The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-06-29
NEW ICE MACHINE!
IN OPERATION At
PUTNAM HOSPITAL
-ormont state Library
2OseptlS
--.~.v.o equipment Recent Gift
Of Founders Son 4
SULPHUR DIOXIDE PLANT
Type Selected to Eliminate Pos
sibility of Accident or %
Inconvenience II
SULPHUR DIOXIDE PLANT

Putnam Memorial hospital is once
more indebted to the son OF Its
founder, Henry w. Putnam of New
York, for an addition and improve
ment, the installation OF thorough
ly modern cooling system and ice
manufacturing plant and which is
now In daily operation. Some months
ago the need for suCsl an outfit vas
brought to the attention OF Mr.. Put
nam by the secretary OF the associa-
tion, Adelbert W. Braisted. The sug-
gestion was no sooner made than the
secretary was commissioned to pro
cure the addition and the result Is
AN equipment that win materially
lessen labor, provide ice as pure as
mountain spring water and absolute
ly safeguard the institution against
the mishaps that have some times re-
suited from the inefficient workings
Of ice manufacturing plants.
In making the selection, types Of
ammonia plants operated under high
steam pressure we're discarded and a
sulT:lur dioxide machine requiring
only the power derived from two
small electric motors was chosen.
The initial cost was greater but 10
was believed that the ultimate re-
suits derived would more than COM
pensate for the. additional ezrsnse.
especially when viewed from the
standpoint of safety and economy OF
operation.
A description OF the machine is diff
ficult for the reason that there Is not
much OF 1t In sight. The cooling ap-
paratus resembles a large dumbbell.
The dumbbell is hollow. In one head
is the chemical and condenser
which reduces the sulpher dloxide to
gas. The gas passes through the
arm into the other head of the
dumbbell which revolves in tank OF
brine. The revolving Of the gas.
filed dumbbell head extracts the
| heat from the brine and reduces the
temperature of the solution to 10 or
Is degrees below zero. Tho cold
brine freezes the water In series
OF metal tanks. When the water be-
comes solid the tanks are lifted from
the machine and the ice cakes are ex.
tracted.
/ After having once performed its
job OF freezing the sulphur dioxide
gas returns to the head OF the dumb.
bell containing the condenser In
liquid form to be again squeezed into
gas, to return to the other head OF
t1e dumbbell head and repeat the
heat extracting process The secre-
tary explained to the newspaper man
that the machine didn't freeze: II
took away heat. Anyhow, the result
was ice as clear as plate glass and
much harder than ice resulting from
a freezing atmosphere.
The chemical is Theoretically seal.
ed in the revolving dumbbell and per-
forms its function without loss and
without the necessity for renewal.
; Should the gas by any possibility es.
! cape no injurious effects would be
, experienced other than a few brisk
sneezes on the part OF persons In
/ the immediate vicinity. When am
monia gas escapes, however, every
, living organism on the premises must
| vacate. or give up the ghost Am.
monis gas when mixed In certain
proportion with atmosphere becomes
, an exceedingly unstable compound
When II explodes there is no need
for the impanelling Of coroner $
jury for the reason that there is nc
available evidence to pass upon.
1t was the desire to avoid the pos
sibility OF danger or even inconveni
ence that led to the selection of the
: sulphur dioxide plant In preference
to all others on the market, regard
less of the fact that II is the mos
expensive.
Ice manufacture lat the hospta
: may almost be said to be a by-pro
\ duct of the cooling apparatus. Bl
= means OF small motor driven pumJ
. freezing brine is kept circulatinI
. through a cooling system that main
tains a temperature of about 40 de
u grees in three refrigerators as lars'
; as small rooms. The construction
y OF these automatically cooled refrie
u orators has reduced the amount o
u ice that will he used at the iospita
II to a large extent and has created
far more sanitary and convenien
q method Of preserving food In warn
IL weather. Filling refrigerator wit
N ice from an icehouse is always
le messy operation There ia the fol
'd eign matter frozen In the ice and th
e. sawdust packing to be disposed OF {
H. addition to the bother and expens
n of handling.
he In order to properly house IN
cooling apparatus 1t was necessary !
IS build small square addition to tli
C. east wing of the main building bu
n the work has been accomplished
Is such an inoonspicuous manner ia
on change would not be noticed by II
g' casual observer.
IL Building. plant and installatio
Dl have combined to create an expend
eh turo Of about $4,000, for all of whlc
E funds were provided by Mr. Putnar