| OVERVIEW |
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| This section is focusing on the basic pallet kiln construction design. As we have seen the industry mature there have been many unexpected advantages to our turn-key chamber design. Plus it allows for turn-key delivery where you only have to secure the chamber, attached the electric and hook up the gas. There are five general kiln construction types: - Kiln-direct Turn-key chamber design. (Preferred by the pallet industry). - Aluminum prefab chamber design. - Masonry / concrete chamber design. - Wood structure chamber design. - Container based chamber design. If you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact us. |
| KILN-DIRECT TURN-KEY CHAMBER DESIGN |
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 This is the basic for the first truck load side kiln we developed about 10 years ago. This is the undisputed standard of pallet kiln HT chambers in the industry. Based on a 10 year track record we have seen these advantages: - Delivered in one unit as a machine. - Inside aluminum sheeting to reduce corrosion. - Close cell foam insulation with class 1 fire rating. - Steel structure is stronger than aluminum (especially if kiln has an over heat) - We have never lost a single kiln due to fire and it was always contained (Some have overheated due to bypassed safety systems, but they could all be rebuilt quickly with minimum downtime). - Ventilated walls to help prevent moisture build-up in the walls. - Standalone construction requires a simple flat solid surface for installation (normally concrete). - Swing doors are simple and easy to maintain. - Can easily be relocated to a new facility. Disadvantages to this design: - Once corrosion issues were a possible negative attribute, but the over heat resiliency has been proven to be a greater advantage of this design. The need for heat resiliency is due to operators by-passing safety systems. More than 500 have been sold based on this construction. Combined with the mechanical and electrical design this kiln construction has proven to among the safest and most efficient HT pallet kiln systems in operation today. |
| ALUMINUM PREFAB CHAMBER DESIGN |
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 This is among the more common construction methods for midsize to larger pallet kilns. It is a well proven design for the lumber industry and has done well as a pallet kiln.These kilns are normally delivered in panels and assembled on-site. Advantages to this design: - All aluminum construction should be more corrosion resistant than steel structures. - Well insulated walls (assuming a minimum of 6-8in mineral wood or 3-4 foam insulation) - Large kiln with up to to 3 truck load capacity. - Loading opening can be wide (aka side-load). - Bi-fold door can be convenient. Disadvantages to this design: - Not very high heat resilient - we have seen several collapse on top of a pallet load - bigger problem is that fire can escape the chamber and spread. - No ventilated walls to prevent moisture build up in walls/roof. - Not easily relocated to another facility. - Damages to panels and structure can be expensive to repair. - Bi-fold door upgrade can be expensive upgrade and will require more maintenance than standard swing doors. - Lift and slide main door requires more space. Normally this is the more expensive of the kiln chamber construction available and it can be hard to justify when looking at the price and the disadvantages. |
| MASONRY / CONCRETE CHAMBER DESIGN |
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 This kiln chamber construction is normally completed by a local contractor and the equipment installed later. On the picture a back wall component and control unit has been installed.Advantages to this design: - Maybe lower construction costs. - Maybe lower freight costs. - Stronger walls. - Custom size with up to multiple truck load capacity. - Wide loading opening available. Disadvantages to this design: - Normally not as insulated as a foam insulated wall. - Often a wood structure roof system is used. (limited life span) - No ventilated walls to prevent moisture build up in walls/roof. - Nearly impossible to relocated to another facility. Kiln-direct does continue to offer the back wall design, but normally discourage this design as it is rarely economical in the end. Please do not hesitate to call us, if you have any questions about this option. |
| WOOD STRUCTURE |
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 This kiln chamber construction is normally completed by a local contractor and the equipment installed later. The picture is of a 600 pallet kiln system with all wood structure plus aluminum on the inside.Advantages to this design: - Maybe lower construction costs. - Maybe lower freight costs. - Custom size with up to multiple truck load capacity. - Wide loading opening available (not on picture, but possible) Disadvantages to this design: - Normally not as insulated as a foam insulated wall. - Shortened building life span. (based on our experience). - No ventilated walls to prevent moisture build up in walls/roof. - Nearly impossible to relocated to another facility. - In case of any over heat / fire you are likely to loose the chamber and be down for 1-2 month. Kiln-direct has stopped offering the back wall design to chamber with wooden structure. Please do not hesitate to call us, if you have any questions about this option. |
| CONTAINER BASED DESIGN |
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 Why install pallet HT chambers into insulated containers / van-trailers? It is a lower investment and can often be operational more quickly. This is considered a CHEAP solution, but it is often the best economical choice.Advantages to this design: - Lowest possible investments. - Normally able to circumvent local regulation for fixed building or structures. - Kiln-direct container system has all the functionality of our larger kilns. - Easily relocated to other facility. Disadvantages to this design: - Normally not as insulated as a foam insulated wall. - Shortened building life span. (based on our experience). - Un-organized airflow = less efficient operation. - Not designed to perform pallet drying. - In case of any over heat / fire you are likely to loose the chamber and be down for 1-2 month. We have several of this be a total lost due to fire inside kiln (But these were not based on our Piggy-back HT system). Kiln-direct continue to sell Piggy-back systems for converting an insulated van or container into a HT chamber. If you have any questions or need more information about the Piggy-back system, then please do not hesitate to contact us. |