FARM STORAGES FOR APPLES 15 



REFRIGERATED STORAGE 



In planning a new cold storage, the owner must frequently adopt a design which 

 will conform to existing buildings and also fit the specific location on which it is 

 to be placed. Where local conditions permit, it is desirable to have a nearly 

 square structure. The building which will give the least wall, floor, and roof 

 area per cubic foot of volume is the ideal type, as this requires the least insulation 

 material and has the lowest heat loss. While a cube meets these requirements 

 most nearly, it is seldom that this shape can be used in practice. It is desirable, 

 however, to appro.ximate a square building rather than a long, narrow one and 

 rooms should be made as high as convenience in use and reasonable floor loads 

 will permit. A ground-floor storage should be not less than 10 feet high, and many 

 growers use rooms 15 feet high with apparent satisfaction. On many New Eng- 

 land farms it is possible to fill the building from two levels, and this simplifies 

 the loading of high rooms and upper stories. High rooms are partly filled from 

 the lower level and then the upper part of the room is filled through a port located 

 near the ceiling on the upper grade side, the apple boxes being run into the build- 

 ing on roller track. Upper floor rooms are usually made not more than 10 feet 

 high, as greater height requires very heavy floor construction. 



Floor Load 



The actual floor load will vary with the height of room, amount of space left 

 above apples, type of container, and closeness with which the boxes are stacked. 

 If a space of about one foot is left above the apples, which are stored loose as 

 received from the orchard, the floor load will be approximately as indicated in 

 Table 3. 



Table 3. — Floor Load. 



Height of Room Pounds per 



in Feet Square Foot 



8 165 



10 210 



12 260 



In planning the building it is necessary to allow 2}^ cubic feet of room space 

 per bushel of apples to be stored. This allows for alleys, space above apples, and 

 room for blowers or coils. 



An ideal building for a cold-storage plant is some type of masonry structure. 

 In many cases, however, the first cost of these permanent buildings is considered 

 too high, and frame construction is used. Many storages are obtained by re- 

 modeling existing structures. 



Doors and Ports 



Openings into the cold storage rooms should be kept at a minimum. Apples 

 are usually moved in and out of the storage through ports 24 inches square, the 

 boxes being moved on roller track. The sill of the port is placed not less than 

 24 inches above the storage floor and where possible should be at truck floor 

 height or higher above outside grade. 



