October 2003 Conditioning Hopper Update

Put Those Hoppers to Work!

I visited with several Conditioning Hopper customers during a recent trip and made a few observations that I would like to pass along.  Many parts of the country are off to a dry start, with most of the incoming cotton arriving at 8% moisture or less.  That makes now the perfect time to put those Hoppers to work for you!  Operating with aggressive temperatures will help you get the results that you want.

Normally, when I am controlling the Humidaire temperatures on a Hopper system, I start out with an air setpoint of 125 degrees and a water setpoint of 110 degrees.  After the system warms up and stabilizes, I begin increasing the water setpoint by a degree or two at a time.  With each change I am monitoring the moisture at each stand.  I keep making adjustments up until I find my sweet spot.  This may necessitate raising the air setpoint upward as well.  On a warm dry day with dry incoming cotton it's not unusual for me to adjust both the air and water setpoints to 135 degrees and if I have to go higher I will.  Those conditions are certainly not the time to let the Humidaire loaf...let her rip!

 Finding the Sweet Spot

In searching for the sweet spot I am watching two things.  First, I monitor how cotton is feeding through the stand.  Keep in mind that adding moisture will actually help dry cotton flow through the feeder, stand, and lint cleaners better, but if cotton begins hesitating on the feed apron (most likely in cold weather) I back off the water setpoint a bit.  Second, I use my handheld meter to see what the moisture is at each feed apron.  Once I become familiar with a system, I am looking for a good range of what I know the stand will handle.  This range is usually 6-7%, though if I know a stand will handle 8% that is what I will push it to.

Because of differences in meters and stands, I suggest you experiment with your meter and your stands to find your sweet spot.  If your meter reads both a "lint scale" and a "cottonseed scale", I suggest using the "lint scale" as that is the moisture we are interested in.

Once you find your sweet spot, you should only need to make occasional checks and adjustments.  This is especially true if you are operating a Moisture Mirror with your Hoppers.  Your Mirror will help keep the cotton coming out of your drying system in a consistent range and in the event of wet cotton catching you by surprise, it will also automatically close the moist air valves to your Hoppers.

 

Martin's Top Tips for Conditioning Hoppers

In addition to the above advice, I've asked Martin Mehner to put together a few tips for getting the most from your Hoppers.  Martin (whose middle name should be "Moisture") is the Vice-President of Engineering for Samuel Jackson, but don't let that fool you into thinking his advice is based on theories at his desk.  He is a hands-on kind of guy and below are his tips from the field.

  

                                                     Martin's Tips

1. After the Humidaire has a chance to stabilize, make sure the  actual temperature matches the setpoint.

2. Regularly check that the moist air valve(s) on each hopper opens and closes properly.

3. Check the air pressure going to the valves daily.  It should be adjusted to about 80 psi.

4. Clean the plenum area and end doors of the Hopper as needed.

5. Use your hand held meter to monitor the differences of moisture between stands.  If one stand is consistently much higher or lower, call the factory for assistance.

6. Spend time with all of your ginners who are responsible for the system, making sure they are comfortable with making adjustments.  Telling them the impact moisture has on quality is a great motivator to get your ginners to maximize the Hoppers performance.

 

New Design for Double-Entry Hoppers

We got a great suggestion from a Conditioning Hopper customer and this fall the testing of the prototype of this idea will be underway.  Our classic "Double-Entry" Hopper requires a trunk line both behind and in front of the gin stand.  In a conversation between one of our staff members and the folks at Grundfest & Klaus Gin in Cary, MS the question was posed, "Why don't you just put moisture in the back and wrap it around the sides to enter the front?"

Well the answer was, "Because we haven't thought of that, yet!"  But as it often happens, another great suggestion from a customer has made its way into production and will hopefully soon be in our normal product line.  The new "Wrap-Around" design will have several advantages over the previous style.

  

"Wrap-Around" Hopper Advantages

1. Easier (and cheaper) piping.

2. Keeps moist air pipes from being located above the gin stand or above the area in front of the stand.

3. Piping doesn't block windows in front side of Hopper.

4. Looks better aesthetically.

5. Allows double-entry hoppers to be used in cases where the pipe route behind the feeders is blocked.

 

I hope this update offered you some helpful suggestions and I wish you a great gin season.  As always, if you have any problems, questions, or suggestions, please give one of us a call.  You can reach our Lubbock office at (806)795-5218 or me at (214)695-0158.

 

Conditioning Hopper Updates are written on a periodic basis to keep our customers informed of the latest developments. 

To receive this update by e-mail or to be removed from this  update recipient list,

please contact Neil Turner at (214) 695-0158 or by e-mail at neil@samjackson.com.