Drying - continuation

Another way of dry with fire is using buthane flames. It's important to use low flames, and you obtain shining and strong poles. But it's a long and detailed work, heating one pole at time. We may also smoke bamboo, constructing a box over the fire where the smoke circulate. This heating methods without water brings a liquid out of bamboo. This oil can be removed with a cloth, or reutilized as font of smoke. According to Ximena Londoño this is a good thing to do.

Heaters are an efficient way of drying bamboo. In Colombia there is vertical heaters several meters high, where Guadua poles are dryed. Most heaters are horizontal. Heaters should collect heat from sunrays during day, without exposing poles to direct sunlight, and keep heat during night. This process takes some weeks. Once again Van Lengen gives us some of his advices: "Solar heater is constructed with blocks, black painted cans and glass or plastic. Heaters should have isolating walls, preventing heat scaping. At day, air flow is controled by pannels, that stay closed at night. This heater could also be used to dry food."