Patent attributes
A lumber drying system includes a drying compartment having an arched roof, a plurality of baffle boxes, wherein each baffle box further includes a main chamber, an air intake that forms an entrance into the chamber, an air outtake that forms an exit from the chamber, a plurality of interleaved plates disposed within the chamber between the air intake and the air outtake, and a water outlet disposed beneath and in communication with the plurality of interleaved plates. The plurality of baffle boxes are distributed on the sides of the roof, each air intake of the baffle boxes being in communication with an upper portion of the drying compartment. The disclosed lumber drying system further includes a plurality of air collection chambers distributed on the roof, wherein each air collection chamber has an air inlet and a water outlet, and wherein each air inlet of the air collection chambers is disposed in communication with at least one of the air outtakes of the plurality of baffle boxes, a water collection tank having at least one water input disposed in communication with at least one water outlet of the plurality of baffle boxes, and at least one water input of the water collection tank disposed in communication with at least one water output of said air collection chambers. Alternatively, a condensation baffle is located beneath the plurality of baffle boxes, above the lumber, thereby shielding the lumber from falling condensation. Further, one or more of the baffle boxes may also include an entrance condenser plate disposed at the air intake of the baffle box. In addition, water expelled from at least one of the water outlets may be routed back to a boiler. At least one air collection chamber further includes an air outlet disposed in communication with the drying compartment. At least one of the air collection chambers further includes an air outlet disposed in communication with a boiler, which in turn directs heated air back toward the drying compartment.
