When Perry Sytnyk bought a new grain dryer last fall, he thought he was purchasing insurance to make sure his canola crop wouldn’t heat in the bin.
But over the last two months, Sytnyk, a grain producer near Shoal Lake, Man., figures he’s lost $40,000 worth of canola to spoilage because provincial inspectors said two solenoid valves on his dryer didn’t satisfy Canadian Standards Association codes.
After his dryer failed inspection in January, a local gas company, by provincial order, put a lock on Sytnyk’s liquid propane tank until the valves were replaced.
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“I had the best canola crop I ever grew in my life and it looks like it’s not meant to be,” said Sytnyk, who has made dozens of calls to government officials and to Brock, the dryer manufacturer, to sort out the problem.
“I got it (the dryer) in my yard Dec. 20 and I’ve been trying to get it hooked up and running ever since,” he said.
In late February, after the correct valves were installed, the Manitoba government allowed Sytnyk to fire up his new dryer. But he remains angry about his financial loss and wants to know why his dryer was singled out.
“How are they allowing all these other dryers that are the same to run? If mine is wrong, they’re all wrong,” he said, noting that his dryer, a Brock Superb, came with CSA approval.
Sytnyk bought his dryer last fall from Grant Services Ltd. in Foam Lake, Sask. Derek Grant, owner of Grant Services, said he sold dozens of Brock dryers last fall without a problem.
“We sold 45 of those dryers this year. About 25 are running on propane right now, there are 10 of them that probably aren’t hooked up and we have 10 to come yet. And there hasn’t been one single problem with CSA,” he said.
A spokesperson for Manitoba Labour and Immigration, the provincial department responsible for inspecting grain dryers, said Sytnyk’s dryer “was not properly set up by the manufacturer for using liquid propane.”
In a subsequent e-mail, the spokesperson said “the manufacturer installed the wrong liquid propane solenoid valves on this unit … (and) the propane liquid piping train did not meet the code requirements … but after the necessary changes were made to correct the deficiencies, such as the installation of the correct liquid propane solenoid valves and the liquid propane relief valves on the propane liquid piping train to the grain dryer’s burner, the province approved the utility, Superior Propane, to attempt a start up.”
The province’s concern over the solenoid valves on Sytnyk’s dryer also surprised Jim Williams, senior project engineer at Brock, based in Frankfort, Indiana.
He said the company has never had any questions or lawsuits about its solenoid valves and it has been operating since 1968.
The solenoid valves on the Brock dryers were rated for 150 pounds per sq. inch (psi) for the maximum safe working pressure.
The CSA requirements for the valves are 250 psi.
After learning they failed to meet code, Brock installed 300 psi valves on Sytnyk’s dryer.
However, Williams added, Brock did not knowingly violate the rules. The company was informed by Manitoba Labour and Immigration this winter.
All new Brock dryers sold into Canada will have the 300 psi solenoid valves, Williams said.
He’s not sure what will happen regarding Brock dryers now operating on Canadian farms with 150 psi valves.
Meanwhile, Sytnyk was able to dry his canola this week, but he wonders how he was able to buy a new dryer that isn’t up to code even though it has a CSA approval stamp on it.
What’s a solenoid valve?
* A solenoid valve is an electromechanical device that controls the
flow of a gas or liquid. When turned on, the solenoid opens the valve
and allows the gas or liquid to flow.
* In a grain dryer a solenoid valve controls the flow of liquid propane gas to the vapourizer before the dryer fires up.
* The
solenoid valve needs to withstand a certain pressure because liquid
propane gas is stored in cylindrical tanks. The tank and the liquid
inside heats up when exposed to the sun, thereby increasing pressure in
the tank.
