Several areas of the drying process must be examined when comparing Radio Frequency vacuum drying to conventional kiln drying. The key benefits to Radio Frequency drying are:

1) RF kilns offer a significant reduction in drying times. In many cases as little as 1/10th of the time that is required when drying in conventional kilns.

2) RF kilns have the ability to dry heavy stock (8/4, 10/4, 12/4) and large timber efficiently and without major defect.

3) Heat treatment temperatures in RF kilns can be reached in much less time than conventional heat treatment methods as a result of efficient “direct heating”. RF kilns are now an approved method of heat treating lumber under ISPM -15.

4) RF kilns do not require stickers between the lumber which eliminates sticker labour and sticker stain. RF drying does not rely on air movement between the lumber to remove moisture.

5) RF kilns can be used as a method to re-dry material rejected from conventional kilns or to quickly reduce moisture content in lumber prior to de-humidification

6) RF kilns run solely on electricity thereby eliminating the need for large commercial boilers. This creates a greener footprint on the environment.

7) RF kilns can be installed quickly and moved easily when renovations or expansions are required.

Costly inventory caused by long drying times can be reduced to “just in time” levels freeing up cash flow to grow the business or pay for the acquisition of the RF kiln.