To evaluate the adaptability and suitability of dehumidifying drying for smaller joiner workshops spruce, beech and oak wood was dried from a fresh state to the end moisture content of 10 %. During the drying processes the times and speeds of drying, the quality of dried wood, the moisture gradients, the drying stresses and the consumption of energy were compared. Spruce wood moisture gradient of around 3.5 %/cm first increased a little, then it decreased to an acceptable value. The starting values of moisture content of beech sapwood were different from those of heartwood. The moisture gradient was more than 5 %/cm at the beginning and minimal at the end. During the process smaller cracks appeared. The oak wood showed a homogeneous distribution of moisture content, however, after the beginning of drying the moisture gradient increased vastly, which leaded to the interior cracks and honey-combing; so after the drying wood remained encrusted. We achieved the shortest time of drying with the spruce (333h), and the longest with the oak (2617h) wood. To dry 1 m3 of spruce wood we spent 533 kWh of energy, and for the same amount of oak wood as much as 4481 kWh of electrical energy was needed.
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