IMPROVING CHEESE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23703, 10 January 1939, Page 7

IMPROVING CHEESE

MODERN PLANT INSTALLED CONTROL OF HUMIDITY { Believed to be the first in the Dominion to install a modern mechanica plant to control temperature and Lmidity of its curing room, the Woodville Co-operative Dairy, ’ Ltd., has taken a step which it is considered will .lead the way for other cheese factories in the country, . Direc tors of the factory are confident tnai the quality of the cheese produced will he improved considerably. According to the factory, manager Mr L. S. Young, the machinery will go into operation immediately. Though installation will cost the company several hundreds of pounds, the resultant improvement in cheese duality and higher returns will reimburse the company for its outlay in two years or equipment, which was made in England and installed by a Wellington firm, is calculated to maintain in the curing room a temperature of from w to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidit> of the air within the rpom will akp be controlled. The English-made unit powered by a 3 horse-power electric motor, is fitted with a triple-cylinder compressor utilising methyl-chlond as the refrigerant, and a water-cooled condenser. It is themostatically controlled and effects the chilling required for the two remote forced air-cooling units which are suspended from tne Ce in°fhese box-like fittings are mazes of fin coils which become chilled and through which air is continuously circulated by fans. These fans, which run independent of the freezing unit, are fitted with six blades and have a diameter of 16in. Revolving at 1400 revolutions a minute, each cools 110 b cubic feet of air a minute, and it is calculated that with the fans going the curing room can be thoroughly cooled in eight minutes. Air temperature variations are recorded without a break by an automatic recording device. The water vapour content of the air in the curing room is raised or lowered artificially. Humidity is lowered by raising the temperature of the room so that the cooling plant works for a longer period. Moisture is condsensed from the air on to the fin coils in the cooling units and as it accumulates u is drained away. The reverse process is brought about by an injection ox steam into the room. The vapour enters the air in front of one of the cooling units and is circulated by fan currents.