Montana,
Looks like you are doing your homework. I see you are putting "logs" in there.
Have they been air dried at all? Have not seen that done before. What are you using them for? It takes a lot of energy to raise the kiln temp when the wood is green, which you are experiencing. I can't be sure, but your vents look fairly small. You may need to open them at night and leave your fans on all the time. At least until the RH of the log gets below 30%. If you have the time, I would air dry until the RH is below 30% before you put into the kiln. Otherwise as you stated, you may need to put fewer logs in the kiln to start with. A never ending experiment isn't it!

I'm making furniture with the logs, thus trying to avoid checking. I had tried to air dry them to under 30MC as you suggested, but ended up with very large cracks before they even hit 20mc. I was hoping that I could put them in green, but you are right...they are choking the kiln.

My next plan is to ring bark them, come back in 60 days and chop'm into bits. I've read that ring barking or girdling can drop out 50% of the MC on very large spruce in that period of time.

In Montana, lodgepole would die standing, dry and wait for you to come get them....years later. Here in NZ, the temp is too moderate, and the air not dry enough for such luck. Only the dead standing under 70mm will dry before rotting...then rot shortly there after.

Conventional kilning is possible, but top dollar...and will take 3-5 weeks...they don't really know because it hasn't been done here yet.

And one more thing. Because I need to leave the cambium on for character, its tricky to peel the bark off, but necessary to release the water. Hmmmm...starting to re-think this business.

Wow, nice work. Looks like the bed posts are 4 to 5 or 6 inches in dia.
Have you put lots of end sealer on the logs as soon as they are cut? Like anchorseal.
That may help some. Providing the "cracks" aren't to large, wouldn't that add character to the piece? You could say "See that split here. It was done especially for you"
Then you can charge an extra for custom work
Some wood species can't wait to split while others not so much. What have you found, if any? Slowing the drying process down (without letting mold develop)is one solution.
At least as far as expense goes. Looks like you have a tricky situation there.
Harry

Thanks. No, haven't tried the end sealer. Some checking is ok, and works well with the "Western Style", but doesn't look to flash with the ebonized and white versions I do. Also very difficult to get stains inside the cracks.

So far, the checking has been minimal in this first load, but the rate of drying was pretty slow with the bark on for the first four weeks. I removed a 4 inch piece yesterday and tested for MC. It ranged from 12 on the surface to just under 30 in the core.

I've taken your advice on running fans at night and keeping vents open. RH was at 90 this morning, which was better than previous. I'm partially closing during the day to get the temps as high as possible when sunny, then opening up in the evening. Once I see the humidity starting to drop consistently, I will shut off the fans at night.

Attached is a head board I call "Twin Peaks". The top of the posts are bored to create a cup holder, wine, beer, etc. This pine was ebonized and waxed.

You can put your ..... in it.

Just to clarify, lots of drying occurs at the ends of the log. You'll see that the cracks start to develop very soon after cutting. That needs to be slowed down and the only way is to seal it. After your done with the drying process, you'll be cutting off the sealed end so that you can apply the stain of your choice. So of course you should account for the final length of the log needed.
What device are you using to test for MC?