The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-05-26
THE ICE PLANT OPENED.
Many Persons Visit the Building
How the Huge Crystal
Cakes are Manufac-
tured.

A. P. Benson Il Son, proprietors of
the Sedalia ice plant, opened their
establishment yesterday afternoon, on
which occasion their was a large gath
ering of visitors, among them many
ladies. The proprietors kindly showed
their guests through the establishment
and made as plain as possible to them
the method OF operation by which the
water is turned into frozen blocks.
The first places to visit are the en-
CINE and boiler rooms. In the former
are the so III. P. latest improved cut
of Corliss engine and gas pump, the
engine having a stroke of 30x1S and
the gas engine stroke of 13 3-4x30.
The handsome newly painted and
gilded pieces of machinery form the
motive power while the propelling
force is supplied by a 100 III. P. boiler,
built by the Variety Iron works of
Cleveland, Ohio.
The tank room is a place of much
interest. There the Ice is made, the
daily output being equal to twenty
five tons.
The tanks are constructed on scien-
tifc principles for the task they have
to perform. There are two large
tanks. each twenty-six feet wide by
twenty-six long and five feet high
and each holding 24O ice moulds,
each with capacity of 800 pounds of
CONCEALED water, or total of seventy
five tons of ice. Thus, when the
moulds are all filled for the first time
the work of making ice is kept up
continuously in the following mapner ;
Twenty-Five tons are removed for de-
livery aud in their place twenty-five
tons of water is substituted to be trans
formed into solid cystal. This leaves
fifty tons of ice on hand to be drawn
upon while the new ice is making. A
part of the remaining fifty tons is
next removed and their molds are
filled with pure condensed water, and
SO ON continuously.
In The first place the tanks are fill
ed with salt water, because that find
can be reduced to and kept at a low
temperature. Then the moulds, fill
ed with pure condensed water, are
put in position, being placed between
coils of pipe through which the anhy.
drous ammonia is drawn by the gas
pump on the engine. There are
1000 feet of one-fourth inch pipe
alone used in the tanks to surround
the moulds, and in this connection it
may be mentioned that /, 720 feet of the
same sized pipe is used in the con-
denser on the second floor. In front
of the tanks are placed two circulating
pumps to keep the tens of thousands
of gallons of salt water in the tanks
in constant circulation. Therefore the
reader has before him the two age nts
the anhydrous ammonia and the salt
water, which create temperature low
enough to freeze into large blocks the
water in the moulds.
Last night and to-day the Messrs.
Benson have had on exhibition in va.
rious parts of the city specimen blocks
of their magnificent ice. In some of
them have been ingeniously frozen
meats vegetables, flowers, fishes and
frogs.
In one huge block of crystal, which
stood at the corner of Ohio and Third
streets, an electric globe was frozen,
and lit. The sight was quite beauti-
full. The ice plant is big institution
for Sedalis and should have the pat
rouage of all It's citizens.