Document VJDwdb02y1k6nVKJ7nxgm13g

Speed-up and more produc tion are the keynotes in about everything nowadays. Chick ens now go on a mass-produc tion basis, so do growing plants. Here's how controlled heating coaxes the lowly fomato to go to work throughout the entire calendar year By JULIUS KANDA Kendo Gftenheutci, Cfartlond \\ PACKAGED STEAM AIDS FOR GREENHOUSE SERVICE Held gtewkausk tparatwa et SI F minimum throughput *intr months * Ruitrkt fop temperature to 65 F during mild don end 62 F ot night Provide ideal climeto, aBlomaticelly, ond do it within o regulated rang* Sound dorm, dor or night, if somothing hogpens to tbs pellet, In Hrne to effect emergency stops to sort tho crop o Supply ample soutco of stoHDslag steam to tho seif to kilt off oil parasitic wood growths before now feedings end plant ings take piece OlfCKHOUSE INTERIOR. Author ond his wife ore in front of o typical healthy crop. Seil-sievillilng Pto'og fum olong tho floor, hooting pipes run along the side walls l Packaged Gas-Fired Heating Boiler Extends Old Sol's Growing Season > Ohio leads the nation in grow* Ing vegetable* under glass. There are now more than 800 acres of green* houses for vegetable production, and 8200 more under glass for growing flowers and other ornamental vegeta tion. At the 1952 Ohio Water Clinle* It was estimated the woter used in these greenhouses exceeded 60 acre* inches per year. Some appetite for a still-growing Industry! Impressive as this water need is, the industry has still other sirccializcd problems all its own. The major ones are maintaining the proper temperature and sterilizing the soil lor the particu lar vegetable or flower under growth. Both are naturals for a good heating plant. Here is a good example from one up-to-date greenhouse for raising tomatoes. When the 1902 single-retort under feed stoker boiler st our greenhouse was ruled no longer sale for service above 15 psi, we decided to go to a fully-automatic heating plant. We pul in a 5000lb-pcr-hr gas-fired automotic packageunit steam generator, photo, above. It is designed for 50 psi operation and gives us enough steam for a high-pres sure supply to sterilise the ground and kill weed seeds between plantings. Let me tell you, It takes plenty of steam to heat a glass-enclosed greenhouse during the harsh Lake Erie winters. What's more, our growing area for to matoes under gloss measures about seven-tenths of an acre, so we've got a heavy heating load. Heeling steom has to be supplied most of the year. We hold inside tem perature at SB F throughout the winter. Then during the milder weather we keep o daytime temperature of 65 F and a night temperature of 62 F. These conditions apply until about July 1. As you esn guess, we asked for and got special safeguards on the boiler in stallation. We have e pressure switeli on It to control e bedroom alarm bell that rings out in esse of a nighttime foilurc. An entire crop can be lost In 30 minutes with a loss of heat during n cold, subzero Cleveland winter. BOILER OPERATION Hera is how our boiler plant runs. We supply the nature! gas available throughout our aree (1050 Btu per cu ft) to our new package stenm generator. rtm om w*i*r rs ti-it. list nw a The old boiler stands by, kindled uj> ready for emergency use, should urthing go wrong with our new setup. 1 This setup features the 3-poas, bod sontol, firetube boiler whose worktop show plainly In the cutaway bei Flame area occupies s cylinder-lilt tube in the center of the packaged ask Combustion products move along nadir the pressure of incoming gas, about 7 to wg, toward a rear refractory target wil through a lower segment of tubes tf ward the front of the boiler. Th they reverse and move back toward tto rear through two lateral sections 4 tubes to the breeching. They leave til boiler proper at a temperature of tbo* 500 F at full firing rate. Automatic Controls. As wt fR? tioned earlier, we felt our greenhM* business mode it necessary to have full complement of automatic open*' ing and safety controls. We carried t same Idea over Into our electrically trolled Buxlllories ond power servi*4 All electrical equipment, IncIudW motors ond controls, is Installed J wired Into the power ond the cow circulia. Then all relays, ing switches, overload and ahorl-cItGjJ protection are mounted in a splashpN^ >4170 PUNT OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE SECTION k steel cabinet at the right aida of the operating platform, photo facing page. The automatic firing sequence is well thought-out and highly reliable. (Editor's Note: See Automatic-fired Bailer Precautions, thit Issue, p 92.) iQo.startup we have the air blower come on first far a purging period. Then the fis-electric pilot comes oh. After the pilot is established the gas valve opens If ignition lakes place, tho pilot kicks out If the pilot does not take hold (or the proper period, a flameAnting device prevents the moln gas fobe from opening. Tha burner, too, carries several safety PNcaailons. For instance, the burner comstart only if it is in the low-fire posliion. An interlock in (he sir-supply dsniper prevents the burner from start- ng unless the damper is It) the low-fire Position. What's more, the burner hos a calibrated modulating control that proPjjtllnns sir to fuel for peak combustion efficiency over the 30-100% load range. bow water cutoff, electronic flame wooer, (orced-draft-fan failure or cx**** cam pressure have special connec &** wired Into the burner elrcult so the u,orn*t|eHy cuts off on a aig* mm any ona of them. To the burn- er this information appears as an operating defect end so the unit shuts down to allow clearing or correcting the fault In safety. The feedwater eyele similarly came in lor all possible -precautions. An au tomatic boiler feed system Is located on the right rear of tha boiler base, photo, facing page. It consists of an atmospher ically vented condensate receiving tank for both city water makeup and heat ing-system condensate with a ` motordriven boiler feed pump. PROCESS PROBLEMS The joba of soil-sterilizing and atmoephero-healing that the boiler does are very Interesting. In fact, the steri lizing phase puts a real test on the boiler. We (eke the full 50-pii output and directly condense it In the soil through porous tiles buried In the soil. In the photo above showing Interior of the greenhouse, you see the feed pipes to these tiles. When the steam goes Into the soil It's lost forever and the boiler operates on a 100% cold makeup. This sterilizing goes on, a bay at a time, be tween planting seasons. When the sterilizing operation is in full swing we cover the soil with tar- peuUns and push In steam to ralao soil temperature lo about 212-215 F, and then hold it there for 4 to 6 hr. What wo do to determine proper soil tempera ture and be sure it's been held long enough is to put a raw potato on the ground under the tarpaulin. When the potato is cooked the soil is considered sterile and ready for the next planting. The tomato plants themselves are raised from seed. Tha seedlings we transplant several timet to'increase root strength. Then they ore arranged for the last time in what we eall the produc tion stage. We guy them vertically, photo above, to overhead trusses. When the plants reach the full height of the guy wire we turn them downward and they keep on growing. When the time Is right for pollination we tap the plant stalks tightly. This is one place where Mother Nature needs e helping hand. Because there are no air currents or pollinating insects within the greenhouse we have to substitute this topping action. When the fruit's ready for harvesting we pick the to matoes, sort them and place In baskets for direct sale In the Cleveland market. Our controlled climate will let us reach this market more often. ^MUAtY 104} PLANT OPERATION ANO MAINTENANCE SECTION W