Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-03-08
SHIPPING FRUITS WITHOUT oscAY,
Description Of . New Refrigerator Car Tha,
Supplies n Dry, Even Temperature.

Description Of . New Refrigerator Car Tina,
Supplies n Dry, Even Temperature.
Sacramento Beel
A number of Sacramentans recently had
an opportunity of examining a new sys
tenn OF preserving fresh fruits and vegcia
bles during the transit across the con
tinent The principles involved may be
briefly explained as follows: The re
have demonstrated that the decay Of
organic matter Is due to bacteria, and that
warmth and moisture are conditions
peculiarly favorable to their development.
For instance, the ordinary refrigerator car.
with its quantities Of ice, produces a
great deal Of moisture, and in order to
counteract its effects the temperature
must be kept down about freezing point
The regular fruit car is but a shell, al
lowing ventilation and giving access to
outside air, and 1t Is the sad experience of
shippers that one very hot day In transit
will often ruin the greater part of ship
ment The new car referred to proposes
to do away with both objections. by al
lowing no access whatever to outside air.
preserving uniform temperature through
out the car and free circulation of very
dry. cold air.
The car itself is an ordinary insulated
refrigerator car. which is closed at the be
ginning Of the trip and not opened until
the perishable goods reach their destina.
ton. The car weighs $4,000 pounds,
some 5000 pounds more than the shell
fruit car, but considerably less than the
ordinary refrigerator car with its load OF
ice In one end of 1t is the machinery
for regulating the temperature. occupying
just four feet, so that in available space.
too. 1t has an advantage over the refriger-
ator car. A long pipe punctured with
many holes runs along the car at the top,
and back into the machinery end where a
small fan supplies suction to draw the air
from the car into the pipe and 1t is then
carried down, passed among pipes con
tanning the cooling fluid and thrown in
upon the fruits and meats again All
moisture clings to the cooling pipes and
the air circulating Is kept cool and dry.
The cooling liquid is made of alcohol
and muriatic acid and Is known as chic.
ride Of ethyl 1t Is neutral fluid, pos.
sessing neither the corrosive qualities Of
the acid nor the imtlammabiity of
alcohol This chloride of ethyl in passing
through the labyrinth of pipes is vapor.
lied and allowed to condense again, thus
producing the degree of cold required
The power is taken from the axle of the
car, and several ingenious devices are re-
sorted to- to counteract the pulling and
jumping of the car, and again to obtain
the exact degree of power required. no
matter at what speed the car moves.
This particular car brought through lot
of meats from Chicago in excellent con-
dition. and where ordinary refrigerators
were compelled to keep the temperature
at 80 degrees lest the meat should spoil,
under this system it is kept for four or
six days at 45 degrees and comes through
in better shape while the woodwork OF
the car remains as dry as a chip 1t is
tionize fruit shipments. as 1t will land
fruits in Chicago and New York without
decay and almost in the condition in
which they leave here