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144 
This Little Pig Went to Market Modern Style
Page 80
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AN articulated vehicle containing in the body a small oil engine and condensing unit for refrigeration purposes has been produced by the Frigidaire Division of General Motors. Ltd.
The condition of pig carcasses arriving at Smithfield market after a 10-hour road journey had, according to Frigidaire, been causing great concern to the Yorkshire Farmers' Bacon Factory
(1932), Ltd. The interior ot the insulated van employed was cooled by dry-ice, but the appearance and quality of the carcasses were impaired.
With a load of up to 100 carcasses the losses could be large. Some had been prechilled, but pigs killed at 10 p.m., just before departure, retained a body heat of 85-90° F.
Refrigeration equipment was needed. A possible method is to fit a selfcontained condensing unit on the vehicle, connected to eutectic-plate cooling coils. These coils contain a special solution which is frozen hard and slowly absorbs the heat from the atmosphere until the solution is melted.
To ensure an inside temperature of 4'5° F. and a product temperature of 55° F. during the journey, the necessary coils would have weighed 1,200 lb. and occupied too much space. Good air circulation is essential for the storage of pig carcasses, and, say Frigidaire, with eutectic plates there would be a dependence on convection air currents, which would permit a wide temperature range.
On the return journey from Smithfield this refrigeration plant would have to be run at full power to freeze the eutecric solution in the plate coils ready for the next run. This would increase operating costs and wear and tear. As the vehicle was to be on the road for 22 hours a day, five days a week, costs had to he watched. , r20 All these conditions were carefully considered by Southern and Redfern, Ltd., the Frigidaire distributors in Leeds. A special body was built by T. Coleborn and Sons, Ltd., Cherry Lane, Liverpool, 4, and mounted on a Dyson semi-trailer, which is drawn by an A.E.C. Mercury tractor. The body is 24 ft. long, 7 ft. 6 in. wide and 10 ft. high.
Outer and inner panelling is of aluminium, add plastics-sheet inserts over the framework prevent metal-tometal contact between the outside and inside skins. The roof, sides and door are insulated with 4-in. Onazote, and
four rows of hooks extend the full length of the interior.
A separate compartment at the front has removable panels and ventilator, grilles. It contains two compact Frigidaire forced-air units weighing only 184 lb., which have the same cooling capacity as eutectic-plate coils weighing 1.200 lb. These units also provide for faster cooling, as a fan is incorporated which re-circulates the ait every two minutes.
They are coupled to a 2 h.p. condensing unit, which is driven by a
Petter h.p. single-cylindered aircooled oil engine mounted on the same bedplate. Flexible refrigerant lines are used to counteract bad road surfaces, and the forced-air units have modified drip trays to prevent the condensate spilling on heavy cambers.
The engine, which has simple manually operated starting controls, affords two speeds. This provision is necessary because there are .occasions when all carcasses are cooled in the factory chiller before loading. The total capacity of the refrigeration equipment in the van is not then needed, and a lower compressor speed reduces operating costs. When returning empty the plant is entirely shut down.
Temperatures of carcasses have been checked at the deepest part of the meat during the loading period and found to be 80-86° F. By the time of unloading they have fallen to 45-50° F., and the meat now arrives at Smithfield in first-class condition.