Way To Vent Livestock Buildings

Way to Vent Livestock Buildings LIVESTOCK Buildings 13-2-26 You'll like the price tag on the revolutionary new Poly-Tex ventilation system for modified open front livestock buildings that uses inflatable plastic tubes to automatically control side and ridge air movement. "You can install it yourself in new or existing buildings for about half the cost, or less, of conventional fans, heat exchangers, hinged doors and cooling pad systems," says Lowell Anderson, farm marketing director for Poly-Tex Inc., of Castle Rock, Minn. "Our new system was initially developed four years ago for greenhouses and is the hottest thing going in that market. Now, after two years of on-farm testing, we're introducing it to the farm market for use in hog, poultry and turkey barns." The Poly-Tex system for controlling side ventilation resembles an air mattress standing on one edge. For example, suppose the side vent opening in a building is 4ft. high and 290 ft. long. A "mattress," made of seven 6 in. dia. tubes stacked lengthwise one on top the other and extending the full 290 ft. length of the building, completely fills and seals the opening when the air tubes are fully inflated. One 1/40 hp squirrel cage fan inflates the top four tubes, and a second fan, also 1/40 hp, inflates the bottom three tubes. When an inside thermostat or humidistat calls for fresh air, the bottom fan shuts off, causing the bottom three tubes to deflate and slowly collapse accordian style, creating a 2 to 4 in. top opening for outside air to move into the building. If still more fresh air is called for, the top fan shuts off, causing the top tubes to deflate and thus expand the vent opening to the maximum width. Here, according to Anderson, are other key features of the new system: •Except for the two fractional horsepower fans, there are no moving mechanical parts ù no conventional fans, hinged doors, air-lines to freeze, cables to stretch, or expensive curtain controllers to maintain or re-place. 'The inflatable "mattress," made of clear polyethylene plastic for controlling side ventilation, lets sunlight enter the building's interior even when the vent opening is closed. •Easily installs on the outside of most existing livestock buildings without having to do a lot of remodeling. •Entire"mattress" can be quickly cleaned with a hose, or with a high pressure washer. •A Poly-Vent "mattress," which always stays horizontal, will go around 90? corners if you want to extend it beyond one side of the building. -The system easily adapts to zone ventilation. For example, suppose a 200 ft. long hog barn is divided into a 40 ft. grower section, and a 160 ft. finishing section. The Poly-Tex system lets you control each section separately for only the cost of adding two 1/40 hp fans. •When fully inflated, the "mattress" fits tight into self-aligning grooves built into the top and bottom metal framework (made of 24 ga. galvanized metal or optional aluminum) to completely seal the entire opening. •The inflatable "mattress" adapts to side vents from 2 to 5 ft. high, and up to about 300 ft. long. For ridge ventilation, Poly-Tex offers its inflatable "mattress" in a one tube (for 5 in. wide or less ridge openings) and two tube (for openings up to 10 in. wide) models. The tubes are made of 12 mil black polyethylene and, when inflated with a 1/70 hp fan, work like giant-size balloons to block the flow of air movement through the ridge. "Operation of the system is totally automatic and virtually freeze and dust proof," says Anderson. He adds that both side and ridge vent systems can be installed in con-junction with plastic netting to make the openings "bird proof." Material cost for either a side or ridge system, with galvanized metal framing top and bottom, runs from $6.35 to $7.70 per lineal ft., depending on size of the opening (to a maximum width of 5 ft.). The cost with optional aluminim framing ranges from $8.45 to $12.50 per lineal ft. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Poly-Tex Inc., P.O. Box 458, Castle Rock, Minn. 55010 (ph 1 800 852-3443, or 507 663-0362).

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