Npi, LLC.

Gustav James Fehlhaber

Victor J Dervin

A moisture remover for produce is preferably installed in an enclosure within which a produce support such as a foraminous conveyor is installed. A fan takes heated air from a heater and discharges the heated air upwardly through the conveyor and then through the produce itself. Air leaving the produce returns to the air heater for reheating and recirculation by the fan. Moisture from the produce rises and travels to a cooler within the enclosure and condenses on the cooler. There is no air circulation through the cooler. Moisture condensed on the cooler is drained from the cooler and preferably is discharged outside the enclosure and is not reevaporated into the recirculating heated air.

Moisture remover for produce

A refrigeration feed system includes an accumulator adapted to contain liquid in its lower portion and to contain gas in its upper portion. A plurality of individual evaporators are arranged each at a different elevation above the accumulator. A pump withdraws liquid from the lower portion of the accumulator and pumps the liquid through a supply manifold to each one of the evaporators. There is a return manifold from each of the evaporators to the upper portion of the accumulator. Each evaporator has an upgoing pipe coming from the supply manifold and has a downgoing pipe going to the return manifold. A connecting device between the upgoing and downgoing pipes forms a weir disposed substantially at the elevation of the upper portion of the respective evaporator to which the manifold is connected. Liquid rising in the upgoing pipe can overflow into and mix with gas in the downgoing pipe and continue by gravital drainage back to the accumulator for recirculation. Each of the evaporators can thus be run flooded and with excess liquid automatically draining by gravity back to the accumulator. Substantially the same head or liquid pressure is maintained on each one of the individually disposed evaporators.

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Burlingame, CA, United States of America

Gustav James Fehlhaber