Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/105709
ARE YOU SAVING FUEL? Case N Series - Narrow Width Low Profile Orchard & Vineyard Tractor 62-92 PTO hp Also available the Case IH FARMALL® 105 HP N Series . . . Brand new HP in the Farmall® N Series Line For the vineyard or orchard . . . checkout the fuel savings with the New Farmall® N Series Line Cell: 509 391-0073 jlopez@farmersequip.com Robert Evans www.farmersequip.com Other locations in Lynden and Burlington PRODUCTION SAFETY "Heaters are very inefficient," Evans said. "Only 10 to 15 percent of the heat stays in the orchard; the rest goes straight up." Heaters are best used as a supplement to wind machines. They should be positioned at the margins of the area protected by the wind machine, 120 to 150 feet from the machine. Evans likened mobile heaters that are towed through the orchard to "heating a room with a candle. You need to return to each place in the orchard every four to six minutes to be effective." Wind machines Vineyard & Orchard Production & Processing… Industrial Safety, Fire Protection and PPE Products, Farmworker Protective Spray Clothing, Sanitation and Processing Equipment, Industrial and Specialized Gases. Call your local OXARC® sales representative today! Serving all of the Inland Northwestern Agricultural Industries PASCO: 509-547-2494 MOSES LAKE: 509-765-9247 OKANOGAN: 509-826-3205 42 FEBRUARY 1, 2013 GOOD FRUIT GROWER YAKIMA: 509-248-0827 WENATCHEE: 509-662-8417 WALLA WALLA: 509-529-3060 Wind machines work by mixing warmer air from above with cold air accumulating at tree level, Evans said, so a source of warm air is important. They work best in radiation freezes where there is a warmer inversion layer of air from which to pull. If there is a four-degree temperature difference between a six-foot height in the orchard and the warmer air at 60 feet, Evans said, a 35-foot tall wind machine would pull that down and contribute about a two-degree temperature rise in the orchard. Wind machines have become more popular because they make effective use of fuel. "Helicopters are an expensive (and sometimes dangerous) variation of a wind machine," he said. They can be very effective because they are mobile and can find warmer air at higher levels. They can cover up to 40 acres, about three times that of a wind machine. "A heavy helicopter will pull down a lot of air," Evans said, "but they are expensive." Cold air drains, which Evans calls fountains, work like fountains, lifting cold air from the coldest part of the orchard floor and propelling it upward. Evans doubts their effectiveness because the cold air is inefficiently mixed with upper warm air and cold air falls. "This process serves to recirculate the cold air that was pushed up earlier and has resettled back to the ground, as well as the cold air drift that continues to accumulate in the vicinity," he said. "Over time, the cold air pool deepens, and frost injury can still occur." • www.goodfruit.com