as I sawed. This made it fit like a cork, so no need for hinges. The "door" was on the front side. It was about 2 ft by about 2 ft.

 

[BarG]

All in all a great Idea. Most people are not so careful with their stuff. Personally, a rigid framework is ideal.

 

[BarG]

When you overthink the framing needs for a small box and insulation ,you make more work and cost.

First of all Hindsight is 20-20. That being said use your material dimensions to work for you as far as width and height and depth. Don't forget thickness of your rigid insulation. Match your frame material to that to avoid off sets just for 1 example. $5.00 ripguide to your skillsaw lacking a tablesaw can make 2x4 2x6 2x10 into any size you need. I still call hand held circular saws skill saws.

 

[BarG]

Well by Golly, Golly Olly , I ain't heard that in 40 years.

 

[deluxestogie]

Fan Impact

What a surprise this morning. I had timed 1-1/2 quarts of water in the Crockpot to run out in exactly 3 days, while leaving the leaf still in low case. Today, when I carried 1-1/2 quarts of hot tap water to the kiln, and opened her up, there was still about 3/4 quart of water still in the pot. I had noticed that the temp was cycling more slowly.

My guess is that the fan is improving the sensitivity of the temp probe, and that the entire volume of the kiln is better reflected in the temp readings. The Crockpot is powered less of the time, less water is evaporated, and the world is a happier place.

Looking a gift horse in the mouth, I'll add that the weather has been warmer. I don't know how much of an impact that has had on this indoor kiln.

So now, I've set the calendar to add water every 5 days.

Bob

 

[Michibacy]

Considering temperature is in a correlation to humidity, I can see the fan drying out the air/evening out the humidity thus making it more sensitive. Good call Bob, probably wouldn't have considered it.

Cheers

 

[deluxestogie]

...probably wouldn't have considered it.

I hadn't. I installed the fan mostly because I knew I would eventually need one for flue-curing, and because I found one really cheap. In small kilns and small flue-cure chambers, heat convection seems to do an adequate job of maintaining circulation. Now, with the larger kiln, a constant fan appears to make a significant difference.

The remaining hurdle for flue-curing is to devise a vent that does not impact the seal and insulation by its design.

Bob

 

[Michibacy]

Perhaps working off of a Displacement Ventilation design would be helpful. Much like an air lock in a laboratory. A chamber with 2 solenoid valves, 1 on each end. Intake valve opens, pumps in an amount of air needed to exhaust. Closes, 2nd solenoid opens, releasing air and closing. This (or something along the lines of this) should vent air without compromising the seal.)

Perhaps a walk through Lowes' HVAC area would help. Electronic dampeners may help if it could be coupled to be controlled by a humidistat/Thermostat.

OR!

A simple positive displacement set up (used in filtered HVAC systems), one in inlet fan with an electronic dampener (on the outside) on the lower area of your chamber. and one exhaust fan with a dampener towards the top of the chamber. I suggest filtering the inlet air with a charcoal filter.

(look at ventilation for MM grow tents/grow rooms)

As for the insulation, perhaps "preheating" the intake air could help keep the exchange of heat. Maybe a thermometer tied to a 110 heater coil from a local pet store could be used. (60-100 watt). A chunk of duct with a heater coil in it could work).

Thinking over everything, perhaps only 1 fan is needed to create the positive displacement factor.

 

[deluxestogie]

My thoughts on a vent are tending toward a simple, hinged wedge cut into the foam of the upper door, with a drip cup below it on the exterior.

Cross section. Interior to the right.

While closed, the insulation value is still fairly intact. If the bottom edge, when viewed facing the door exterior, is also cut at an angle, the vent block would come to a point at the bottom. This would permit a sensitive range of vent opening.

The real dilemma here is the anchorage of the hinge. The foam alone is not structurally sound enough to hold screws. I suppose I could place a 3/4" thick (1" nominal) strip of wood behind the two attachments of the hinge. If the top of the vent block is immediately below the top of the door frame, then the upper hinge mount block could also be anchored to the door frame for stability.

The knob handle can be bolted from the inside, supported by a fender washer.

Bob

 

[Michibacy]

...Much more simple Bob...

As for the hinge backing, perhaps a piece of the white composite decking material would be good? I have some that has anti fungal/anti bacterial additives (used to supposedly keep mold growth to a minimum on decks). It's much lighter than wood and have some properties that may be desirable.

 

[Matty]

If you want to use screws, get some of these anchors.

 

[deluxestogie]

Happiness is a Big Kiln

First batch came out this morning. The weather was perfect. I shut off the power to the Crockpot and fan last night, and braced the kiln door partially open. Humidity was high overnight. So by this morning, all the leaf could not only be handled easily, but could also be immediately bagged. The odd exception was the huge hand of Swarr-Hibshman, which needs to dry down just a bit, before I bag it.

Above, the kiln is now fully loaded for the next batch. You can see the positioning of the fan. The contents of the basket is a string of Vuelta Abajo mud lugs (volado, for the jargon oriented) which were just stuffed into a ripped 1 gallon Ziplock, to keep them from falling through.

I've also placed a half-dozen entire stalks of sun-cured Djebel and Cyprus Latakia on the top of the lower shelf.

The fan hangs from the wire shelf. To the right, which is the location of the fan's intake, there is about 1" of clearance. Using the fan controller, I keep this set to a very gentle breeze.

As you all know, leaf should rest for at least a few days after coming out of the kiln, unless you just can't resist. I rolled a puro of fresh-off-the-griddle Vuelta Abajo upper leaf--filler, binder and wrapper. I just tore the filler bunch in half, and combined the two halves, utilizing the enscrunchado method. All of the leaf is a dark EMS. Since it was made from the first 5 smallish leaves that came out of the bag, the wrapper is ugly--too ugly to photograph. It has a small leak near the head, so I'm smoking it like a flute--one finger over the tiny hole. It's a very humid day, and the filler was in slightly higher case than I normally use, so the burn is sluggish. But it does burn to a white ash. There is no hint of harshness. Strength is medium. The aroma is woody, somewhat earthy, but lacking the breadth of a blended filler. Truly delicious, especially considering the haphazard construction.

I've recently been forced to smoke a selection of gift cigars (Diesel, Muwat, Drew Estates, etc.). I am so happy to finally be flush with rolling leaf again.

I LOVE THIS KILN!

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

Sounds like you are a happy camper. Enjoy!

 

[rustycase]

Nice looking leaf, ds! Gosh you have done a wonder job !!

When fastening xps ridgid foam insulation sheets it might be possible to do like the stitch together kayaks, using copper wire??
Glued and screwed with the anchors Matty showed, fastening a strongback onto the door panel, and its frame, would probably be the best method, on the cheap.
A properly sized kiln for it's load is always beneficial... rc

 

[ladaok]

Iwas thinking, an old chest freezer with all the refrigeration plant ripped out of it, placed on end with a base board on castors if necessary would be the way to go & cheap !