Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 211, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1912 — ICE BOX OF CONCRETE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ICE BOX OF CONCRETE

ADVANTAGES IN THE USE OP THAT MATERIAL., Especially Valuable on the Farm and Comparatively Cheap tp \ Construct—Some Good Points Noted in 'lts Favor. Many farmers we using concrete for the -making of walks, fence posts and stock tanks, but this article describes a new use for this valuable material —the construction of refrigerators from.concrete mixture. In building this refrigerator forms of dressed plank are used. Make the joints of the forms as tight as possible so as to leave a smooth surface on the finished work. Make the forms of the size you require your refrigerator, but

the wall should never Jie less than three inches thick. For doors, a frame 2x4 set and imbedded in the concrete walls, with a tight fitting door of plank, three double, jams with a fac* ing of felt or rubber, forms almost an air-tight box. A wood partition separates the icebox from the storage closet. Through this wall is an oval opening Ix 2 feet. Through this dhe cold air passes, while the water from the melting ice never reaches the storage closet hut is drawn through an open tap through the bottom of the ice box. One thing in favor of this refrigerator is the ice box on the floor. No lifting is required to put in heavy cakes of Ice as is the case when the ice-box is in the top of the refrigerator. The smooth, concrete walls are easy to keep clean, and do not absorb odors like wood, nor rust out like tin. About one-half the Ice will be saved with these refrigerators, and

water from dampness does not form and drop on contents, as with other kinds. Safe rollers or large casters can be molded into the floor of the refrigerator, making “the moving of the box much easier. When forming the wall, brackets should be molded in where shelving Is wanted. The interior should be coated with a pure cement mixture and worked to a finished/surface. Shelving can be placed to suit the builder, but should not cross the cold air opening. Concrete refrigerators are much cheaper than the factory kind and give better service when properly constructed. —Exchange.

Interior Arrangement.

The Complete Box.