White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1927-08-12
BUILDS SMALL APPLE
WASHING MACHINE

WASHING MACHINE
S. H. Andrews of Cashmere wa
visitor in White Bluffs last weel
looking over the apple crop. He
was accompanied by c. Burns ol
Lacrosse, Wisconsin, who is making
a tour of the West, having come
here from trip through New
Mexico. Arizona and California. He
is a brother of ]. c. Burns who
operates large wholesale and re.
tail store in Lacrosse, handling al
kinds OF fruits and vegetables and
specializing in boxed apples. He
is interested IN the warehouse IA,
White Bluffs, formerly owned by
the Wenatchee Valley Fruit Ex-
change.
Mr.. Andrews and Mr.. Burns
drove down from Cashmere, coming
around by way of Yakima, look
ing over. general crop conditions.
We found the same conditions
at White Bluffs regarding the wip-
ing and washing of the fruit that
we have in the Wenatchee Valley
and the indications now are that
in order to be absolutely safe the
apples will have to be washed"
said Mr.. Andrews.
Continuing Mr.. Andrews said,
AT the same time there are quite
a. few packers and shippers, some
ct them handling several hundred
cars of apples each year, who are
going to wipe this season. What
the outcome is going to be no
one can say.
Il have been watching the wash.
ing of fruit, as there are several
washing machines demonstrated in
Wenatchee, some made by the
manufacturers of packing house
equipment, others home made af
fairs. One dipping machine that
was constructed by the Wenatchee
Produce Company is built on scale
that will dip and rinse approxim-
ately 5000 to 1000 boxes per day.
l believe that a dipping and rinsing
outfit of this kind built on a smaller
scale can be constructed by any
grower or a community of three to
live growers and be operated to a
very good advantage"
A description of the outfit re-
ferred to by Mr.. Andrews was
covered in an article published in a
recent issue of the Wenatchee Daily
World and is reprinted here for the
benefit OF interested growers. The
article follows:
An elaboration of the Wenatchee
Traffic associations suggestion Of
dipping boxes of apples in acid and
then in water is being perfected by
Wenatchee Produce company en-
ployes who have practically COM
pleted washing outfit. which is to
be used for handling their cwn
summer fruit, including crab apples,
small pears and other fruit. De-
signed. IN the shape of a long; nar-
row U, the maching consists of two
wooden tanks, one thirty feet long,
three feet wide and about the same
in depth Glled with an "ti,l so1ll.
tion, the other tank of similar shape
but only twenty feet long filled with
clean water.
Apple boxes or lug boxes of var
ious sizes can be handled. They
are lifted on a short chute at one
end of the acid tank and specially
made wooden lid slipped over the
top. Then they are pushed down in
the solution. A wide rubber belt
running nearly the length of the
tank and suspended just at the
curface of the liquid forces the
boxes along by friction on top of
the box. About twenty pounds
lifting capacity is exerted by the
floating box of fruit which presses
up against the belt.
Two belt speeds are provided
depending on the length of time
required for the acid to neutralize
the spray residue. One belt speed
gives a capacity of ESQ boxes an
hour and the other doubles it.
After travelling the length of the
tank, which containes about 1000
gallons, ten-foot belt corHeyor
arrangement carries them up a
short incline on to a circular Sec
zion Of roller conveyor which forms
The base of the u.
The boxes leave the rollers and
are carried down chute into a
tank of clear water being forced
along by moving belt as in the
acid. At the end of this tank the
lids are removed and a belt con-
veyor lifts them out OF the water
passing through streams of fresh
water from three sprinkler faucets
while being raised.
After completing the journey, the
boxes are lifted off the end OF the
machine about six feet from where
they started sni trucked away to
be stacked for drying. 1t is thought
they will dry in about IL hours in
this kind of weather. Later Or
when it becomes cooler, a special
drying room artificially warmed and
cquipt with fans will be built. In
a trial run yesterday, $50 boxes of
crab apples were put through in
go minutes with the machine rum
ming at about half capacity. De-
pending on the length of the tanks,
any desired capacity can be obtained
in such machine IL the conveyor
belt speed is adjusted to the tank
length.
The machine is operated by a
five horsepower motor and is built
almost entirely of wood, all pullevs
and wood rollers being made locally
most of the bearings are Of wood.
it being foud advisable to use bard
wood to prevent excessive erosion due
70 the action of the acid and friction.
The assembling was done in the
srrayer department. of the Produce
company and the completed ma
chine is installed outside the porch
cf the fruit warehouse building. It's
tcfa1 cnsf 10 exnecfad 70 annroxir11ate