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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-03-24, Page 16PAGE lG-;-(ODERICH SIGNAI,>STAR,,THURS aAY, MARCH 24,1977 W; Yy In bunches of ten Oz Indrews, left, and Charlie Putman of C.H. Epps assemble the double scale meters that imike up half of the company's new Chem Applicator. The pumps are assembled in orders oi + 0 with production expected to increase in 1978. (News -Record photo) Story by Chris Zdeb ey help When Bill Hearn and Don Stewart joined the fight on bacteria, two years ago, they found themselves on the losing side. It was bacteria 1 - Hearn -Stewart 0, with bacteria slowly pulling ahead. Last"Oar, the underdogs managed to tie the war with the introduction of a secret weapon and bacteria sud- denly found itself losing strength. It was bacteria 1 - Hearn -Stewart I, and gaining. ` For as long as farmers have stored forages, corn silage and high -moisture cereals, they have been plagued with the problem of maintaining the nutrients present at harvest time. Drying and chemical treatment have long been employed to discourage mold from setting in, with the use of organic acids gaining in popularity to the more ex- pensive drying method. But While farmers had the ways of combatting the bacteria, they found they lacked the means to apply the acid. Bill Hearn and Don Stewart of Clinton entered the picture and suddenly there was a means, in the design of a new chemical applicator. A device consisting of a pump and meter, the Chem Applicator, is the first pump constructed of materials capable of withstanding the highly corrosive formic acid in Chemsil, the chemical used to preserved forages from the raves of mold. "While 'there- has always been a chemical available to preserve forages, there was no pump that could withstand the corrosive action of the chemical," Don Stewart explained. Pumps preceeding, the Chem Applicator tended to - 1 WELCOME SERVICE breakdown as their parts were eaten away by the acid. Ranging from $700 to $1,500 these early pumps would generally Last no longer than one season. "Most of those pumps are dead and gone now," Don said. The $500 Chem Applicator is expected to have a life expectancy of five years. Since last summer, C. H. Epps of Clinton the pump manufacturer, had had 10 of the devices performing under field service conditions, and all have thus far withstood the corrosive action of the preservative chemical. "The pump is made of stainless steel, teflon, High Molecular Weight (HMW) polyethelene, and polypropylene," Don said, "all very resistant materials that stand up to acids." It took the combined efforts of five men, $I9,000 in government funds and about $30,000 put up by C. H. Epps to come up with the new device. While the company will again restrict its sales to Ontario this year to monitor its operation, there are plans to expand the market in 1978 both at home and abroad, especially Quebec and the northern United States where forages grow well. . • When the government agency DREAM, (Development Research and Evaluation of Agricultural Mechanization) came to C. H. Epps and its vice-president Don Stewart to design a pump capable of withstanding the acids it would have to pump, its design fell to the com- pany's president, Bill Hearn. A mechanical engineering graduate of the University of Toronto, Bill found the pump itself to be the hardest part of the device to design. "The problem was to come up with a pump with enough power," yet keep it compact," Bill said. Designing the fluid meter however, also posed its share of problems. "The mctering"was difficult because it works on the principal ,of. gravity, (what goes up must come down)," Bill said. He eventually designed. a pd"fnp complete with a double scale meter, allowing for smaller amounts of chemical to he handled, but the first complete design of 1975 had to be scrapped, Bill said, Once designed, the finer details of the device came under the direction of "Sam" Vora, an engineer from Toronto. Don "Oz" Andrews and Charlie Putman, C. H. Epps employees, completed the team of five men who helped to design the Chem Applicator. The pump may not be a product of K -Tel Manufac- turing, the company that brings you just about every handy -dandy little item you can think of, but with its impressive list of special features, the device could very well qualify for the K - Tel Hall of Fame. Besides being constructed of corrosive resistant materials, the pump is very easy to install, requiring no wrenches, with its single action barrel pump. It can be converted to a transfer pump for saddle or nurse tanks mounted on a tractor and operates from a 12 -volt tractor battery or a 10 amp battery charger. "In other words, the power source is already there, the farmer doesn't need to find a special way of powering the pump," Don said. A self -priming device in- stantly pushes the acid through the distributing nozzle with a flick of the power switch, and when shut off, the sump self -drains of all acid as a safety precaution. , The double scale meter.is the only one of its kind. Capable of reading a flow rate of 1 pound per minute to six gallons per minute, a ratio of 1 - 60, the meter is accurate at even low levels. - "The standard meters had a ratio of 1-10," Don ex- plained. "The double scale meter allows for a high flow and a low flow." Last summer, the United Co-operatives, of Ontario, (UCO) whose chemical, Chemsil is used to preserve stored forages, bought 10 of the pumps and put them into use. C. H. Epps is presently completing the UCO's ordeal for 35 pumps which will be monitored again before any move is made to. expand its markets. The pump has been used to treat high moisture corn being stored in the silo, and has proven equally as ef- fective out on the field at- tached to a harvester. For city folk unfamiliar with the workings of a farm, the process of spraying preservative chemicals on forages and corn silage is something similar to pickling. While not hurting the animals eating the silage, the chemical makes the neighbourhood 'very unap- pealing for mold and bac- teria. - "The acid lowers the PH of the forages from 7 to 4, making growth conditions for oxygen living bacteria less than perfect," Don explained. When growth conditions for bacteria are near ideal the energy made by the bacteria heats up the forages, burning off -the protein that should be consumed h livestock. A cow eating sil. low in protein coni person eating lacking nutrients, "The goal is tolls December that wig cows give as much' June when they aro Don explained. Soy bean meal used to supplement with the protein tit forages have, been provide, but centration on devi at ra Id wu it th au CS et th ou es, ur o vici nd to SMILE Of A woman's girdle auto insurance p difficult to determidt what's covered. Sign on roadside "Cider easy to get be hard later." YOUR HEAD QUARTERS FOR •ROGERS MAJESTIC TV •EXPERT TV SERVICE • ANTENNA & TOWER INSTALLATION WI nlo ch bol at wi err owl fo ant ed t dy. up end E en NIT er very be at olc cro ing, Bent emet exte would like to call you with • housewarming gifts" and in- formation about yoisr row location. The Hostess wilt be glad to arrange your subscrip- tion to the Signal -Star Coll her at 524-2057 ((-4,0/uncoaiii man has seventeen reasons why you should let them prepare your income tax return:' Reason Number Fourteen: H R Block people are hurnan and once in a great while they may make an error. But it that error means you have to pay adddional tax. you pay only the tax. H R Block pays any interest and penalty. They stand behind their work. HIM BLOCK THE INCOME.EAX PEOPLE 19 VICTORIA ST. N. Hwy. 21 beside Presbyterian Church Open 9 a.m.4 p.m. Week -days 9-5 Saturetay Phone 524-8958 LARGEST STOCK IN THE COUNTY WORK BOOTS This is a raindrop It keep falling. Especially in The Spring. In fact, you can all sorts of weather. Irene Hill Ladies Wear has top name All -Weather coats that are so beautiful you'd never suspect they're so versatile. They're made of the finest gabardines, poplins and weather -treated cottons. Then of course their style. Detailed in design, fashionable in look. (They will look great on - Oven when getting rained on.) All in slick Spring colours. So if raindrops keep falling on your head or wherever .... come to Irene Hill Ladies Wear. We'll keep you delectably dry. AH -Weather Coats Wrist action the key It's in the flick of wrist. Renowned Clinton bacteria fighters, Don Stewart, left, and Bill Hearn look over the Chem Applicator that has made it tougher for bacteria to live in stored forages, corn silage and high -moisture cereals. (News -Record photo) stuncoott mall ',simmer HOME CENTRE , smoR ' • WORLD SPORTS SHOP 'lb. IA" RA WO F ARM CREME r IRENE HILl I- CHILDREN'S, FURNITURE —Industrial — Farm — Factory Plain or safety toe .,, PUNCTURE PROOF SOLES rd ucce datl I Tin rich ables art; men' low, f Hele serve socia sonal port C Sick don. rri. otter i break under the 'utexi and 'jeune CREATIONS' Labels This is value .... priced from $40.00 $75. These slick All -Weather coats will be featured in the Fashion Show. this Thursday and Friday Evening 4 appea the nosh art Of Offi al sent hould age o e dis Rendezvous with fashion and you Thursday, Friday, March 24th, 25th tot' OPERi tatty 'Sidi gunfaiast