"hop-jack" where spent grain is removed and liquor pumped to coolers, then fermented in wooden vats, and "racked" or drawn off in kegs. Hazards-In kiln house, the setting of the furnace supplying the heat to dry the grain. Where furnace is directly under the drying floors, the grain is apt to fall on the furnace and ignite, therefore the top of furnace should be hooded. Where brick-set furnaces are located in building adjoining, the heated air is blown or forced into the kiln house through brick flues. These buildings should be cut off from balance of the plant. The suction fan over kiln floors at roof collects considerable dust, and fires are caused by friction of machinery and dusty bearings. In "Brew" house. the "lofters" or "legs," which are traveling belts, enclosed in wood boxing, on which buckets are fastened, conveying grain from one floor to another. They should be of metal; whether of wood or metal they should have explosion vents. The latter are small doors kept closed by spring hinges. The force of a dust explosion opens these doors sufficiently to cause a lessening of the force of the explosion. The "strut" board of lofter over which passes the belting should be slanting to prevent the grain from collecting and causing friction fires in bearings. The "boot" or lower part of the lofter should also be slanting and kept clean. Malt mill to be of all metal design with magnets at the rollers where malt is crushed to catch all metallic substances, thus preventing sparks at the rollers. Also springboards under the rollers will keep malt packed against the rollers, preventing an accumulation of dust which in the event of a spark would explode. An automatic steam jet at this point would extinguish fire, resulting from such dust explosions. Screeners should have magnets where grain enters through hoppers, also at grain bins through which pass the lofters. Incidental hazards are cooper shops with pitch kettle. Pitch kettles are usually heated by direct fires and ought to be outside the buildings under separate cover. Storage of, repairing and varnishing old fixtures. Branding kegs. The branding iron used to impress the name of the brewer on the keg is sometimes heated by an improvised gasoline fuel |