The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-04-05
4 HOME INVENTION.
ne IA. - rixnry Ter Machine.


visit yesterday afternoon to the foundry
Of Leeds & Co. for the purpose OF exam
ming and witnessing the operation OF
the new ice machine patented by our
fellow townsmen, A. Jas and Edward
Fixary. This machine consists of IN
engine, an ether pump, a freezing-box
and n condenser IL can be made OF
almost any size and capacity. to suit the
requirements Of the locality where 1t Is
used. This Is neither the time nor the
place for entering into detailed de-
scription of the various parts OF this re-
markabe machine. Suffice 1t to say
that the refrigerating agent employed
Is methyl- chlorhydric ether, and that
the same charge Of this ether will serve
for nm indefinite length Of time. allow
ing of course for n small~ but
hardly appreciable waste The ether
is contained In n small reser-
voir under the condenser; thence
1t is made to pass into u series Of tubes
enclosed within plates surrounding the
moulds containing the water to be
frozen being very volatile, IL expands
all of the heat contained In the water
The process by which this ether Is re-
condensed into its primitive liquid state,
after following N serpentinc course
through extensive tubing and passing
through the pump by which it Is forced
into the condenser, and thence back
into the reservoir, is very ingenious and
interesting, but need not be described.
With this machine, blocks of ice OF al
| oil. l I'm ftpr
winter or summer ut u triiling cost; in
fact, the cost OF the ice Is represented
simply by the interest on the capital
| invested the salary of an engineer,
when large machines are used, ana the
labor required to withdraw the blocks
Of ice from the machine Mt the end OF
days work Consequently, the larger
the machine used, the less will the ice
cost, since the cost Of large machine
Is much less. in proportion, than that
| of q small one, and one engineer can
run large machine as well rs a small
one. The owners propose, however. to
have constructed, as soon as possible,
n model Of machine, the cost Of which
will be within the means even OF indivi-
dual planters for the use OF their
| families and laborers. They propose,
also, to send one to Philadelphia for
exhibition, In which they will introduce
recent improvement in the freezing
box, which will furnish perfectly clear
ice in blocks.
The machine now on exhibition at tho
Leeds foundry Is the first one that has
been made, and has produced astonish-
| ing results. block OF ice taken from
one OF the molds measured two feet in
width, two feet In length and ten inches
in thickness and had, consequently, u
weight OF two hundred and fifty pounds.
This ice was very solid but opaque, ow-
ing to the fact that it was made by using
besides the lower plates, movable
upper plate containing the refrigerating
agent, tho effect OF which is to imprison
in the ice portion OF the air found In
the mold. Such large blocks OF ice will
serve admirably for refrigerating pur-
poses. Another block drawn from the
| freezing box while we were present
weighed about sixty pounds, having u
length and breadth OF two feet and n
thickness OF two inches and q half.
This ice was solid and clear, having
been frozen only from below, and gave
universal satisfaction. It might, OF
course, have been made much thicker.
We are informed that u thickness OF
one inch and a quarter represents the
work OF three hours, when the freezing
is done from one side only.
Messrs. Leeds IL Go. are preparing
estimates of the cost of machines of
varying capacity, and it Is probable
that the proprietors Of the patents
which have been granted for this in
vention will make public before long
all the points that could interest would
be purchasers OF these machines, which
are undoubtedly q great improvement
upon anything OF the kind that has
ever been known in this or prob
ably any other country.