Lumber is often air-dried for months prior to being kiln dried. The air-drying yard manager must decide when to stop air-drying and move the lumber to the dry kiln. The Air-Drying Estimator Excel spreadsheet is based on previous air-drying of lumber research. The intent of the Air-Drying Estimator is to help the air-drying yard manager estimate how long to air-dry lumber prior to kiln drying based on species group, U.S. location, the start date, initial moisture content, and the target or ending moisture content. The Air-Drying Estimator will estimate the date the lumber dries to the target moisture content, the number of air-drying days required for the base case and for lumber placed on the yard each month, and displays drying curves.
Download the Air-Drying Estimator Excel xlsx spreadsheet and then download it (or you can request it by emailing phil_mitchell@ncsu.edu) (Note: the earlier link was to an older Excel xls format that did not function correctly!)
Download the Article: Wood Products Notes: Using the Air-Drying Estimator to Predict the Air-Drying Time for Lumber
