Cost of Air Drying
The cost of air drying, excluding that of handling, depends on a number of
factors:
- The capital cost of establishing the drying yard, including preparation of
the site, provision of roads, stack foundations, piling sticks and roofs.
- Value of the land.
- The value of the timber and current rate of interest on capital.
- Overheads including depreciation, maintenance, supervision, and insurance.
- Time taken to dry: a very variable and unpredictable factor depending as
it does on the particular weather conditions encountered, as well as on the
species and thickness of the timber.
The major component in the cost of air drying is usually the interest on the
value of the timber held in stock and the cost per unit volume of timber is
often directly proportional to the time taken to air dry. Therefore when air
drying is being carried out prior to kilning, it may be economic to transfer the
timber to the kiln when at 30-35%, rather than wait the disproportionately long
time often needed to air dry down to around 20% moisture content.
The provision of good air drying facilities accounts for only a small part of
the total cost, especially when valuable timber has to be dried, and there is no
doubt that provision of suitable roofing, for example, pays for itself in a
relatively short time.
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