Kiln Drying Forum
Wood Drying Topics => Dry Kiln Maintenance => Topic started by: cork46 on September 02, 2014, 12:28:59 PM
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does anyone out there by chance use lignomat in there dry kilns?
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I am aware of at least one large hardwood lumber company here in NC that uses the lignomat control system (there may be more). If my memory serves me correctly, I believe they are using pins to measure MC (measures electrical resistance to estimate MC) of the sample boards. Rather than the more common dry bulb / wet bulb, this lignomat control system is using cellulosic wafers to measure the EMC (equilibrium moisture content) conditions in the kiln.
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I use the dry bulb, I have the pins and we use the wafers for MC but they really do not work. I was curious because this system is a big pain. I am trying to figure out why my kilns just shut off by themselves after 30 minutes to 4 hours in. I am not even showing any error codes other than plc halted process so hard to troubleshoot. Was just wondering if anyone was having the same issue and what they may have done to fix the problem.
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If you are running a traditional Lignomat kiln control system there are only a few things that will shut your kiln down.
Loss of EMC/WB or DB readings on both sides (can not regulate what it does not know)
Fans running in wrong direction (only seen on installations or after reworking the MCC or VFD's)
Damaged PLC or control modules.
These are the most common. Look at the kiln histories for errors, the errors may go away on the screen if the kiln is down for a while but will be recorded in the history.
If nothing is smoking you can swap PLC's and other electronics and track down the problem. Call Lignomat for support, spare parts are on hand even for old control systems.