Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-07-01
Artificial Ice.

SPEAKING Of the ice-works of the manu-
featuring company at Montgomery, Ala,
a correspondent Of the AdUertiser gives the
following interesting account of the
manner in which the great frigid luxury
is made Seventy thousand gallons of
water are used daily in the manufacture
OF II 600 pounds of ice the cost of which
when placed in the ice-house, is about
threeeighths ola cent per pound, which is
cheaper than the freight from the lakes if
the ice was put On the cars gratis, besides
the advantage of getting it in small quanti-
ties when desired and being much cleaner
and purer than lake-ice.
The distilled water is put in tin cans
thirty inches long, nine and a half inches
vide and two and three-fourths inches
thick, which leaves the ice in convenient
shape for handling. These cans are then
placed in rows in tanks filled with salt
water Though of course the salt water does
not come quite to the tops of the cans so
as to mix the distilled water which they
cOntain), through which iron pipes con-
duct the ether. The ether is made in an
other room, and after being purified is
pumped into a receiver and brought under
a pressure of 20 to ITO pounds to the
square inch, which Iiquidizes it. 1t is
then forced through a small tube to a
larger tube which opens into all the pipes
in the tank (about 100 pipes in each tank;
it then expands into gas and fills all the
tubes Gts capacity for expansion being as
/ to 600.
The ether extracts the calOric from the
water which surrounds the tubes. thus
equaliZing the temperature and bringing
the whole below the freezing point-the
distilled water freezing very readily and
the salt water being brought down several
degrees colder than ice, yet without freez-
ing. The gas passes on through the pipes
and into a receiver, from which it is
pumped into an ether-holder and again re-
duced to a liquid by pressure, which is ia
cilitated by passing it through a long coil
of pipe surrounded by cold water 1t is
then forced through the tubes again and
performs the same work over. Some of
the ether gas-pipes were covered with
snow to the depth of three quarters of an
inch, which collected from the surround
ing atmosphere. 1t is very difficult to
conine it, but if not allowed to escape the
same quantity can be used continually.
1t is said to be much better than mercury,
as the latter eats out copper pipes in
short time, and iron pipes in about two
years, while the latter does not affect the
metals.
The cans are taken out one at time and
dipped into vat of hot water, which
lOOsens the cake of ice, which then slips
out and the can is again filed and set in
It's place. This is done three times day.
These slabs Of ice weigh twenty-five
pounds each, and four of them are piled
on top of each other and allowed to freeze
together, making 100 pounds to the block.
These blocks are kept separate by placing
small sticks between them.
It is said that this ice IS actually colder
(f such a thing be possible) than lake ice;
that in room at 100 deg. Fair, in sum-
mer, it would not even show moisture on
the surface for fully fifteen minutes.