BETTER FRUIT 



EDITOR: W. H. WALTON 

 STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



OREGON— C. I. Lewis. Horticulturist. 



WASHINGTON — Dr. A. L. Melander. EntomologUt ; 

 O. M. Morris. Horticulturist. Pullman. 



COLORADO— C. P. Gillette, Director and EntomologUt; 

 E. B. House, Irrigation Expert, State Agricultural College, 

 Fort Collins. 



ARIZONA— E. P. Taylor. Horticulturist. Tucson. 



WISCONSIN— Dr. E. D. Ball. Madison. 



MONTANA— H. Thornber. Victor. 



CALIFORNIA — C. W. Woodworth. Entomologist. Berke- 

 ley; W. H. Volcfe, Entomologist, Watflonvllle; Leon D. 

 Batchelor. Horticulturist, Riverside. 



INDIANA— H. S. Jackson. Pathologist, Lafayette. 



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern, Progressive Fruit Growing 



and Marketing. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



703 Oregonian Building 



PORTLAND, OREGON 



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BETTER FRUIT PUBLISHING COMPANY 



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Entered as second-class matter April 22, 1918 



at the Postoffice at Portland, Oregon, under 



the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



Volume XV 



Portland, Oregon, August, 1920 



Number 2 



A New and Successful Type of Fruit Evaporator 



IN a recent article, A. W. Christie 

 has given a resume of the fruit 

 drying situation as it exists in Cali- 

 fornia and has referred to the great in- 

 terest of fruit growers in this state in 

 evaporations of fruits, in spite of the 

 fact that the reputation of California's 

 dried fruits is based upon the sun dried 

 article. Loss of fruit on sun drying 

 trays from early rains has been the 

 most important factor in causing Cali- 

 fornia fruit growers to doubt the good 

 old sun drying methods; accessory con- 

 siderations have been the superior 

 quality of the artificially dried product, 

 economy of land for the evaporator as 

 compared to the space required for sun 

 trays and the fact that evaporated fruit 

 is less exposed to contamination by 

 dust, etc., during drying. 



Types of Evaporators:. .There are 

 numerous styles of evaporators before 

 the would-be-purchaser. He is apt to 

 become bewildered when he meets the 

 enthusiastic salesmen of the various 

 forms of driers and may often succumb 

 to the persuasive arguments of the 

 most fluent agent, who unfortunately 

 usually represents the least satisfactory 

 machine. Thus disappointment often 

 results, and worse than disappointment 

 comes financial loss and waste of al 

 least a season's time. The manufacture 

 of commercially built driers is in a de- 

 cidedly experimental state — practically 

 none are perfected. This statement is 

 made after a thorough investigation of 

 the many types on the market. 



Of the existing commercial machines 

 those designed to dry the fruit upon 

 trays by a horizonal air blast are most 

 successful. However, many of these 

 are far from satisfactory. 



The kiln, stack, and Oregon tunnel 

 forms of patented commercial driers 

 are in most cases no better than the 

 tried and true home-made driers of the 

 same types. The Oregon Tunnel as used 

 in Oregon and Washington, is a ma- 

 chine perfected by long use by practical 

 men and is an evaporator of much 

 merit. 



How to Select an Evaporator: There 

 are only two ways to select a drier, 

 one, to build a drier fully tested, recom- 

 mended and described in Government 

 or state publications; the second, to 

 see in operation over a period of at 



By W. V. Cruess 



least forty-eight hours the drier that 

 is under consideration for purchase or 

 erection. During this test be certain 

 that the drier is loaded to capacity. 

 Accept no excuses for poor perform- 

 ance. The machine should be operated 

 economically in regard to fuel and 

 labor; should dry the fruit evenly; 

 should not scorch the fruit; and should 

 dry the product in a reasonable time 

 under a full load. Never has the adage 

 "buy in haste and repent in sorrow" 

 been more aptly illustrated than in the 

 purchase of evaporators. 



The writer desires to present in the 

 remainder of this article plans and 

 specifications for a successful evapor- 

 ator built and operated for experi- 

 mental purposes by the University of 

 California. The plant holds six tons 

 of grapes or prunes per charge — a con- 

 venient size for the average grower, 

 and will dry six to ten green tons of 

 fruit per 24 hours. The complete plant 

 cost in 1919 about .$3,500. 



The specifications follow. The gen- 

 eral appearance of the plant is shown 

 in the sketches and accompanying 

 photographs. 



Furnace Room. — 1. Of reinforced concrete 

 6-inch walls. Floor of gravel. 



2. Length 14 feet, width 8 feet, height 11 feet, 

 inside dimensions. 



3. One end with opening 8 feet 2 inches high 

 and 6 feet 6 inches wide to connect to drying 

 tunnel and to provide entrance to furnace 

 room. 



4. Opposite end fitted with two openings 

 20x15 inches wide, 15 inches from the ground 

 level and 3 inches from side walls. One door 

 20 inches high and 15 inches wide in center 



wall at 5 feet from groufTd level. All openings 

 fitted with vertically sliding and adjustable 

 doors. One plain opening midway between 

 side walls 12x12 inches and with center of 

 opening 18 inches from ground level, for in- 

 sertion of burner. 



5. Side walls solid. Roof solid, except for 

 circular smokestack opening 13 inches in diam- 

 eter in roof 1 foot from end of furnace room 

 opposite tunnel. 



6. Furnace to consist of an old boiler shell, 

 approximately 10 feet long and 3 feet in 

 diameter, with tubes removed; with one head 

 removed and opposite head fitted to receive 

 12-inch pipe. Where wood or coal is used as 

 fuel a somewhat larger furnace and grate 

 should be installed. 



7. Air heating pipes to consist of three tiers 

 of 12-inch heavy sheet metal black iron pipe 

 above furnace. Nine pieces 10 feet long, one 

 piece 12 inches long to connect to furnace; one 

 three-way connection to connect to furnace 

 outlet pipe; one three-way connection at stack; 

 four elbows, six return bends; one T in stack 

 with one opening into furnace room with 

 damper, and stacks 20 feet long and fitted with 

 adjustable damper in furnace room. Bv means 

 of these two dampers gases of combustion may 

 be allowed to flow into furnace room for direct 

 use in drying, thus doubling efficiency of fuel, 

 or the furnace gases may be allowed "to escape 

 through the stack. 



8. Furnace to be fitted with a medium size 

 air blast stove distillate burner or crude oil 

 burner, air blast type. Latter system would 

 require separate air compressor and motor. 



9. Fuel tank. Covered circular sheet metal 

 tank, about 4 feet in diameter and 5 feet high. 

 Connected by 14 -inch pipes to burners at fur- 

 nace room and dipping vat. 



Drying Tunnel. — 1. Length inside 33 feet; 

 height from tunnel tracks to ceiling, 7 feet; 

 width 6% feet inside. 



2. Frame of 2x4-inch S-2-E placed 2 feet on 

 centers. 



3. Walls, lx4-inch T. & G. pine flooring on 

 both sides of the 2x4-inch frame. Ceiling, one 

 thickness T. & G. flooring. 



4. Floor of tunnel of surfaced concrete. 

 Areas 111 inches wide at each end of tunnel 

 opposite doors are made sufficiently lower than 

 general tunnel floor level to permit transfer of 



