Then it will always be full, which I found to not be a good thing. Others have been satisfied with that approach.
Bob
Knuckleheads Wooden Box Kiln Build
- Thread starter Knucklehead
- Start date
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Bob
Personally, when I had a kiln (that required water) I never used the siphon set up. I liked opening my kiln everyday to get a first hand look at things. An auto filling crockpot would make me lazy.
BarG
Founding Member
You just like admiring your handy work!
bonehead
Well-Known Member
i am already lazy. i wonder what i would become? ooo wait i would have to build one first.
Think I should stain it and add some gingerbread curlicues at the corners? I've been thinking about a smoking bench off one side. lol.
BarG
Founding Member
Yes! put a finish on the outside in your spare time. And a table for inspecting and sorting your leaf. heh heh.
The outside finish will help .Try some marine varnish. It will seal it even further.
1 coat is 25% seal 2 coats is 50 % seal and so on.
Add A vent. Just drill a hole , easy to plug.
The outside finish will help .Try some marine varnish. It will seal it even further.
1 coat is 25% seal 2 coats is 50 % seal and so on.
Add A vent. Just drill a hole , easy to plug.
BarG
Founding Member
Me neither, but mine has always been irregular. I move the lid around and experiment with water levels depending on season.
The season is now to start mine up again.
The season is now to start mine up again.
I've been thinking about a vent. Top or bottom or will it matter? I know hot air rises but I also thought moist air was heavier than dry air. I don't guess it will matter with the fan stirring around the air?
I'm working on an invention that will vent only humid air and leave the hot air in the box. LOL. Just kidding.
I'm working on an invention that will vent only humid air and leave the hot air in the box. LOL. Just kidding.
BarG
Founding Member
Me neither, but mine has always been irregular. I move the lid around and experiment with water levels depending on season.
The season is now to start mine up again.
BarG
Founding Member
I've been thinking about a vent. Top or bottom or will it matter? I know hot air rises but I also thought moist air was heavier than dry air. I don't guess it will matter with the fan stirring around the air?
I'm working on an invention that will vent only humid air and leave the hot air in the box. LOL. Just kidding.
Lol, Heh heh,
BarG
Founding Member
Find a way to dispel the humidity and neutrilize the hot air and you could save the planet.
I finished the electricals tonight. The little controller was a little more difficult to wire than I thought. Some help from my friends, and some internet digging around scored me a schematic. There is a different way to wire it if the power and load are the same voltage. Anyway, it's up and running. I ran some trials at 85 and 90 degrees and it's cutting off and on just fine. I programmed in a 5 degree difference in temp before it cuts back on. I'm now running it up to 175 to burn off any nasties. The crock pot is empty right now.
The sensor mounted top center.
Interior after wiring. I used extension cords to make my wiring. The male ends plug to an outlet, the female ends go into the kiln. One for crock pot that is temp controlled. One for fan which is speed controlled.
Front and side views of the temp control and fan speed control mounted to top outside of kiln.
The sensor mounted top center.
Interior after wiring. I used extension cords to make my wiring. The male ends plug to an outlet, the female ends go into the kiln. One for crock pot that is temp controlled. One for fan which is speed controlled.
Front and side views of the temp control and fan speed control mounted to top outside of kiln.
Attachments
BarG
Founding Member
It will work.
I forgot to mention, I mounted the controller in a 4x4x4 electrical box that I got from Lowe's and cut the hole for the controller in the cover with a jig saw. The controller has some adjustable ears that snap back on after inserting the controller in the hole, and they hold it tight to the cover.
DGBAMA
Well-Known Member
Well done.
Great work. You may want to rig a way to hold the extension plugs off the floor of the kiln. Also, if the knob on the Crockpot lid is plastic, it will likely slump with the heat. It can be replaced with a wood drawer pull.
Bob
Bob
Bob pulled the wiring diagram off the video and made it a jpeg image. I'm posting it here. Thanks Bob.
My first kilning run. I have about 15 varieties from my 2013 crop in bags, and 9 varieties from 2014 hanging from the shelves. I have around 15 more cigar varieties in the shop that I need to hydrate enough to move before I can add them to the kiln. I will have to make some short hooks from coat hangers to keep the hanging hands above the crock pot. I have my temp controller set up to cut on at 120F and to cut off at 130F. The heat builds rather rapidly to 130F with the crock pot set on high, but very, very slowly drifts back down to 120F before it cuts back on. Humidity is stuck at 68%. I'll keep an eye on it to see how humidity changes after the leaf has reached a saturation point, I don't know if it will start rising after that or not. I'm extremely pleased at how well it is maintaining temp and humidity. It was almost a plug and play operation from the start. I had to crack the crock pot lid open a little bit more at the beginning to reach 68% humidity, but once there, it has stayed there. I still don't have a vent and will try to just play with the crock pot opening to maintain humidity. That would be the best case scenario as I will also lose heat through a vent. Exhaust fan is set on medium and it is moving a nice volume of air with a low velocity. I really like the bathroom exhaust fan and the ability to regulate speed with the fan speed control switch.
sansonPR
Well-Known Member
Nice kiln!!!
Thank you, sir!
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