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Bubbles can quickly locate costly hidden troubles

Applied Research

Jeremiah Davis
Professor and Director
ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEM
AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Heating fuel is one of the largest annual expenses for a poultry producer. Gas is pumped from a holding tank or meter through high-pressure trunk lines that usually run on the outside of poultry houses exposing the lines to temperature fluctuations that cause expansion and contraction of the rigid steel piping. Each threaded connection has the potential to leak, costing the producer money and creating a potential safety hazard. Surveyed producers rarely check their gas piping for leaks unless a catastrophic event occurs. We hypothesize that gas leaks increase with increasing house size and house age. A field survey was conducted on 101 broiler houses on 23 farms ranging in age from new to 33 years old and of varying sizes in central and south Alabama. For each house, the total number of connections on the trunk line were counted. A soap solution in a hand sprayer was used to evaluate each connection for leaks. Leaking fittings were counted before being evaluated as percentage of total fittings to account for variation across houses. Pearson correlation matrices were used to determine correlations of house age and floor area on total number of fittings and percentage of leaking fittings. Total number of fittings ranged from 36 to 170 per house and was strongly correlated to floor area [r(99) = 0.70, p < 0.0001]. Larger floor areas require more heaters and longer piping systems. Leaking fittings ranged from 0% to 32% per house and was not correlated with either house age [r(99) = 0.03, p = 0.74] or floor area [r(99) = 0.05, p = 0.65] for the houses surveyed. The overall average of leaking fittings was 6.9% per house. From these results, leaks seem to be more about craftsmanship than house age or house size. Producers should check for leaks annually or when an increase in fuel usage is seen. A producer can spend less than 30-min per house to evaluate the high-pressure trunk lines. During fall 2022 producer meetings, many were surprised with our findings and immediately went to their farms and found a variety of hidden leaks.

Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC

This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.

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Authors: Jeremiah Davis, Jeremiah Davis, Jesse Campbell, Kelly Griggs, Cody Smith, Baylor Arnold, Joseph Purswell
  1. Davis, J. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, , Alabama, 36849
  2. Davis, J. Associate Professor, National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University, Alabama, 36849
  3. Campbell, J. Assistant Extension Professor, National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University, Alabama, 36849
  4. Griggs, K. Research Engineer, National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University, Alabama, 36849
  5. Smith, C. Research Engineer, National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University, Alabama, 36849
  6. Arnold, B. Undergraduate Research & Extension Intern, National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University, Alabama, 36849
  7. Purswell, J. Research Leader, USDA ARS Poultry Research Unit, Mississippi, 39762