Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1910-12-28
HOMEMADE ICE.

HOMEMADE ICE.
The Electrical lce-box "A Refrigera-
tor That Looks Out for .tself.
The electrical Ice box 70 on its way and
the time is surely coming when the ice-
man will cease to call when the pressure
OF finger will furnish low temperatures
for the refrigerator or the ice-chest.
The new ice plant for the home looks
| akin to the ordinary refrigerator, being
about the same size and shape. But, in
stead OF the iceman dropping huge hunks
Of ice into its interior, at so much . hunk,
. small electric motor will drive small
ammonia ice plant and circulate brine
through series OF refrigersting pipes.
In the city OF New York over i've mil
lion tons OF ice are used every year, and
throughout the entire country ice has
| grown to be . daily necessity during the
hot months. II 10 estimated that IL takes
thirty million tons OF ice to supply
the people Of the United States during
the year. Only . few years ago natural
ice was used entirely, and to the southern
states, where ice Was practically un-
known, the crystals bad to DO shipped
in at . high cost. To-day artificial ice
can be made almost ~ cheaply ~ nat
ural ice. In the city OF Cincinnati 50
per cent. OF the ice used to-day is manu-
factured.
Many OF the Urge apartments and
hotels in this country maintain private
ice plants, or refrigerators, which amount
to the same thing. A small motor
circulatcs the brine and ammonia gas,
and the temperature of the refrigerator Is
controlled automatically.
The new refrigerator is operated by
electricity. In place OF ice q ''cooling
liquid" is circulated by a small motor
driven pump. The scheme for keeping
the refrigerator cool Is the same as is used
to make artificial ice. With the motor
driven pump ammonis gas il compressed
TO the point at which the gas liquefies for
(for pure ammonia il gAs) and the heat
generated by this compression is extracted
with water jackets. This liqucfied gas is
conducted to the cooler through . pipe
and allowed to expand in . coil. OF course
a. the gas expands 1t absorbs just Is much
heat from its surroundings as was gener-
ated in COMPRISING it. This lowers the
temperature OF the interior nearly TO the
freezing point. From the expansion coil
the gas is conducted back to the COM
pressor ready for another cycle.
The beauty Of the electric refrigerator is
that il works absolutely automatically
and with the perfection OF economy.
When the temperature in the slice boxs
rises above . certain point tiny electric
device starts the electric motor which
clrculates the cooling liquid. As soon a.
the temperature drops to the desired point
the same device, called . thormostst,
stops the motor. The automatic devices
control the apparatus indefinitely and
there is no waste OF electric power. 80
simple is the refrigerator that il requires
practically no attention except an occa-
sional oiling OF the electric motor and the
compressor.
In many cases the amount formerly
spent for ice would pay for the new re-
frigerator and the amount saved by keep
ing vegeta bies, meat, milk and other
things in the ice box will more than COM
pensate for the cost OF keeping Q private
ice plant.
The iceless ice box has been SUCCESSFULLY
used for some time in hotels and meat
markets, fruit stores, creameries and in
Wholesale and retail houses where perish
able goods are handled. Now it il to be
made in sizes suitable for the home.
At best natural ice Is far from being
clean and pure. Most Of the
northern cities obtain their ice
from the frozen surfaces OF the rivers
and streams, and it 10 . well-known fact
that these same streams are used TO .
great extent for sewer purposes by every
village and town ana by many cities. The
lakes where ice is obtained are also far
from being perfectly clean. But ben Ice
il made artifcially the water can be filtered
and steriiized and the product 10 perfectly