The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-09-06
Plant Is
Equivalent To
6-Story Bldg.
BY SUSAN McAvoY

4
The $3,OOO,O 900 steam
electric plant which is
going up. at Caroline and
Crinnell streets is nearing
completion, if not by the
November l8 deadline,
soon after, it was learned
today.
La Van Warren, Field Superin
tendent for j. F44Pritchard con
tractors has crew of 135 men on
the job now.
The equivalent of six story
building, the modern 10000 XIV
plant will materially boost Key
Vests electric power. It will pro
badly not be sufficient in itself for
the growing population, however,
and the old plant will have 10 be
utilized also.
When we toured the plant this
week we could see that much of
the big equipment has already been
installed. Warren and Kenneth
Ward, resident engineer for R.W.
Beck and company, consulting en-
gineers to City Electric system
showed US around.
The huge generators will gene
rate $1,000 volts. No. ! and No.
z boilers, already installed, reach
temperature Of $50 degrees with
$50 pounds OF pressure. There are
fwo Of everything boilers, genera
tors, eondensers.
Warren showed me the control
panels which regulate the equip
ment in the plant. These are on
the second story, as are most of
the vital pieces of equipment.
A series of lights on the west wall
of the plant 60 on in any emergen
cy. Orange, yellow, blue and white
according to the part of the plant
concerned. There is also an emer
gency lighting system should the
generators go off.
The steam electric plant would
use 24OO gallons Of wafer a day if
the amount of electricity consumed
in that period were S,0UO XVIII.
Should any serious water snort
age preclude city water, the pant
mas system for evaporating salt
from sea water and producing
~, 900 gallons of water a gay. Then
mere is a rain storage tank with a
capacity for 1885, 600 gallons.
A fuel oil dock for unloading
Bunker &C" oil which will be
bsrsed in. is being built BY the
Paul Smith Construction COM
pany right across the street from
The plant.
A huge overhead crane has lifted
the equipment from the ground to
the various positions on the second
floor. 1t is still in place, and as
Warren said is strong enough to
haul anything in the place.
Fans, six of them exhaust, will
cool the plant as much it is can
be without refrigeration.
Warren and Ward both tried to
explain to me in simple nontech
nical language what will happen in
the steam electric plant to bring
more electricity to Key West.
II seems there is water in a
boiler. Steam from that drives the
turbine which is the prime mover.
This drives the generator which
produces the electricity. After the
steam goes through the turbine IT
passes through condenser and is
condensed back to water and pump
ed back to the boiler. Then the
whole process continues.
The workings of the plant take
place in a building of reinforced
concrete and structural steel under
a tar and gravel roof which Is
bonded for 20 years.
On The Job in putting Up the
saeond highest building IN Key
West lnexf 10 Ls cenehal have
been hoiIermaksrs, naillwrishfs.
iren workers, brick mssens.
steam filters. carpenters end day
laherera
Warren who has been In the con
struction business for 81 years is