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Thread: Weight of a Loaded VT Solar Kiln

  1. #1
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    Weight of a Loaded VT Solar Kiln

    Hello there,

    1) Would anyone be willing to speculate the weight of a fully-loaded Virginia Tech Solar Kiln?

    2) Anyone here have/seen something similar on the roof of a structure?

    I saw a great thread here about workshops above ground level with solutions for hoisting machines and materials.

    Thank you.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt McCoy View Post
    Hello there,

    1) Would anyone be willing to speculate the weight of a fully-loaded Virginia Tech Solar Kiln?

    2) Anyone here have/seen something similar on the roof of a structure?

    I saw a great thread here about workshops above ground level with solutions for hoisting machines and materials.

    Thank you.
    It depends upon which kiln model that you build, as well as the charge of lumber.

    Using my 1,600 bd ft model as an example, empty it probably weighs around 1,500 lbs. Filled with 1,600 bd ft of 4/4 green oak it will weigh around 12,000 lbs.

  3. #3
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    Thank you Scott. The plans I'm looking at hold approximately 750 to 1000 bd ft.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt McCoy View Post
    Thank you Scott. The plans I'm looking at hold approximately 750 to 1000 bd ft.
    It depends on the species. The 1000 bd ft number is for 4/4 oak. Figure around 8,000 - 8,500 lbs loaded for the 1k bd ft size.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott T Smith View Post
    It depends on the species. The 1000 bd ft number is for 4/4 oak. Figure around 8,000 - 8,500 lbs loaded for the 1k bd ft size.
    Thanks for your time and expertise, Scott.

    Here's a bit more about my project. I have a shop about 5 mins. from downtown Dallas. It's in a gentrifying neighborhood, but on a old mixed-use industrial block. I have an opportunity to store a nice sawmill at my shop, in exchange for the use of the mill. There are trees that always come down after spring storms here, so I think it would be interesting to have an "urban reclamation" sawmill to put those trees back into good use. A solar kiln would take up valuable square footage, so I had the silly idea to look into the possibility of placing it on the roof, after coming across a fun thread here about workshops above ground level. When I explained this to an engineer, he didn't laugh in my face too hard, but he was also probably just being polite.

    I really appreciate the good info in this forum. Learning a lot -- thanks.

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