6o MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY PLANTS 



2. Insulated Ice House Method. — By this method, the refrig- 

 erator is connected directly with the ice house. This plan, as 

 far as known, originated in Minnesota ^ and in Canada. ^ 



A. Advantages. — The principal claim made for this ice 

 house is its saving of labor, as the ice need not be handled after 

 once placed in the ice house. It is also more sanitary than the 

 old-style ice bunker, and the refrigerator connected with the 

 insulated ice house is always dry and well cooled. Further- 

 more, as the ice taken from it is always clean, none is lost through 

 having to cleanse it before using. The only disadvantage that 

 might be mentioned here is the original cost of construction. 



B. Construction.' — For the construction of this system, it is 

 recommended that the ceiling in the ice-storage part should be 

 as high as possible — from i6 to 22 feet, while the refrigerator 

 room should be from 6^ to 7^ feet high. The walls between 

 the ice house and refrigerator need not be as heavily insulated 

 as the outside walls; but they should be as nearly air-tight as 

 possible, except near the floor and ceiling where openings should 

 be provided for circulation of air. The cold air will pass from 

 the ice-storage room into the refrigerator through the floor 

 vents, will gradually warm up and rise to the ceiling, and wiU 

 thence pass back into the ice-storage room again through air 

 flues, coming there in contact with the ice and depositing its 

 absorbed moisture. The air flues from the upper vents are 

 necessary in order to make the air pass over to the farther wall 

 and thus efl'ect a complete circulation throughout the ice house. 

 To allow free circulation, the total area of all openings at the 

 floor should equal about 600 square inches, with the same total 

 for ceihng vents. These vents should be closed during winter 

 weather to keep the refrigerator from getting too cold. 



The walls, ceiling, and floor of this ice house should be insu- 

 lated in the same manner as regular cold-storage rooms, not 

 less than 4 inches of cork or lith being used. It is recommended 

 that the floor of the ice room have a slope of 3/8 inches to the 



' Bulletin 41, Minnesota Dairy and Fcxxl Department, 1912. 



^ Report of Dairy Commissionei for the Dominion of Canada, igo6. 



' Bulletin No. 41 of Minnesota Dairy and Food Department, 1912. 



