Cool Sausage High Quality
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MAINTENANCE of a Uniform temperature within a few degrees of 45' F. is the operative condition required by Pork Farms, Ltd., -168 Alfred Street South, Nottingham, for long-distance deliveries of mixed loads of sausage, • pork pie, sausage rolls, cooked ham, bacon and lard. Although a lower temperature could be used in the case of the meats, this would cause the pastry of the rolls and pies to " sweat " when removed from the vehicle to higher ambient temperatures. Of the five refrigerated vans operated by the company; four are mounted on Morris FG 3-ton chassis powered by 3.4-litre
diesel engines, whilst the latest vehicle is a 4-tonner of the same type. Apart from a stand-by vehicle, the vans are employed for long-distance deliveries and individually cover up to 1,600 miles a week.
Although the stand-by vehicle is nominally supplementary to the long-distance fleet, it is employed for shortdistance operations in the Nottingham area and has proved its value for this work. So far it has not been necessary to use the van in its intended capacity.
The light-alloy bodies of the vans are built by Crawford, Prince and Johnson, Ltd., of Syston, Leics, and refrigerating equipment is installed by John S. Hall, Ltd., of Nottingham. This is supplied by York Shipley, Ltd., North Circular Road, London, N.W.2, and the latest generating sets to be fitted are Onan units of American origin, marketed in this country by the G.M. Power Plant Co., Ltd., 1-3 Richmond Road, Ipswich.
Operating on a 230-volt 50-cycle single-phase AC. electrical supply the refrigerating equipment is installed in a compartment between the vehicle wheels on the offside. Cooling is provided by a forced-draught evaporation unit,, which fits neatly into a corner of the main compartment at roof level. A twin-cylindered air-cooled petrol engine powers the generating set, and it is notable that one of the Onan units has operated for a year•without decarbonizing. The power unit may be running up to 9 hr. in the day, but is•not used for overnight generation.
By arrangement with local garages the refrigerating plant of vehicles engaged in long-distance runs is supplied with current from the mains during night-parking periods, a company-owned meter being used to record the current consumed.
Fully automatic control is a feature of the plant fitted to the 4-toriner and one other vehicle and will be standardized on all vehicles in due course. A separate sausage compartment at the front of the van has a door opening on the offside and is used for transferring meat from the deep-freeze at the factory-. In compliance with the requirements' of the retailer, this is partially de-frosted during the journey, separation of the two compartments being necessary to -prevent moisture affecting the remainder of the load.
• In the interests of easy loading, double main doors are fitted to the rear which fold back flush with the sides and give complete freedom of entrance. Capacity of the main compartment is 484 cu. ft,, whilst the front compartment has a capacity of 136 cu ft., which 'gives a total of 620 cu. ft.
Bodywork features include 3-in, of polystyrene insulating material and hardwood framing, a bitumen solution of the cold-application type being used for bonding_ Flooring is of Southern Forge section with integral struts, which provides space for the insulating material withOut additional framing. The partition of the two compartments is of corrugated section.
Before refrigerated vehicles of this type were introduced six years ago, the dry-ice method of cooling was used. The change to refrigeration was a notable landmark in the work of the fleet with regard to preservation of the goods, as it virtually eliminated wastage and improved the quality of the end-of-journey product. Dry-ice tended to freeze the foodstuffs adjacent to the pack but had little effecton the goods remote from it. .Refrigeration has increased the average " period of acceptability " of the foodstuffs from about 24 hours to three-four days. Uniformity of cooling and reliability (notably of the engine of the generating set) are special merits of the latest refrigerating equipment, and automatic control is a boon to the driver. With non-automatic control the driver is responsible for closing-down the generating set and starting-up the engine manually at fairly frequent intervals, and this can present difficulties in congested areas. A temperature gauge is fitted in the cab and also an engine-hour Meter. Maintenance of equipment is performed by a local specialist Two Vehicles are engaged in shuttle services" between Nottingham and Lincoln and Nottingham and Norwich, full vans being exchanged at these centres for empty vehicles returning from delivery runs. A driver living id the Skegness area operates a vehicle on a run from Skegness along the coast to Mablethorpe and meets the shuttle service driver at Lincoln (approximately .40 miles from Nottingham), three round trips of about 310 miles being
completed in summer and two in winter. .
Living in .Yarmouth, the seeond long-distance driver makes three 'summer runs weekly between Norwich and Yarmouth, empty vans being exchanged for laden vehicles at Norwich. -The Norwich-Yarmouth vehicle covers about 300 miles on a run, :whilst 'the-:round-trip of the shuttleservice vehicle is about' 250: miles. Operations are reduced to. two, trips a meek in the winter months.
. Each vehicle is'off the road for .a complete day once a week for greasing, and a thorough., inspection by the local Morris distributors, T. Shipside, Ltd., of Nottingham,. and this practice has. given freedom from' major mechanical faults.
Of associated interest, some of the. drivers have been working for the company since it was formed in 1946, and all the drivers have long and favourable' records. In part, they may be responsible for thehighly creditable fuel congumption of the vehicles, which average 25 m.p.g.. Pride in their vehicles is fostered. by a wash-andLpolish at least twice a week.