"Think like a farmer" Note: Emails are organized in the order received, with first received at the top. The cat is the Maine coon. Enjoyed seeing you in St. Louis. Ann Timberlake Norcross, Georgia USA *** Good Afternoon Jim, I always enjoy your newsletter and very much appreciate being included in the distribution. Usually I just accept your wisdom without comment, but today I have some specific and general remarks on the column... Specifically, you are right that there are about a bazillion BTU's of heat in the air in the machine room. There are fancy engineering calculations that can be done to estimate the heat actually recoverable (i.e. Gibbs Free Energy, for example). The real issue that makes recovery difficult is the relatively low temperature differential between the two streams. To make the heat transfer work at the low temperatures requires a huge surface area or a lot of time (the U factor in the heat transfer equation). So, it is not the value of the energy as much as it is the value of the stuff you need to capture the energy that makes many energy recovery projects uneconomical. That really was not your point, though. I see a lot of people who want to have the newest toy; er, instrument, tool, machine, etc. - often for not much better reason than it is cool looking. That is to say, they buy new equipment for more or less the same reason they buy a new car. Often there is an elegant and nearly cost free solution at hand that comes from tuning, correctly sizing piping, replacing ruined insulation, fixing leaks or other things that can be realized through the application of practical engineering brain power. This can be as simple as ripping out old crap that has been abandoned in place, so that there is enough room for somebody to do their work. These are the kind of things that farmers do. I applaud you for recognizing the need for elegant, simple solutions in our industry. John Lasswell Appleton, Wisconsin USA *** This week's riddle: While we are on cats, what large breed of domestic cat has a name that includes both a U.S. state and a colloquialism for another animal? The "Great Dane" of the cat breeds, the Maine Coon. Cindy Davis Memphis, Tennessee USA *** Hi Jim, My husband is one of those creative inventors like the farmers you wrote about. He comes up with the most ingenious solutions to household problems and effective, inexpensive alternatives to major cost repairs especially to our antique trucks. The answer to this week's riddle is the Maine Coon. They are the most wonderful cats. We've had a total of four over the last 15 years and currently have two. We're hooked and I don't think we'll ever have any other kind of pet. We refer to them as "puppy cats." They are very intelligent, loving and have many dog-like qualities. I've taught both to "sit" and "lie down" on command. One fetches. The other is too dignified for that! Both come when called – I think more out of curiosity about what is going on that they might miss rather than a "doing what they're told" response! They meet us at the door when we come home and the female rolls over on her back to have her belly rubbed. They are also very vocal but seldom truly "meow." They have a whole vocabulary of murmurs. They are big. Our female weighs in at 12 lbs and she's not quite full grown. The male is about 20 lbs. I have to watch him because he can just see over the top of the kitchen counter when standing on his hind legs. He has a tendency to reach for meat when I'm cutting it. Thus the need to teach him to "sit." They are tall enough to turn door knobs if they knew how. Thankfully, they haven't figured that one out yet. I love Nip Impressions. I look forward to it every week. Nancy McDonnell West Carrollton, Ohio USA --- OK, Nancy, I have been wanting to come by to see your trucks and construction machinery. Now I'll have to come see the cats. I'll be headed to Portland, Indiana to the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show in late August, perhaps I can stop by? (How's that for inviting myself?) Jim *** Jim: I think Travis is looking for a Maine Coon cat. By the way, I read all your other material before I try to answer the question! Peter N. Williamson Hudson, Quebec Canada --- Advertisers, please note what Peter said! Jim *** Jim, Another good one! My life on the farm taught me more about problem solving than all of the seminars I've attended and the methodology was pretty simple: . See the problem . Define the problem . Identify possible solutions . Decide if the problem is worth the cost of the solution. . If yes, implement the solution . If not, either forget the problem or look for a less costly (by whatever measurement selected) solution . Did the solution work? . If yes, celebrate the fix . If no, start over. . All along this path look for the simplest solution; it's likely the best one. Regarding your thoughts on dryer hood losses; while at IPMC the air systems on the Yankee dryers always intrigued me. Even though that mill was as old as dirt, these hoods were thermodynamically efficient. They were balanced to prevent blow-out into the machine room and pull-in from the machine room; both were not good. The make-up and exhausts were controlled so as to maintain the proper RH in the hood system; too low and heat was wasted on too much make-up; too high and machine operating rates and paper quality suffered. I always wanted to understand why Yankees couldn't be integrated into heavier wt grades of paper; yes I understand the issue with curl control but it would seem that multiple Yankees on opposing sides of the sheet and/or the use of curl control systems like LAS units or something similar could help. My thoughts were that a fine paper machine could be built with two ENP's and two Yankees ahead of size press, two metering size presses and a conventional dryer section after size (since they tend to be very short) with a curl control system would be a simple, short, fast, few open draw machine. I always wanted a machine with fewer pieces and more definitive controls--from the HD chest to the reel. For instance I never understood why the wet end couldn't be one or two chests and a series of static mixers with GOOD fast-loop controls. There's no reason that a grade change can't be made in under 5 minutes if the machine system has the proper mixing, time constants, monitors, and controls. Oh well, I guess it's pretty obvious that I have some time on my hands. By the way, except for the pay and the benefits, I really like this retirement gig! Ed Turner Houston, Texas USA --- Ed, one thing I could never figure out back on the farm was small holes. For instance, if you got a small hole in a tractor's gas tank, the thing would leak out in minutes. However, the small holes in hydraulic control valves (bigger than the gas tank holes) could find the tiniest piece of dirt and plug up instantly. Perhaps these thoughts linger because (a) I remember being stranded by a gas tank hole while logging one winter and (b) I remember my dad and I spending all night in the moonlight during one fine April plowing season trying to get a 4 bottom plow that had collapsed due to a hydraulic valve malfunction to work again. Lost 12 hours of good plowing weather, and if I remember correctly, it started raining about dawn. It probably shows the holes in my brain that I still spend time thinking about this. Jim ### Have a comment? Send your email to jthompson@taii.com. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume we can use your name if we publish your letter.