THE TARANAKI FREEZING WORKS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 10655, 2 July 1896, Page 2

THE TARANAKI FREEZING WO RKS.

AL OF MACHINERY.

The Thranaln Freezing and Cool Storage 'Company's works at Moturoa aro now practically completed, the carpenters being engacod iv putting the finishing toucpes to the building. Cm Wednesday a party consisting of Messrs J. B. Connett (Chairman of Directors), W. Bewley (Director), J. S. McKellar (secretary), and Pat;dy aud McKeazie representatives '',uf the Herald and News, visited the works iv order to sea the fciial of the machinery. Ait3r passing through the boiler room, which is spacious and lofty, the boilers being bricked in, the party entered the machine room, where thoy saw the machinery in full working order under Mr Morrison, the chief engineex 1 , and late of the s.s. Rotorua. Mr Morrison and his assistants had the machinery in apple pie order, and everything was working as smoothly and efficiently as anyone could wish. The freezing apparatus is the Liude-British, with driving power of up-to-date character. Mr J. H. Short, who was acting as guide to the party, next showed the process of brining the water, and the ammonia process, which gives the brine the requisite freeeing degrees during its circulation through the pipes; After this Mr G. Nelson, who represents Messrs Niven & Co., of Napier, the makers of the plant, took charge of the party and showed them over the works. The machine room was again visited, and after noting the doublo action . Cameron pump, which draws water from a lagoon tdrough 1100 feet of piping, and supplies the whole building, the offices in the room, and the reels of hose whiSh ban be affixed to the pump in case of fire, the party ascended a stairway and visited the ice room. A long tank is fixed up, fitted up into six oompartments, inch of which contain fourteen galvanised vessels, which fit down into casas. These vessels contain the liquid, which is frozen by means of the circulating pipes and brine. Messrs Nelson and Short showed the party a practical test of the ice manufacture by lifting one of the vessels, which was then placed in a casing which was steamed, and the vessel was then tilled up, and a beautiful block of ice was deposited on a wooden frame. The block was conveyed down to the engine-room, where the members of the party were able to inspect it at leisure. Somo four tons *f ice can be made per diem. Mr Nelson next conducted the party to the ice Btorage room, which is situated immediately below the ice manufacturing chamber* The blocks of ice will be sent down from above by a shoot, and stored in the chamber, which will hold many tons. The bottom of the ice tank runs along the top •£ the chamber, and thus also serves to keep the temperature colder. The next place visited was the cheese room, 50 x 27, in the roof of which are placed slides, which yan be opened or shut to regulate the temperature of the room. The next chamber entered was that for butter storage, being the same dimensions as the cheese room. It is also fitted with slides to regulate the temperature. Each of these rooms is capable of holding about 220 tons, and has doors opening im both sides, On the west side is a covered in railway siding with platform for export ; and on the east is a covered iv siding fer wheeled traffic, being the side for receiving the produce. Running parallel with the butter chamber is a long passage connecting each sidiug. and op the north side of this are throe chambers. The first entered was the grading loom, which is the only chamber containing a window ; next is the chilling room, where produce will be placed prior to storage in the large chambers ; aud the third room, Mr Con net fc stated, would probably be utilised for pork storage. All the chambers are made air tight on the latest and most approved system. An inspection of the works Bhows that for the size they are one of the best equipped and arranged in the colony. It is understood that storage operations will be started as soon as the works are handed over, and the first shipment of produce from here per direct steamer will take place some time in October. Mr Nelson was a most courteous and obliging guide, pointing out all details, and giving much valuable information to the party.

THE BUILDING.

Messrs Morley and Fraser, the con- • tractors for the erection of the building, have made a first-class job of the works, a few particulars of whioh should prove interesting. The whole building, which is situated on a site between the railway line and sea beach, covers an area of 124 ft x 84ft; is 124ffc long x G2ffc wide, and is divided into the following apartments :— lce room, 22ffc x l'Offc; butter chamber, 50ft i 27ft"; cheese chamber, 50ft x 27ft ; lobby, 50ft x sft; grading room, 20ft x 17ft; ehilling.,room, 20ft x 17ft; pork room, 20ft i 17ft (these last three chambers can be utilised for freezing at any time); looby to ice room, 12ft x sft; railway Biding, 84ft x 22ft; platform at siding, 100 ft x 7ft; two porches at back, 14ft x 14ft each; boiler room, 29ft x 28ft; engine room, 40ft x 23ft. The height of the chamber?, etc., is lift 6in, and of the boiler houso and engine rooms, 22ft. On the upper floor, which is reached by a stairway from the engine room, are the brine tank's, 36ft x 26ft, the ice tank; storeroom, 54ft x 52ft with a height of 10ft, the ice tank platform, 28ft x 14ft, and four air shafts,' 150 ft x 3f fc and 4ft high each. The walls of the building, with straggled stud?, 6in x 3in, are double lined inside aud out, with felt between the lining and filled with pumice. The floor joists, top and bottom, are 12in x 2sin, with 4in x 3in auxiliary joists; double lined with felt and filled between with pumice. The foundation is concrete, two feet high. The boiler and engine room is fitted with a Louvre ventilator, 60ft x sft, and a skylight 100 ft long, containing Pilkington's patent corrugated glass. The Wo storied chambers! are fitted with six torpedo ventilators. The amount of timber used in the building is approximately as follows :— BO,OOO feet of rimu, 80,000 feet totara, 16,000 feet matai, 1,000 feet make. The framing, inside lining, and inside flooring is totara; theoutsideliningisrimu ; outside flooring matai, and story posts are maire. The building which has four gables is painted with Torbay's oxide paint, and covered with corrugated iron. The amount of pumice used for insulating purposes is 135 tons. The contractors as stated before were Messrs Morley and Fraser ; the foreman of works, Mr A. Peddie ; and the sub-contractors were Messrs H. Shadrack (painting), Cummane (plumbing), Madden (brickwork), and Russell (plastering). Mr J. H. Short was the Inspector of Works, and . Mr G. Nelson represented Messrs MoNiven & Co., the engineers, of Napier.

THE BRITISH-LINDE SYSTEM.

This is what is known as tl* Linde dry air system. The ammonia is pumped inio a compressor, aiid from there it is forced into the refrigerator outside, on the coils of which cold water is constantly running and failing into a concrete tank below. The ammonia is circulated through the coils at the bottom of the brine and ice tanks. The brine tanks are filled with brine, and iv each of the Ti ate four shafts, and on each of those 50 lar^e discs which revolve at the rate of five revolutions to the minute. The ammonia affects the brino, which affects the discs. At the end of the brine tanks is a fan which draws the hot air from the rooms below, passes it over the cold discs as they revolve out of the brine, and drops it down as cold air in the rooms below on the opposite side from which the air was drawn. Theairiaalwayscirculating and by passing over the discs attains the requisite degrees of coldness. The air travels at the rate of 15 miles an hour through the shaft over the lime tanks. The lime is prepared at the back and is then pumped up into the tanks. At the end of each tank is a propellor, which keeps the lime in motion so that it will not settle at the bottom. The ammonia

is always circulating through- the coils, being cooled by the running water above mentioned as it goes through the refrigerating coils.

The ice-tank is fitted with ammonia coils at the bottom, and filled with brine. The ice moulds, which arejong galvanised iron vessels, are then placed in position, the tank containing 84 of them, and the action of the ammonia and lime then freezes the liquid they contain. When the liquid is frozen, the mould is taken out, put in a case, and steamed to 100-en the ice, and then the mould is tipped up, and slide 3 the block of ice.

The plant is capable of freezing 400 sheep a day.

Tho boiler for the work was made by Messrs Luke & Son, of Wellington, the consumption of coal per day of 24 hours being one ton. The whole of the machinery is in charge of Mr Morrison.