Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-11-25
THE CURRENTS MANY USES
1t Does All Sorts of Work Around a
Modern Hotel.

An electric plant of considerable di-
mansions is required to answer the
demands of modern American hotel.
Here the current is put TO a variety OF
uses, including refrigeration, ventila-
ton, heating and elevators, and ne
ceSsitating the conduct of several
branches of business each of which Is
generally supposed to be an industry
entirely separate or distinct from the
hotel business. The most notable ex-
ample of this sort of a plant is the
recently finished installation of the
Plankington hotel in Milwaukee.
This establishment requires some six
teen tons of ice or its equivalent re-
frigeration in a day. Add to this the
lighting of some 1000 incandescent
lamps-quite a load for a central sta
tion-besides the auxiliary power, and
you have some conception of the pow
er required. This hotels power
equipment is interesting from the fact
that the management engages in a
general supply of power to neighboring
buildings for lighting, elevator service
and similar work and the revenue de-
rived from this source is sufficient to
nay for all the power consumed in the
hotel, so that it gets this practically
free of cost,
The ice plant, Heterogeneous
and boxes to be cooled are located in
the hotel proper and are at various To-
cations in the basement and on the
first floor. Some of the boxes to be
cooled are over 1000 feet from the re-
frigerating machinery. AS the boxes
and cold-storage-rooms are built to be
Kept at temperatures ranging from is
/ degrees to A, according to require
ments, heat insulation is most i'm
portant feature Of the successful and
economical operation Of the plant.
This is accomplished in the following
manner, some variations. of course
being made TO suit the special location
and temperature maintained. First
I in the case of a room, there are two
! thicllneSses of en-eighths-inch
/ boards, with insulating felt paper be-
| tween, while on each side there are
/ by 4 inch studdings, the four-inch
interstice being filed with mineral
| wood There is then a two-inch dead
air space, followed by a double sheet
! ing Of eighths-inch boards, The
| temperature Of the room described, by
| thorough insulation and coils of brine
/ pipes. is kept al "a degrees F'ahren-
/ heit. AS before stated. four tons of ice
per day are turned out by this plant
| for immediate consumption. This ice
/ is made by the plate system and re-
Quires six days for its formation in
| twelve-inch cakes The water is de-
/ rived from an artesian well, which is
/ purified by a quartz sand filter. fol-
! lowed by an additional filteriug
/ through birch charcoal
The general cold-storage-rcom is
/ the largest refrigerated, and here are
Kept the general stores. such as
/ canned goods. meats. vegetables, eggs.
/ etc. so that II looks exactly like a
wholesale produce-house In It are
some thirty-four doors, so that the
l difficulty Of maintaining the low tenn
/ peratuye Of "a degrees is evident. The
/ freezing chamber. which branches off
| from this one, is kept a. is degrees
| Fahrenheit, and In II are stored the
fish, poultry and game A milk box