Replies

1. 
   rob_ss | Feb 13, 2023 03:33am | #1

   Heat is your friend. Will kill all bugs. You need to make or borrow a kiln of some kind.
   You need to bring the whole stack slowly up to 55c and hold there for a few hours. If you live somewhere cold, then freezing is also effective though it has to be Canadian type cold...

2. 
   lto86 | Feb 13, 2023 11:29pm | #2

   Hi Rob, thank you for the advice. Definitely not Canadian cold here, it doesn't go much better zero where I live.
   On the contrary 55 under a summery sun is very much possible.
   When you say a kiln you mean dry heat? A steam box world be as effective? I'm pretty sure I can put a small one together.
   Thanks,
   Luca

1. 
   rob_ss | Feb 14, 2023 01:57am | #3

   Steam would be too hot and would certainly spoil the colour of the wood. Commercial lumber yard walnut is usually steamed as this causes the colour to leach from the heartwood into the sapwood and that rather removes the value in the air dried timber.
   I've never done this myself but kilns are simple things.
   You need a box big enough to hold the wood, a fan to circulate the air and a heater.

   If I were making one, I'd just build a casing for the timber out of the cheapest sheet material I could get and put a pair of cheap fan heaters in it - one (or maybe 2 if it's a big stack) to blow just air and one on a thermostat to provide heat.
   You will want the timber to be stickered and you will need a reasonable space on all sides for air circulation.
   A digital thermostat is not expensive and is far more reliable than the ones on the heaters. Check regularly. Might set fire to itself - do at own risk. Probably not a good idea to do it in your living room.
   You'll want it towards the bottom of your stack, but don't set it above 55c - you don't want to case harden the timber. If you're being really careful, you could run your kiln for a few hours longer and slowly increase the setting.

   As you're only heating for about 3-4 hours, to make sure the middle of the wood gets really warm, then you don't need to worry too much about efficiency.

   People do this for entire houses(!) to kill borer infestations.

1. 
   john_c2 | Feb 14, 2023 06:21am | #4

   I think the treatment for bedbugs is something like 140 degrees for x number of hours. It takes a while for that heat to penetrate everything.

   OP: No steam. Just heat. Moisture will slow things down and possibly screw up your wood.

   Be careful, go gradual. You can cause checks and cracks.

1. 
   lto86 | Feb 14, 2023 07:46am | #5

   140 Fahrenheit? that's ok, 140 celsius would be kind of dangerous I believe, I might as well nuke'em :D

1. 
   john_c2 | Feb 14, 2023 08:06am | #7

   Yes! I only think in Fahrenheit.

2. 
   lto86 | Feb 14, 2023 07:49am | #6

   The idea to dry the whole space could be actually a winner here, we're talking 1,5 cubic meter of timber in a 25 square meter workshop... I know, an impulsive purchase indeed.

   
3. 
   jharveyb | Feb 14, 2023 10:39am | #8

   If the wood is not already air-dried, you need to be careful, as extreme heat can blow the lumber apart, by drying the outside much more quickly than the middle. If air dried, the stresses are much less. I would make sure that the box I make to enclose the lumber is relatively tight, so that the relative humidity in the box builds up and prevents too rapid surface drying. In dry kilns, they keep the humidity high for an initial period, as they want the moisture to migrate out of the middle at the same rate as it leaves the surface.

4. 
   jac747 | Feb 14, 2023 12:42pm | #9

   I've had a couple of issues with wood-destroying insects, and resolved them with a local pest control company that had a container in which they would fumigate various things - building materials, furniture, whatever someone might want to put into it. Drop off Friday, pick up Monday, problem solved. Might be worth looking into.

5. 
   lto86 | Feb 15, 2023 04:47am | #10

   The wood is air-dried, but thank you for the tip. I could add a reservoir of water to add a bit of moisture at the beginning of the process. I just had a talk with a company that rents industrial heaters and they couldn't assure me that it would go up to 60C°, I think I could try to cannibalize an old kitchen oven.

   I had a quote from a local company, they ask 700€ + VAT, which is way beyond the point.