Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1915-09-03
MODERN METHODS
in ICE MAKING
As Exemplified in the New Plant
Of the Roanoke Ice & Fuel
Company

:, Of the Roanoke Ice & Fuel
Company
g (Rep9rted)
o The Roanoke Ice & Fuel Com
q pany of this place have recentl
: completed one of the most mod
ern plants in the State wher,
? raw water is used and all i'm
purities are separated by dry air
There are probably few peo
Q pie in Rosemary and Roanoke
q Rapids who have had sufficient
: curiosity to take them for a toul
of inspection over this plant
, which is situated between Rose.
mary and Roanoke Rapids on the
Seaboard Air Lines spur track.
, Those who have had such curl
osity, however, must have been
rewarded for their trouble.
went over the plant a few days
ago and its completeness and
modern equipment were a revel-
alton. The generally accepted
method for years in the manu-
facture of ice has been to dis
till the water before freezing it.
Only lately has it been discover
ed that a better and purer ice
can be made with the distillation
process eliminated.
1t is a well known fact that all
vegetable matter cannot be sep
arated from water by distilla-
ton: but all impurities can be
blown out of it. That is just the
method used in the Roanoke Ice
4 Fuel Company's plant. Ice so
made, it is claimed, will last 20ac
longer than distilled water ice.
1t takes just 4S hours to freeze
300 pound block of ice: a fact
that is probably known to few
people. The freezing cans at
the new plant are filled auto
matically to 800 pounds and from
the time the can is lowered into
the brine to begin the process of
freezing until the water becomes
a solid block of, ice it is continu-
stirred by an air current
ously from the bottom of the
can. Part of the impurities are
kept to the top. Water contain
ing impurities freeze much more
slowly than does pure water so
all these impurities are finally
collected on the top layer and
when the ice cake is taken out
this top portion is broken off
and the remainder is clearas a
crystal.
The new plant uses only deep
we'll water and this water passes
through two filters before itruns
into the freezing cans. This
filters out practically every impur-
ity. The, plant has something
over forty freezing spaces and a
in excess of six tons
per day. There is also a large
storage room which has a ca
pacity of twenty five tons and
this is kept filled against any
emergency that might possibly
arise. Patrons therefore are in
3ured at all times against failure
)f delivery.
The ice is handled one can at a ,
.ime by a travelling crane, which
deposits the can into an automa-
lie ice dump which shoots the 4,
AXE either into storage or car. .
In the entire construction and .
operation of this modern ice ;
liant there are ever recurring
.vidences of the work of an eff
iency engineer. There is no ;,
waste. The power is furnished .
" electric drive, Theoretically !;
here is no loss of ammonia or of
ce water used in cooling. :
The large motor of twenty y
lorse power is belt driven to the 6
'igh speed ammonia compressors
which are the mainsprings in any
ce manufacturing plant Motors
likewise drive the air compress q
RS that force current of per- :,
ectly dry air through the water :
IS it freezes and also circulate
he water that cools the ammonia
IS itreturns from its circuit as a e
iquid.
There is a veritable river of t
water used in the process of t