ir, 



THE CUBA RE\"IEW 



COST TO MANUFACTURE ICE 



I From the Practical Hngiucir. (."liicagoj 



An inquiry to this Chicago puhlication as to the cost of manufacturing ice was 

 answered fully in its columns. Of course it is understood that these figures are for 

 the United States and that the figures will vary whether in the north or in Cuba, 

 according to the cost of fuel and the cost of labor, but the data given gives something 

 on which the individual estimate can be made. 



The Practical Engineer says : 



Gueth, in his Pocket Manual for Refrigeration Engineers, says that an absorption 

 machine under the right conditions should produce up to 12 tons of ice per ton of coal 

 burned. Actual results show 10 tons of ice sold per ton of coal bought. 



For a 50-ton plant actual costs follow: 



Coal at $2.20 per ton, 22 cents ; labor, 34 cents ; ammonia, 6 cents ; incidentals and 

 repairs, 24 cents; interest on investments, 25 cents; taxes and insurance, 11 cents. 

 Total cost to produce 1 ton of ice, $1.26. The factory cost, leaving out interest, taxes 

 and insurance, is 86 cents per ton of ice, including repairs. 



A compression machine with compound condensing engine and all pumps driven 

 by the compressor engine, would require 1.30 hp. rating for a 50-ton ice plant, and 

 with an evaporation of 7 lb. steam per pound of coal in the boilers this would require 

 the burning of 4^2 tons of coal a day, or 11 tons of ice per ton of coal burned. 

 The cost of operating a 50-ton compression plant would be about as follows : 



Coal at $3.20 per ton, 32c. ; labor, 34c. ; ammonia, 3c. ; incidentals and repairs, 18c. ; 

 interest on investments, 25c. ; taxes and insurance, lie, or a total of $1.23 as the 

 cost of one ton of ice. The factory cost, leaving out interest, taxes and insurance, 

 would be 87c. a ton. 



By a combination absorption and compression system, assuming a 100-ton plant, 

 a 30-ton compression machine will drive a 70-ton absorption machine by the exhaust 

 steam of the first machine and will turn out 14 tons of ice per ton of coal. The 

 cost of operation per ton of ice would then be : Coal at $2.20 a ton, 16c. ; labor, 30c. ; 

 ammonia, 5c.; incidentals and repairs, 21c.; interest, 25c.; taxes and insurance, lie, 

 or a total of $1.08 a ton. The factory cost would be 72c. a ton. 



Schmidt, in his book on Artificial Ice Making, gives the following data : 



Cost of installation for the can system, $5.50 a ton ; for the block system, $6.50 

 a ton ; plate system with direct expansion plates, $8 a ton ; plate system with brine 

 plates, $10 a ton. 



He gives as operating costs, 8% lb. of coal per ton of ice-making capacity per hour, 

 and with the wages of engineers at $2.50 to $5 a day, oilers $2 a day, firemen $1.50 

 to $1.75, laborers $1.25 to $1.50, coal at $2 a ton, he gives as the expense for a 60-ton 

 plant: Engineers, $9 a day; oilers, $2; firemen, $4.50; labor, $4.50; coal, $18; oil, 

 waste and sundries $4, or a total operating expense daily of $42.00, making a cost 

 per ton of ice of 70 cents. This does not, of course, include anything for interest, 

 insurance or taxes, nor does it include the cost of handling the ice outside the plant 

 and delivering to customers. 



Based on these same figures he gives the cost in a 10-ton plant at $1.26 per ton; 

 25-ton plant as 87 cents a ton, and in a 100-ton plant as 61 Vi cents a ton. 



Presbyterian mission and children at Cardenas 



