The New Student's Reference Work/Artificial Ice
ARTIFICIAL ICE
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| From Brown Bros. |
HOW ARTIFICIAL ICE IS MADE. In making artificial ice the first step is to get pure water. The water is boiled and then allowed to stand so that the impurities may settle. After this sediment has settled the water is drawn off and distilled; that is, it is turned into steam and this steam is condensed back into water, as your breath condenses on the window on a cold day. This picture shows a condenser. In the condenser is a series of parallel pipes inside of which cold water is kept running. The steam to be condensed comes in through one of the large pipes which enter the condenser at the top. The other large pipe supplies the cold water and connects with the coil of smaller pipes inside. As the steam is condensed into water it falls to the bottom of the condenser and passes out through the pipe at the end of the condenser nearest you.
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| From Brown Bros. |
Distilled water is run through several kinds of filters. In this illustration the two large cylinders you see in the rear are charcoal filters. After the water has passed through these cylinders it is pumped through pipes into the kind of filters at which you see these men at work. The men are putting on a fresh filter cloth. Over this cloth is fastened another and coarser filter of perforated metal. Under the cloth is another disk of perforated metal. The water enters by the small pipe in the rear, is forced through the perforated metal and cloth and comes out into the larger pipe you see in front.
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| From Brown Bros. |
After the water leaves the condenser it is still warm, so it is made to pass through another series of parallel pipes. Over these pipes a spray of cold water is kept playing, which still further cools this distilled water on its way to the filters shown in the next illustration. In making artificial ice the greatest care is taken to secure pure water. Before it is even distilled in the condensing system this water is boiled and then allowed to stand so that the impurities may settle. It is then drawn off from this settling tank, converted into steam and condensed.
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| From Brown Bros. |
This man is filling the cans with distilled water. It is in these cans the ice is made. On the bottom of the tube you see held in its place in the can with braces is a valve, opening upward. When this valve is pressed against the bottom of the can it lets out enough water to fill the can almost to the top. When the water reaches a certain height it is stopped by a floating check valve. A floating check valve is one which has a hollow metal ball attached so that when the water in which it floats reaches a certain height it turns the valve and either shuts off the water or releases it, as desired.
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| From Brown Bros. |
Most artificial ice is made by what is called the compressor system. It is called the compressor system because the ammonia with which che freezing is done is first compressed by means of powerful steam pumps. These pumps then force it through pipes over which cold water is running. This cold water bath still further condenses the gas to a liquid state, which drives out all the heat there is in it. The illustration shows how water is kept playing on the pipes containing the compressed ammonia.
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| From Brown Bros. |
After the ammonia has been condensed to a liquid state. It passes into a great cylinder called an evaporator. Here it begins to expand again back to a gas and passes into parallel pipes like those you have just seen. But these pipes run through a tank filled with brine. When the ammonia is condensed to a liquid form it gives up all its heat, just as water does when it turns to ice. Then, when it is allowed to expand in passing through the pipes in the brine tank, it absorbs the heat from the brine and makes it freezing cold In this brine tank are set the cans of distilled water to be frozen. This illustration shows the cans being lowered into the brine.
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| From Brown Bros. |