# Lightbulb Kiln



## Jason

Hey guys,

For those of you who have done this or know who has, i have a couple questions.

1. How big of a vent hole in the top and bottom would you make?
2. Do you need a fan?
3. Would the white covered metal racking for like a closet work for racking inside (Lowes had it for $6 for a 6 foot piece)
4. Does the box need to be super air tight since you are putting vent holes in?

Jason


----------



## rdnkmedic

Here's a link to a kiln I found. Not recommending this by any means but may give you some ideas. His is made from an old refrigerator. I am currently assembling the stuff to build one but I will use a freezer as it has only one compartment. Use this as a tool to improve or disprove your ideas. Just one more source for information.

http://www.rudieswoodwork.com/kiln.htm


----------



## brown down

Jason said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> For those of you who have done this or know who has, i have a couple questions.
> 
> 1. How big of a vent hole in the top and bottom would you make?
> 2. Do you need a fan?
> 3. Would the white covered metal racking for like a closet work for racking inside (Lowes had it for $6 for a 6 foot piece)
> 4. Does the box need to be super air tight since you are putting vent holes in?
> 
> Jason


you can get a shut off valve for a dust collection system for the hole size, it doesn't have to be air tight! the racking you described will work fine. you will need a fan, i put my facing downward not through the vent! you can use a computer fan for that! 

hope that answers your questions. you will want a thermostat to control the lights and i use that to control the fan so it isn't running continuously!

you want to cover your lamps with foil or that fire proof silver stuff do anything combustible that hits the lamps won't ignite!!!!!! thats a must! aluminum foil works but i use the fireproof stuff. can't remember the name of it! insulating your box will help hold the temp so your stat isn't turning the lamps on and off continuously

also go to an electrical supply house and get 130 v lamps they last a lot longer than standard 120 v lamps! thats what i run on all of my equipment and they also take a beating. you bump a standard lamp and they burn out, my lathe lamp has taken some serious bumps and hasn't blown yet


----------



## Jason

When you talk about covering the lamp with foil. I am not quite able to picture what you mean hear. Do you have a picture of what you mean


----------



## rdnkmedic

Another thing I have read is use a thermostat from a hot water heater. gives you a temp range up to 130 or so.


----------



## brown down

Jason said:


> When you talk about covering the lamp with foil. I am not quite able to picture what you mean hear. Do you have a picture of what you mean



you want to create a barrier from the lamps and any wood like a heat shield, the heat will still rise and do its job, but incandescent lamps get very hot, hot enough to ignite small fibers of wood! you should def clean your kiln out on a fairly reg basis!

don't wrap the lamps just cover them so falling debris like dust or even wax that melts off the wood, won't come in contact with the lamps!


----------



## Jason

BrownDown, I guess my brain isn't working at cause i cannot get my head around what y mean by covering the bulb. Do you mean to create a cage to put over it and then cover that with aluminum foil?

Jason


----------



## gridlockd

Jason,

I've built a small, cabinet style lightbulb kiln for bowl blanks and small pieces. all of the above advice is sound. wish I'd have had it when i built mine! i learned through trial and error and a good many ruined chunks of wood. 

i used wire closet shelves inside a 1/2" plywood cabinet. i lined the inside with insulating panels, silver side out to reflect the heat. i mounted two computer case fans in it, one down low as intake, one high as exhaust. thermostat controlled lightbulb in the bottom, all wired up to a piece of extension cord to plug in to a standard 110 outlet.

it works pretty well, cuts drying time down tremendously. i started with a regular 60 watt incandescent bulb, then switched to a low wattage heat lamp bulb. i keep the thermostat set on around 70ish, it kicks on and off throughout the day. fans are always on, in hindsight should have wired the fans in with the light. 

here's a link to the thermostat i bought, only bad thing is, it has to be mounted on the inside. but it was cheap and works well. 

here are a couple pics of my cabinet before i installed the fans: 

[attachment=23265][attachment=23266][attachment=23267][attachment=23268]

hope this helps,


----------



## Jason

wow, mine looks very similar. Mine is 30 tall, 24 wide and 16 deep. I have the same light setup but with a blue plastic electrical holder for the light. And the exact same shelving.
I have drilled 2 1 inch holes in the top and bottom.
I plan to use the double sided bubble silver sided insulation on the sides and top and back, leaving the floor like yours.

I am trying to find some fans that will plug into a standard 110 outlet (surge protector) and a thermostat that does the same.

Any suggestions on where to get the fans?


----------



## Jason

Also, would you use a high speed or low speed fan.

Jason


----------



## brown down

Jason said:


> Also, would you use a high speed or low speed fan.
> 
> Jason



i will post snap a picture today if i get a chance. your on the right track its just added protection thats all!!

i just used a computer fan i had lying around, just something to circulate the air around!!


----------



## gridlockd

+1 to what Jeff said on the computer fan. I had a couple i'd pulled from old PC cases laying around. they don't have to be high speed, just to circulate the air. I wired mine up to an old wall wart that provided the proper voltage. i used some speaker wire to give them added length on the cord, a little light soldering and electrical tape and it's done. I'll try to get some pics of the fans and wiring tonight to post.

On a side note to Jeff, I am following your saw mill post from the shadows, very excited to see that thing up and running! if you can get a video of it cutting i'd love to see it in use!


----------



## brown down

gridlockd said:


> +1 to what Jeff said on the computer fan. I had a couple i'd pulled from old PC cases laying around. they don't have to be high speed, just to circulate the air. I wired mine up to an old wall wart that provided the proper voltage. i used some speaker wire to give them added length on the cord, a little light soldering and electrical tape and it's done. I'll try to get some pics of the fans and wiring tonight to post.
> 
> On a side note to Jeff, I am following your saw mill post from the shadows, very excited to see that thing up and running! if you can get a video of it cutting i'd love to see it in use!



I should have everything done with it tomorrow if all goes well. thats the reason why i haven't been able to post pics of the mini kiln i have with the foil barrier.

once i get everything done on that mill i will surely take some pics and hopefully some video of it in action!


----------



## Vern Tator

I started a thread on this about a year ago ( Mini Kiln). Several people added great stuff to it. The foiled insulation really makes the heat focus, I can feel the reflected heat when I put my hand in. I use 130 volt heavy duty bulbs, they last longer. I also would put in 2 bulbs if I did it again, so when on burns out, you are not out of heat. The fan is a computer fan, pretty noisy but it makes a difference. I do peppermills and this makes it possible to get big chunks dry much, much faster then air drying.


----------



## jetcn1

Here is the kiln I built abou 4 years ago . It is made from walnut partical board. Its 54" x 30" x 30" deep. Insulated with 1" foil foam . I just use a thermometer to control the temp. On the top i put a cheap bath room fan and at the bottom I drilled a bunch of holes to control the air flow . the more holes you cover the higher the temp gets . I use 2- 100 watt flood lites for the heat source . It takes about 2 -3 weeks to dry a full load of spalted wood . It has worked great for all these years . Troy 

http://i1182.Rule #2/albums/x458/zumbrocalls/100_17011024x768_zps34389331.jpg
http://i1182.Rule #2/albums/x458/zumbrocalls/100_17001024x768_zps37a5faac.jpg
http://i1182.Rule #2/albums/x458/zumbrocalls/100_17021024x768_zps13fc13d3.jpg
http://i1182.Rule #2/albums/x458/zumbrocalls/100_17031024x768_zps3d77116e.jpg


----------



## brown down

sorry for the wait, building this mill has eaten up all of my time and energy!

this is what i was talking about, covering your lamps up, you can use that insulation or just cover your racks up.. i am one of those people who kinda go above and beyond safety, lamps create a lot of heat, I don't want any kind of small fibers floating down and landing on the lamps and igniting the rest of the timber, not to mention mine is hung in the shed with about 30 gallons of gas as well as a crap load of dried wood!

I pulled the layer back so you could see, you wanna leave some room between the lamp and the foil 

[attachment=23541]


----------

