Since last Wednesday, when it was determined the noise’s origin was the Yancey boiler’s exhaust stack, we have been working toward a solution. We immediately began the search for equipment that would help muffle or cancel the noise and have found a manufacturer who is willing to custom build a “silencer” on an expedited basis, which is estimated to take two weeks to manufacture and ship. We’ve also been making adjustments to the drive frequency of the boiler fan to reduce its speed; however, based on reports from the past several days, the reduction did not have the intended effect. Tonight, we made the decision to run the kiln in “pilot light mode,” allowing the boiler to maintain enough heat at night to power up and treat lumber during the day, but halting all lumber curing operations at night. We will continue to monitor sound levels at the mill and surrounding neighborhoods, but based on the positive reports we’ve seen tonight, the plan is to continue to run the kiln in the pilot light mode until the muffler is installed. Again, we sincerely apologize for the disturbances and are doing everything we can to keep them from happening again.
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