I don't really have any suggestions for changes.
Bob
Bob
Deluxestogie's Endoskeletal Wood Tobacco Kiln / Flue-cure chamber
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Hey,
What are your thoughts on having cigar leaf in the kiln at the same time as flue cured, Burley, oriental, etc.?
What are your thoughts on having cigar leaf in the kiln at the same time as flue cured, Burley, oriental, etc.?
Smokin Harley
Well-Known Member
when I built my kiln I built a plywood box and insulated the INSIDE with the foil faced 1 inch foam. the seams and corners were all taped using aluminum foil tape . I did not glue or use any sort of adhesive to secure the foam , only cut them snug to the box inside measurement (friction fit),installed the top first then the sides (to hold the top up) and then lastly slid a snug bottom piece in ,and then as I said I taped all the corners and seams. I left the door edge of the sides a little heavy so that when the door is closed it makes a tight seal of its own(compression seal?)once the 6 draw hasps are secured and pinned. The door is insulated using the same foam and secured to the wooden door by screws and fender washers so the screw heads dont pull through the foam. When the kiln is running , the evaporated water forms a seal where the sides and door edges meet. I do notice from time to time a small pool of water on the floor at the bottom corner of the door, but that also serves as an indicator ...when the water stops dripping , the water vessel is most likely empty .
It makes no difference. They don't "meld." They all require 4 weeks of kilning.
I place the inverted lid of a large yogurt container beneath each corner of my kiln to keep the drips off the floor.
Bob
Smokin Harley
Well-Known Member
its a concrete slab floor. Its not a big deal. But I might install a drip trough/tray and maybe it will simply evaporate ,like a refrigerator does.
Bob,
Do you have any observables on the leaves to tell you whether to continue for another week?
I am about to complete 4 weeks but I have not been monitoring the water usage carefully. I just open up the kiln when I can and keep the Crockpot filled. I have observed that the cooling down time is shorter (from about 40 min to around 30 min). The kiln is in the garage so it basically operates in outside ambient temperature which has lowered from an average 70 to 60.
Very nice done!!
Kiln update
It's been nearly two years since I built this endoskeletal kiln. It has been in continuous use, with temps that hover between 120 and 125ºF. I have not yet used it as a flue-cure chamber.
My greatest concern was that the Tyvek tape, which seals all of the inside junctions, would lose its adhesive, and peel away. That has not happened. The tape looks as effective as it did when first applied.
The tightness of the seal provided by the silicone door gasket has gradually diminished. I believe this is the result of two effects: linear shrinkage, which has increased the tiny gaps at the corners of the gasket, and chronic compression (evidenced by less effort needed to latch the door hooks). This is not critical at the moment, but replacing the entire gasket with an uncut, continuous one, applied to the door, rather than the door frame, is on my list of improvements.
The XPS foam walls show no signs of damage or instability. The frame remains solid and true, though it was over-engineered. The outside top of the kiln serves as a seedling heater for two 1020 trays during the spring season.
I still haven't decided whether or not to test my luck by flue-curing (up to 165ºF), but I do plan to grow some plants this coming season that would benefit from flue-curing. I have until about mid July to make that decision. It would require creating a vent, which I am hesitant to do.
In summary, this construction approach has been durable under kilning conditions, and still functions well after two years of use.
Bob
It's been nearly two years since I built this endoskeletal kiln. It has been in continuous use, with temps that hover between 120 and 125ºF. I have not yet used it as a flue-cure chamber.
My greatest concern was that the Tyvek tape, which seals all of the inside junctions, would lose its adhesive, and peel away. That has not happened. The tape looks as effective as it did when first applied.
The tightness of the seal provided by the silicone door gasket has gradually diminished. I believe this is the result of two effects: linear shrinkage, which has increased the tiny gaps at the corners of the gasket, and chronic compression (evidenced by less effort needed to latch the door hooks). This is not critical at the moment, but replacing the entire gasket with an uncut, continuous one, applied to the door, rather than the door frame, is on my list of improvements.
The XPS foam walls show no signs of damage or instability. The frame remains solid and true, though it was over-engineered. The outside top of the kiln serves as a seedling heater for two 1020 trays during the spring season.
I still haven't decided whether or not to test my luck by flue-curing (up to 165ºF), but I do plan to grow some plants this coming season that would benefit from flue-curing. I have until about mid July to make that decision. It would require creating a vent, which I am hesitant to do.
In summary, this construction approach has been durable under kilning conditions, and still functions well after two years of use.
Bob
Endoskeletal Kiln Control Mess-Up
Original photo of the controller.
Once my kiln had operated well for about two years, I became concerned that, if the controller suddenly failed, my process would be interrupted for a week or more, while I searched for then waited to receive a new controller. So, I purchased a spare controller (complete with temp probe), for around $15. That was about a year ago.
Today, shortly after refilling the water in the Crockpot, I noticed that the temp was reported as 158ºF! I immediately unplugged the power to the Crockpot, and opened the kiln again. Lukewarm!
After cleaning the temp probe, and randomly tapping and thumping the controller (as though a vacuum tube might be loose), it still showed the same high temp. I disconnected the two probe wires, then reconnected the two probe wires.
Was the problem the probe and/or its cable, or was the controller toast? I reached for my extra controller, and discovered that I had actually purchased two identical extra controllers. Wise decision, Bob.
Although these new controllers looked just the same, their model number was slightly different. Fortunately, the specs for the temp probe are printed clearly on the controller's tag. It matched those for the old controller.
I detached the old temp probe, and replaced it with a new one--loosen 2 screws, tighten them again. The temp immediately read 78ºF, and began to rise. Yay!
All is functioning normally now, and I didn't even have to read through the Chinenglish instructions again, or re-wire a replacement controller. Now, I still have two extra controllers, and one extra temp probe.
Bob
Original photo of the controller.
Once my kiln had operated well for about two years, I became concerned that, if the controller suddenly failed, my process would be interrupted for a week or more, while I searched for then waited to receive a new controller. So, I purchased a spare controller (complete with temp probe), for around $15. That was about a year ago.
Today, shortly after refilling the water in the Crockpot, I noticed that the temp was reported as 158ºF! I immediately unplugged the power to the Crockpot, and opened the kiln again. Lukewarm!
After cleaning the temp probe, and randomly tapping and thumping the controller (as though a vacuum tube might be loose), it still showed the same high temp. I disconnected the two probe wires, then reconnected the two probe wires.
Was the problem the probe and/or its cable, or was the controller toast? I reached for my extra controller, and discovered that I had actually purchased two identical extra controllers. Wise decision, Bob.
Although these new controllers looked just the same, their model number was slightly different. Fortunately, the specs for the temp probe are printed clearly on the controller's tag. It matched those for the old controller.
I detached the old temp probe, and replaced it with a new one--loosen 2 screws, tighten them again. The temp immediately read 78ºF, and began to rise. Yay!
All is functioning normally now, and I didn't even have to read through the Chinenglish instructions again, or re-wire a replacement controller. Now, I still have two extra controllers, and one extra temp probe.
Bob
That was really a good idea to have a replacement controller !
I wonder : you should perhaps try to put a second controller in the kiln, set up to a slightly higher temp, so if the first stop working, the second would cut the power to avoid a waste of good tobacco, no ?
I wonder : you should perhaps try to put a second controller in the kiln, set up to a slightly higher temp, so if the first stop working, the second would cut the power to avoid a waste of good tobacco, no ?
I'm always buying extra stuff for an emergency. I have 2 spare controllers too. Just this past summer I bought a 30# can of R-134 ( refrigerant for cars) because the can I had was getting just a little low. I took my new spare to store with the other one and decided to clean up the area a bit and what do I discover? I already had a spare. So now I have a spare to the spare. I do the same thing with seeds. I always save 2 sets of each.
The Crockpot itself is internally temperature regulated, and is running at only about 70 Watts on its "low" setting. Since I look at the temperature display on the controller every time I walk within view (maybe 20 times a day), it probably can't overheat too much. When the temp normally drops to 120ºF, causing the Crockpot to resume heating, it takes an hour or more to heat back up to 125ºF, which is the maximum set point.
Then it's not the result of old age and failing memory? Whew!
Bob
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
I have knocked around ideas of building a kiln/flue. I've got plenty of time before I'd need one. Recently we knocked out the wall to our extra bedroom and made the living room about 15x21. It gives us more room but it has eliminated the idea of building a kiln/flue in that room. I have no basement, garage, or covered porch. My question is does anyone have a kiln/flue which is exposed to the outdoor weather directly? If I build one it will have to be outdoors. As it stands I plan on just air curing but I'd love to age some leaf and have a good bit of tobacco to puff on instead of aging it 6months to a year naturally.
riverstone
Well-Known Member
Mine is in the carport; just a roof attached to the house. It get no sun directly although the roof get sun for half a day. I get a nice breeze (or howling gale) blowing through so I colour cure in there as well and dry in my sheds/workshop. Seems to work for me.
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input River. I wish I had a covered carport. My kiln/flue will have to be right in the elements and that kinda concerns me cause it gets hot as hell in AL. I would think it would need maybe extra insulation or something like that. I dunno? Air curing should be pretty easy with our high humidity and hot temps in Aug n Sept.
I have often pondered the use of a resin storage shed as a kiln. For example:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubbermaid...l-Interior-Dimensions-4-33-ft-x-6-ft/50148200
The one shown above includes a floor. Presumably, these can withstand hot, summertime, outdoor temperatures. If you can determine the actual plastic used, then you can look up its physical properties (and max working temp) at USPlastic.com: http://www.usplastic.com/knowledgebase/article.aspx?contentkey=598 or one of their other knowledgebase articles.
If you're handy with construction, you could make a smaller one for outdoor use. Polycarbonate sheet is definitely stable at kiln and flue-cure temps.
http://www.polycarbonatestore.com/ and can be constructed with aluminum channel bars.
The trick would be rigging safe outdoor electrical to the shed.
Bob
EDIT: With a kiln outdoors, the colder and windier the ambient conditions, the higher the electric bill.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubbermaid...l-Interior-Dimensions-4-33-ft-x-6-ft/50148200
The one shown above includes a floor. Presumably, these can withstand hot, summertime, outdoor temperatures. If you can determine the actual plastic used, then you can look up its physical properties (and max working temp) at USPlastic.com: http://www.usplastic.com/knowledgebase/article.aspx?contentkey=598 or one of their other knowledgebase articles.
If you're handy with construction, you could make a smaller one for outdoor use. Polycarbonate sheet is definitely stable at kiln and flue-cure temps.
http://www.polycarbonatestore.com/ and can be constructed with aluminum channel bars.
The trick would be rigging safe outdoor electrical to the shed.
Bob
EDIT: With a kiln outdoors, the colder and windier the ambient conditions, the higher the electric bill.
Preparing the Kiln for Flue-Curing
As July 2017 approached, I knew it would be a moment of truth for the flue-curing capability of my endoskeletal kiln. For several years, I've pondered the sort of vent that I would have to carve into my perfectly happy kiln. And there was also the question of whether or not my 95 watt, 2 quart Crockpot was capable of cranking up to 165ºF.
I'm kind of slow on some things. It was a "Doh!" moment when I considered that for the past year I have had to refill the 2 quart Crockpot every two days. At 120-125ºF, the kiln loses a quart of water a day. And that's with the foam corner blocks closed.
If the two front corner blocks (which are mounted with Tyvek tape) are simply left open during yellowing, the chamber will lose over a quart of water each day. Considering that a quart of water weighs 2 pounds, then 4 or 5 pounds of fresh leaf should be able to evaporate their water content easily--maybe. That's the theory, anyway. So...no savage vent will be created. I'll just leave those corners open.
I decided that, with temps up to 165ºF, I would like to have a second opinion on what the real temp inside the chamber is at any given moment. So I mounted my very long probe compost thermometer (good up to 200ºF) into the kiln.
With 2" thick XPS foam, I pushed the pointy end of the thermometer through the side wall at a location near the top, while avoiding the wood supports.
It's tip is within a few inches of the digital probe. During tests, both temperature displays (digital and analog) agree from room temp, up to 165ºF.
Yesterday, I set the controller to 165ºF, and recorded the temp rise every 15 minutes for 7 hours. On the Low setting, the 2 quart Crockpot only managed 148ºF, and that at a painfully slow climb. Switched to the Hi setting (all 95 watts cranking), it made it to 158ºF by 2 am. I left it on, and went to bed. At 10 am it achieved 163ºF with sunlight striking the back of the kiln, then fell back to 158ºF. Not good enough.
Today, I purchased a 6 quart (240 watt) Crockpot ($18.75). I went for a win. I set it on high, leaving the crock empty. Boom! Right to 165ºF.
It's 4 feet rest on 3/4" wood, to hold it away from the XPS foam floor. The power cords for the Crockpot as well as the circulation fan pass through a trapezoid shaped, tapered hole large enough for the plug ends to clear. The matching foam block was removed, the old cord replaced with the new cord, and the block was reinserted.
Tyvek tape seals the trapezoid block on the exterior. I made sure to tag the cord of new Crockpot, so there would be no confusion as to which cord goes to which device. (The fan plugs into a female extension from the speed controller, and the Crockpot plugs into a female extension from the switched circuit of the digital controller.)
I've already been sun-curing the trashy VA Bright leaf that yellowed at the bottom of the plants. Some time this week, I may be able to do a flue-cure run.
In the mean time, I'm running the chamber at 165ºF to cook off any stinky aromas from the new Crockpot as well as the interior of a chamber accustomed to lower temps.
I planted only 8 VA Bright plants. That should give me 4 big hands of flue-cured leaf, sufficient for my pipe blending. And then there is the Prancak N-1, at least some of which I will flue-cure. So there will be no impressively huge batches of flue-cured leaf coming out of the chamber this summer.
Bob
As July 2017 approached, I knew it would be a moment of truth for the flue-curing capability of my endoskeletal kiln. For several years, I've pondered the sort of vent that I would have to carve into my perfectly happy kiln. And there was also the question of whether or not my 95 watt, 2 quart Crockpot was capable of cranking up to 165ºF.
I'm kind of slow on some things. It was a "Doh!" moment when I considered that for the past year I have had to refill the 2 quart Crockpot every two days. At 120-125ºF, the kiln loses a quart of water a day. And that's with the foam corner blocks closed.
If the two front corner blocks (which are mounted with Tyvek tape) are simply left open during yellowing, the chamber will lose over a quart of water each day. Considering that a quart of water weighs 2 pounds, then 4 or 5 pounds of fresh leaf should be able to evaporate their water content easily--maybe. That's the theory, anyway. So...no savage vent will be created. I'll just leave those corners open.
I decided that, with temps up to 165ºF, I would like to have a second opinion on what the real temp inside the chamber is at any given moment. So I mounted my very long probe compost thermometer (good up to 200ºF) into the kiln.
With 2" thick XPS foam, I pushed the pointy end of the thermometer through the side wall at a location near the top, while avoiding the wood supports.
It's tip is within a few inches of the digital probe. During tests, both temperature displays (digital and analog) agree from room temp, up to 165ºF.
Yesterday, I set the controller to 165ºF, and recorded the temp rise every 15 minutes for 7 hours. On the Low setting, the 2 quart Crockpot only managed 148ºF, and that at a painfully slow climb. Switched to the Hi setting (all 95 watts cranking), it made it to 158ºF by 2 am. I left it on, and went to bed. At 10 am it achieved 163ºF with sunlight striking the back of the kiln, then fell back to 158ºF. Not good enough.
Today, I purchased a 6 quart (240 watt) Crockpot ($18.75). I went for a win. I set it on high, leaving the crock empty. Boom! Right to 165ºF.
It's 4 feet rest on 3/4" wood, to hold it away from the XPS foam floor. The power cords for the Crockpot as well as the circulation fan pass through a trapezoid shaped, tapered hole large enough for the plug ends to clear. The matching foam block was removed, the old cord replaced with the new cord, and the block was reinserted.
Tyvek tape seals the trapezoid block on the exterior. I made sure to tag the cord of new Crockpot, so there would be no confusion as to which cord goes to which device. (The fan plugs into a female extension from the speed controller, and the Crockpot plugs into a female extension from the switched circuit of the digital controller.)
I've already been sun-curing the trashy VA Bright leaf that yellowed at the bottom of the plants. Some time this week, I may be able to do a flue-cure run.
In the mean time, I'm running the chamber at 165ºF to cook off any stinky aromas from the new Crockpot as well as the interior of a chamber accustomed to lower temps.
I planted only 8 VA Bright plants. That should give me 4 big hands of flue-cured leaf, sufficient for my pipe blending. And then there is the Prancak N-1, at least some of which I will flue-cure. So there will be no impressively huge batches of flue-cured leaf coming out of the chamber this summer.
Bob
During the roughly 6 weeks that consecutive batches of flue-curing are under way, I frequently need to glance at the flue-curing temperature graph, in order to recall the correct temps for each stage. Rather than hunt for the graph each time, I change my Windows desktop background image to display the graph.
If you will be doing a flue-cure, right-click the image above (in most Web browsers), then choose to download (or save) the image to your computer. In Windows, the usual choices for the desktop background image are stored in C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper, [remember WWW] which is where you can save the file. After it is saved (again, in Windows), right click an open space on your desktop and select Personalize. At Background, select Image | Browse, and locate the newly downloaded graph. When you're tired of seeing the flue-curing graph in your sleep, repeat the Personalize | Background setting and you can easily revert to your preferred background. AND...the graph will still be in your Wallpaper folder for next year!
Bob
If you will be doing a flue-cure, right-click the image above (in most Web browsers), then choose to download (or save) the image to your computer. In Windows, the usual choices for the desktop background image are stored in C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper, [remember WWW] which is where you can save the file. After it is saved (again, in Windows), right click an open space on your desktop and select Personalize. At Background, select Image | Browse, and locate the newly downloaded graph. When you're tired of seeing the flue-curing graph in your sleep, repeat the Personalize | Background setting and you can easily revert to your preferred background. AND...the graph will still be in your Wallpaper folder for next year!
Bob
mwaller
Well-Known Member
Hi Bob -
I've been reading this thread and your thread about thread on the cozy can. When flue curing, do ever need to add water to the crock pot, or are you simply running it dry the whole time? Thanks!
I've been reading this thread and your thread about thread on the cozy can. When flue curing, do ever need to add water to the crock pot, or are you simply running it dry the whole time? Thanks!
Similar threads
