CONSTRUCTION OF A FRUIT DRIER 463 



If the furnace is four feet high and the pipe above it one foot thick, allow 

 six inches space between the top of the furnace and the pipe and between the 

 pipe and sheet-iron floor above it; then add the eighteen inches of brick wall 

 above the iron floor; we get a total height of seven and a half feet from the 

 ground to the top of wall. 



But only the furnace needs to be as deep as this, and it can be placed in a 

 pit at one end of the drier. The brick walls back of the furnace do not need to 

 go so far down by perhaps two feet. The smoke pipe leaving the furnace close 

 to its top can rest on a brick lying on top of the ground, so the part of the heat- 

 ing chamber holding the long flues may be shallower, thus saving some expense 

 in masonry. The top of the brick wall should be level all the way around and 

 even with the floor of the house, so the operator can easily handle the trays 

 on the upper track. Do not insert woodwork of any kind into the brickwork. 



Lay 2 x 4-inch sills on top of the brick walls all around the four sides. Cut 

 your upright studding of 2x4 joists six and a half feet high, spaced two feet 

 apart, and nail a 2 x 4 plate on top. This is for the two long sides. The ends 

 of the drying chamber are to be supplied with close-fitting doors. Nail surfaced 

 matched lumber on the inner face of the studding. These boards had better be 

 of redwood, so as not to gum up the trays with pitch. 



These two side walls should be perfectly straight, plumb and level and at 

 equal distance apart at all points, so the trays will work true and not bind or 

 slip off the tracks. Nail to these walls tracks or slides made of strips one and 

 one-half inch square. Fasten to these tracks wheels, known to the hardware 

 men as "sash rollers," one inch in diameter and spaced ten inches apart along the 

 track. Cut a little notch in the edge of the track, so the wheel can turn freely, 

 with the big side of the wheel upward. Put twelve of these tracks on each wall, 

 spaced six inches apart, beginning six inches from the ceiling to the top of the 

 first track, then six inches to the top of the next track, etc. One strong 16-penny 

 wire nail driven into each stud will hold these tracks securely. Fasten the wheels 

 with screws to the track on a work bench before nailing them to the walls. 



Nail matched lumber on top of the plates from side to side for a ceiling. 

 This wooden shell will have to be braced from the outside so it can stand up 

 firmly with its load of fruit. 



The ventilator or exhaust flue should be about two by three feet inside and 

 extend about twenty feet above the top of the drier. Build it against the side of 

 the drier, resting on top of the brick wall, close to the front end of the drier. 



The smoke pipe must be carried by a suitable elbow from its position above 

 the furnace through the side brick wall to a point under the center of the venti- 

 lator, thence up through it to the top. A sheet-iron weather cap on top should 

 protect the ventilator and smoke pipe. Make the bottom of the ventilator where 

 smoke pipe enters, air tight to ensure good draft. Provide caps or covers at 

 the elbows to facilitate cleaning out the soot. 



On the side of the drying chamber, at the bottom, cut a hole into the venti- 

 lator for the passage of the damp air from the fruit into the ventilator. This 

 opening should be the shape of a right angled triangle, in such position as though 

 the bottom cover of the side wall were being cut off. The bottom and perpen- 

 dicular side of opening are to be three feet long. The lower tracks go past this 

 opening to carry trays to the door. Some kind of a small guide rail should be 

 placed to prevent the corners of the trays from striking against the edge of 

 opening. The trays are to be one-half inch shorter than the drier is wide inside, 

 so as to move freely without danger of being bound. Two or three rods of 

 half-inch iron provided with screws and nuts should pass through from side to 

 side of drying chamber about half way from top to bottom, to prevent the walls 

 of the drier from warping or bulging, or else the trays will drop off the tracks. 



Make four sides of the trays of stuff one and a half inches square, notched 

 at the corners of trays. Tack on No. 3 mesh galvanized wire cloth. Over this 

 nail strips one inch thick by one and a half inches wide for runners to roll over 

 the wheels. Nail a similar strip across the middle of the tray to prevent the wire 

 cloth from sagging. From twenty-five to fifty extra trays will be found con- 

 venient in operating the drier. The wire cloth is two feet wide. Make the tray 

 frames two feet one inch wide. With average prices for labor and material this 

 drier can be built in a substantial manner for about $500. 



