Manufacturing Cost Data on Artificial Ice

Excerpt

Ice for Commercial Purposes

ICE for commercial purposes is obtained in two ways: either by cutting during the winter time from our lakes and rivers and storing in large Ice Storage Houses located alongside, or by freezing pure clean water by means of artificial refrigeration.

All authorities are agreed that artificial ice is more sanitary than natural ice and it is only a matter of time when the use of natural ice will be prohibited except in special cases when the purity of its source of supply is beyond doubt.

Our improved method of making artificial ice will cut the labor cost down to the minimum and will enable the manufacturer to profitably sell artificial ice at the price natural ice can be harvested. The logical result thereof will be the building of a large number of modern ice plants all over the country to supply the market with artificial ice in place of the present natural ice.

We do not claim any wonders for our system but believe that the following points of advantage will convince any practical ice manufacturer that the labor cost has been cut in two.

First. We pull a complete row of the full width of tank at one time.

Second. Our air supply is permanently connected to the cans and the supply to each can can be regulated, if required.

Third. We have a continuous air supply to the cans during freezing as well as during thawing, dumping and filling. Our air supply never ceases.

Fourth. Our air is automatically cooled down to the temperature of the brine in the tank thereby eliminating all possibility of moisture in the air pipes.

Fifth. Our cans are held in a solid frame of steel work and are connected to the crane from the time the cans are pulled until they are put back into the tanks, thereby doubling the life of the cans.

We give herewith data covering the cost of manufacturing ice and will guarantee that under reasonably fair management the number of men required will not be exceeded.

Do not fail to carefully analyze the following cost data. They may seem extremely low but a thorough study of our system will prove them to be very conservative.

[1]


NUMBER ONE

Manufacturing Costs Per Ton of Ice
Using Electric Power at Present Chicago
Rates for Power and Labor

Capacity of plant, 240 tons of ice per day, using 2692 cans of 400-lb. capacity.

18000-ton storage house.

Average current requirement for freezing one ton of ice, including storage cooling and all auxiliaries, 55 K. W. hours.

Average cost per K. W. hour, .9 cent.

Current cost per ton of ice, 55 x .9, equals 49.6 cents.

Assuming one month's shut-down for inspection and repairs, the total output of 240 tons of ice for 333 days amounts to 79,920 tons, or roughly speaking 80,000 tons of ice.

Adding 1/2 cent per ton of ice for the required heating, the total power
cost of making 80,000 tons of ice is (80,000 x .50) = $ 40,000.00

ENGINE ROOM LABOR COST:

1 chief engineer per day$ 10.003 engineers per day$ 8.00Total per day$ 34.00365 days at $34.00 equals$ 12,410.00

or 12410 / 80000 =15.62 cents per ton

[2]

ICE PLANT LABOR COST:

3 men pulling ice and setting it up in store-room....