Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-05-05
.LNESLEY TO BUILD
PATENT HOP DRYER
Dryer Is Salem Mems InVen-
iOn---Plant Will Cost
About $4,000

T. A. Livesley has let the contract for
the erection of a hop drying plant to
Dane Purvine and proposes to put up
not only the most up to date hop dry
ing plant in this country but the only
oil burning steam drying plant in the
world. The new plant was invented
by f. E. Needham and B. w. limerick,
of this city, and their first plant will
be installed at the Livesley ranch at a
cost of $4,000.
The new plant will consist of six dry
kilns all under one roof, each 80 feet
by 30 feet in size and having three
times the capacity Of the old style dry
er. Thus it is claimed by the inventors
that the six kilns will do the work of
Is of the old style kilns since the drying
can be done in from six to eight hours
while the time required by the old style
kiln was from Is to "a hours depending
upon the weather.
The air is furnished by heated steam
coils which are located inside the kiln
room. The heated air is driven through
the air pipes by a power driven fan
which will furnish 100000 cubic feet of
air per minute. From the air pipes the
heated air is distributed through a re-
volying distributor which supplies an
equal amount of air to each square inch
of the kiln floor. The revolving dis
tributOr has numerous outlets which are
regulated by thermostats and as an ad-
ditiOnal check an air damper is placed
in the intake pipe and the steam coils
are connected in series so that one
coil can be disconnected at a time as
the heat rises or it becomes too hot.
The steam heat will be supplied by
two go horsepower boilers at the Lives
ley plant and the motive power will
be supplied by 112 horsepower en-.
gine although rs horsepower is ample
for a plant of this size. The engine
will also run an electric light plant
which will supply the lights for night
drying when necessary although it is
not expected that it will be necessary
to dry any hops at night since the kiln
can be dried in from six to eight hours.
The boilers will be located in the en-.
gine room outside the dry kiln room
and no fire will be inside the kilns The
only fire will be in the furnace in the
engine room and this will lower the in
surance rate to about One-third OF the
present rate on hops or to the rate
which is quoted for warehouses.
The buildings will be lower than the
old style hop dryer since it requires
but eight feet of space below the kiln.
This will eliminate elevators at the
kilns as the hops can be loaded on the
kiln platform from the wagons. It also
works huge saving in lumber as it is
but 12 feet to the ewes of the new plant.
1t is estimated that saving of Al 900
feet of lumber will be made in the pro
posed plant over the old style kilns of
equal capacity. l
A saving in wood win also be ac.
complshed as it. will require but from
one-quarter to one-half cord of wood
to dry one kiln while the old style
kilns required from one and one-half tc
two cords per kiln. At The Livesley
plant, however, oil will be used for fuel
Also where the old style kilns each re.
quired two firemen the new one will
require but two men for both shifts
which works a saving of 10 men on the
SIX kllnS.
Mr.. Needham and Mr.. limerick have
been working on their new system since
last hop drying season and have built
small model of their plant which dem.
Onstrates the practicaDility of the larg.
or one. They have received their pat.
ents from the government and the HOP
growers of the valley generally are
auxiously awaiting teh outcome of the
venture which promises to revolution.
iSe the hop drying system now in use
Mr.. Purvine, the contractor, will com.
rlete the new plant by July and Mr.
livesley plans to dry his entire crop
this year on the new dryer and will not
use the two old kilns that remained aft.
or last years disastrous fire which
swept away seven kilns in the midst OF
the bop picking season. The $4,000
outlay includes the cooling room and
ether necessities of complete equip.
mpnt for taking care of the hop crop
last five years.