Conditions of Success
Commercial success in drying therefore requires that the substance be exposed to the air in the most efficient manner; that the temperature of the air be as high as the substance will stand without injury, and that the air change or movement be as rapid as is consistent with economical installation and operation. Conditions of success therefore require the observance of the following points, which embody the basic principles of the process: (1) The timber should be heated through before drying begins. (2) The air should be very humid at the beginning of the drying process, and be made drier only gradually. (3) The temperature of the lumber must be maintained uniformly throughout the entire pile. (4) Control of the drying process at any given temperature must be secured by controlling the relative humidity, not by decreasing the circulation. (5) In general, high temperatures permit more rapid drying than do lower temperatures. The higher the temperature of the lumber, the more efficient is the kiln. It is believed that temperatures as high as the boiling point are not injurious to most woods, providing all other fundamentally important features are taken care of. Some species, however, are not able to stand as high temperatures as others, and (6) the degree of dryness attained, where strength is the prime requisite, should not exceed that at which the wood is to be used.