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Varying MC kiln dried red oak

12/4/18       
NCC Member

I just removed my first load of 4/4 red oak from our Nyle L53 DH kiln. All my sample boards were reading 6.5 to 7.5 MC before I shut down and removed the load. Now that the wood is in the shop for further processing I have discovered a wide variety of MC even within an individual board. I am using a Wagner pinless meter set to 63 specific gravity. The oak is pretty wild and knotty. I am obviously not trying to get a reading on any knots, but on clear portions of the boards. It seems the more uniform clear material from boards cut near the bark are more consistent and lower MC. The rest of the boards are ranging from 7 to 12 percent even within the same board. Is the wild knotty grain and potential density difference causing the inconsistent readings or has it just dried that unevenly for the same reason. I have dried several loads of ash with similar characteristics and had no trouble at all with consistent even drying. Any wisdom you could share would be much appreciated!

12/5/18       #2: Varying MC kiln dried red oak ...
Bill Smith

Website: https://www.esf.edu/wus/

Higher density than assumed will result in higher %MC readings with pinless meters. And "pretty wild and knotty" wood is typically higher density. Confirm %MC is as desired with a few pin meter readings or oven dry testing.

12/9/18       #3: Varying MC kiln dried red oak ...
NCC Member

Thank you for the input. Pin meter corroborates the pinless meters story. I think I narrowed down my problem, but still a little confused. I discovered a wide range of MC in my other stacks that were cut at the same time and exposed to the same air drying conditions. So, evidently the load did not enter the kiln at similar MC and somehow I ended up with samples that represented the lower MC. I am not sure why there was a 20% or more difference in MC on this oak from air drying. That has not been my experience with the other hardwoods we have been working with.

12/14/18       #4: Varying MC kiln dried red oak ...
Conrad Stanley Member

Thanks for the information.

12/15/18       #5: Varying MC kiln dried red oak ...
Gene Wengert-WoodDoc

It is not unusual to see a wide range of green MCs in oak. For that reason, we do need to choose samples as carefully as possible to make sure we get the wettest. In the kiln run itself, the pinless meter cannot be used to measure the MC accurately. Even a pin meter is not perfect. So, the oven test is the most reliable. With the meters, you need to add a few days of equalizing to make sure you have a final uniform MC.


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