The kiln is maintained at these conditions until the moisture content of the wettest board reaches the target. To fine-tune equalizing, a kiln operator will have to get some feedback on the final moisture content distribution. In-line moisture meters are a great tool for this process. Equalizing time will depend on factors such as air flow and the length of air travel in a kiln before re-heating. Equalizing through the entire kiln schedule is not a bad idea.
Conditioning is the final step in the drying process.
This step is extremely important if consistent results are to be obtained in the remanufacturing plant. Lumber first must be well-equalized. Otherwise the results of conditioning will be sporadic. Like equalization, conditioning is accomplished by controlling the EMC of the kiln. The EMC required for conditioning is three percentage points higher than the target moisture content.