St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1908-06-19
The Harris Ice Plant.

inviting than another it must be an
ice house. We found our way to
the Harris ice works Tuesday after
noon and were cordially greeted by
the manager, Mr.. Peters, and
shown the whole works. 1t is a
wonderful bunch of machinery.
The most wonderful machine is
not the icemaking machine, al
though it is different from any
other we have ever seen and is a
wonder of itself. But the greatest
wonder, not only to us; but to all
the different engineers and machin-
lists who have seen it, is the Weber
suction gas producer engine. 1t is
a double engine aud manufactures
its own gas from the smoke and
fumes of burning coke.
In the firing room is a battery
of two producers, either of which
has sufficient capacity to run the
engine, but the two are installed as
matter of precaution, the same as
two boilers to the water plant, so
that if one became disabled for any
reason, the other could be at once
fired up and the plant not be
obliged to shut down. This pro-
ducer is a big iron tank set up on
end with an iron hopper situated
over IL so that the coke which is
elevated into the hopper from the
firing room may be fed automat-
ically to the fire below. This tank
is lined with a wall of fire brick
eight inches thick to protect the
iron. The combustion of the coke
makes the gas and smoke which is
drawn of through washer which
removes the tar and less combus-
tible materials than the caloric gas,
the latter being fed through the
gasometer to the engine, where It
operates much the same as gaso-
line engine
This engine is of 65 horse power
capacity aud runs the big COM
pressor for the distribution of the
ammonia with ease, besides furnish.
ing power to operate the fans and
the big pump in the we'll This
well is f82 feet deep lined with
eight-inch iron casing and has ~
feet of water in il at all times.
This water is pumped up into the
tanks for use in the manufacture of
the ice.
This ice freezing too, is different
from the ordinary tank freezer,
which turns out the cakes about
the regulation size; and i, makes a
different quality of ice These old !
fashioned tank freezers freeze the
ice from four sides, while this ma
chine feczes the ice from but one
side. This prevents the core
which is always seen in ice pro-
duced by the old process. The
consequence is that when you get |
a hunk OF Harris ice il is solid all
the way through, and the last
pound will be just as solid and as
cold as the first; while the other
ice will begin melting from both
the inside aud the outside, soon be-
coming honeycombed and losing its
reirigerating power. The cakes of
ice made by Mr.. Harris are about
eight feet long, four or FIVE feet
wide and foot thick, and are so
clear that you may read the paper
through the twelve inches of ice
this makes the ice just the same as
the purest OF river ice, even purer
for the water from which the ice
is frozen is made from steam, con
lensed, aud has nothing whatever
IN IL; while the river ice has more
)r less sand aud silt imprisoned in
.he ice while congealing
These are some of the superior
'edtures of the Harris ice, and these
Qualities have been made possible
~ some of the inventions of Mr.,
Harris, among which we remember
he large ireezers with the process
II freezing from one side only, aud
mother the improved compressor
which enables Mr., Harris to han
lie the freezing compound more
The plant is not completed as ,
ct, because they had To begin ;
making ice at the earliest possible =
noment, The concrete floors are
D be put in, the ore crusher, which =
) in course of construction at Har-
is machine works in Portland, /,
nth its elevator, SO that the :
rushed coke may be elevated into :
he hopper, is TO be installed and !,
ther ammonia connections are to :,
c made; but there is enough of the
lachiuery in place to enable them
} make 20 to 10 tons OF the purest
c that ever went into a cocktail,
very - hours. Mr. Harris has
nt up little jungle bungalo and Sc
IS family is spending the summer as
ere. Mr., Harris comes and goes I
his buzz wagon whenever he ;,
ishes and is thus enabled to look m
ter both his St, Johns and Port Z.
nd plants. 1t is his intention TO =
owe his Portland works here as oi
'on as possible. When he does CO
at he will have covered practi-
lly all OF his ~ acres OF ground
ith warehouses and factories. A.,
he coming of this institution is "'
stined to mean much for ST,
Inns and we trust Mr.. Harris NAV