Croydon Ice Co

Croydon Ice Company of Grafton Road, Mitcham Road, Croydon

1899 'THE MANUFACTURE OF ICE IN CROYDON.
We venture to suppose that there is no single resident of this large borough who has not at one period er another of the spell of exceedingly hot weather wished it possible to have a cheap return trip to the North Pole, and as that has been impossible they have had to content themselves with that essential product of the Arctic and Antarctic regions—ice - as a means of lowering their temperature, and it is hardly necessary to mention that the various firms who supply this absolute necessity have experienced some difficulty in getting a thoroughly efficient stock. This difficulty has, however, been overcome so far as Croydon is concerned, for we have now in our midst a factory replete with a plant capable of producing twenty tons per day, and the facts that the company promoted is a local one, and the ice is made from "Croydon water," are sufficient to commend its consumption to not only residents of the borough, but of the surrounding districts generally, seeing what a reputation the Croydon water her for its purity; another inducement being that it can be supplied at a cheaper rate than the imported article. The water, we may mention, is obtained from an artesian well 260 feet in depth, being raised by an air compressor. In the event of a failure of the water supply (which, however, is not anticipated, seeing the copious quantity obtained after so long a drought), the company have connection with the Croydon mains.
It will first be necessary to describe, without making use of technicalities, the motive power which sets all the necessary intricate machinery in motion to accomplish the (although by no means new, yet none the less wonderful) result of freezing water into solid blocks of ice weighing five hundredweight apiece, in spite of the tropical weather which we have been experiencing. The primary power is steam, generated by means of a Galloway boiler, 20ft. by 6ft., working at a pressure of 120lbs. to the square inch, the exhaust steam from which is condensed by a surface evaporator, returning the water to the boiler at a temperature of 200 degrees, thus effecting a great economy in fuel compared with what would be necessary in the case of cold water being used to replenish the waste. The engine used for driving the necessary machinery is a horizontal one of 140 horsepower, driving a 30-ton ammonia compressor at a speed of 65 revolutions a minute. In the event of a break down, this is provided for by an auxiliary in the shape of a 40 horse-power Stockport gas engine, which will drive a four-ton ammonia compressor sufficient to maintain a temperature of 15 degrees Fahr. in the cold storage of 40,000 cubic feet space.
The system of refrigeration is in the first case by ammonia at a pressure of 160 pounds, which is expanded into a circular refrigerator containing 6,000 feet of 1 1/2-inch wrought iron pipe. After being expanded in a more gaseous state it is drawn off and compressed into the condenser, where it again becomes liquid, and is returned at 150 pounds pressure to the valve, where the cycle is completed. The ice is made by means of cold brine, which is cooled in the refrigerator referred to and circulated through a system of galvanised iron tanks at a temperature of 10 degrees Fahr., returning to the refrigerator at a temperature of 15, the circulation being kept up by means of a 6-inch rotary pump. The ice having been made, the next thing is its removal from the tanks, and this is done by shutting off the cold brine and circulating warm brine through the system of tanks; a travelling rope-driven crane lifts four blocks at a time, and conveys them to the extreme end of the building, where they are ready for consignment to the consumer or the cold store. Economy appears to have been exercised in every conceivable manner, the warm brine used for thawing purposes being heated in a tank placed above the boiler flue, thus saving another expense in fuel. On ascending the roof of the engine house, the ammonia surface evaporating condensers are to be seen ; a maze of some four thousand feet of horizontal wrought iron piping here undergoes a continual showerbath of fresh water obtained from the artesian well. It is here, too, that the condensers for the exhaust steam are to be found, comprising one hundred lengths of 4-inch cast iron piping. The water need for cooling purposes flows into a tank beneath, and by means of a centrifugal pump is made use of over and over again.
Irrespective of the building, which has been erected very quickly and substantially by Mr. K. J. Saunders, some 220 tons of machinery were fitted by the Linde British Refrigerating Company, of Queen Victoria-street, E. C., in the remarkably short space of nine weeks, under the superintendence of Mr. A. C. Davis, with the consulting engineer to the Croydon Ice Company, Mr. Charles Hopkins, and was manufacturing ice during the tenth week. The machinery is capable of turning out 20 tons of ice daily, and at the same time keeping the cool store of 40,000 cubic feet at a temperature of 15 degrees, which will be used for the storage of ice or other perishable goods which local tradesmen may feel disposed to deposit there. This room will be kept cool by means of a Linde patent air cooler, through which the air is driven by a Blackman 3ft. fan.
A description of the buildings is unnecessary beyond mentioning that they are in every way adapted for the purpose for which they have been erected, and are light, airy, and substantial. When complete, the electric light will be installed, and generated on the premises.'

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