Drying Lumber in a Heatwave RFV Kiln

Our RF technology can be applied to many products for a variety of uses, however the forest products industry has found the most use of it. Drying lumber with our technology has many benefits, and the technology works with a wide array of species.

Benefits

While conventional drying methods provide acceptable drying results for many applications, they have their problems. Our process have solved many of these problems and can work well as a replacement for conventional methods, or can work well in tandem with conventional drying practices.

Conventional drying often leaves much to be desired in terms of quality. For example, a typical conventionally dried charge must be stickered, often produces kiln-wets and is limited to smaller size lumber when drying past the surface. Lumber dried in our RFV kilns need not be stickered making handling simpler. Also, our kilns monitor moisture content throughout the drying cycle to ensure no kiln wets are produced. When drying larger size timbers Heatwaves' technology dries evenly to the core of each piece.

Another advantage with our process is the time it takes to dry a charge. Most charges can be dried to the core in 4-5 days whereas a conventional charge may take up to 45 days to dry just the outer shell of a timber.

Other Benefits

  • This is a high tech solution local to Oregon.
  • Most lumber dried is second growth lumber.
  • The Green effort:
    • Energy Efficiency: RFV use less energy per gallon than than conventional kilns.
    • Drying in a closed environment: RFV only emits water filtered through charcoal filters.
    • Balancing pH: Our water emissions balance the pH levels of the city's water system.
    • We do not add to green house gas emissions with steam stacks.
    • Our kilns are powered by electricity which is a very clean energy source in the Pacific Northwest.
    • We do not add to the global warming problem.

Species

Heatwaves' provides kilns for both hardwoods and softwoods. Our testing has provided us with insight lumber drying applications. Among the species that dry exceptionally well in our kilns are:

  • Softwoods
  • Douglas Fir -- High grade Douglas Fir products are ideal candidates for RFV drying.
  • Hemlock -- Quality and uniform drying of Hemlock has been made much easier with our kilns.
  • Pine -- Quick drying schedules and exceptional quality can be expected with pine lumber.
  • Cedar -- Specialty manufacturers and timber framers alike will enjoy having quality dried Cedar products.
  • Hardwoods
  • Red Oak -- Drying times can be as low as 172 hours for Red Oak squares.
  • Birch/Maple -- Birch and Maple dry exceptionally well in our kilns providing unmatched moisture content uniformity.
  • Aspen/Poplar -- Maintaining straightness and color, this hard to dry product is well-suited for RFV drying.

Additionally, Heatwaves' kilns are exceptional for veneer products from both the hardwood and softwood families.