Dig a pit to a depth of 1 foot 6 inches and place wooden forms in
such a way as to provide for tank walls 6 inches thick and 1 foot 8
inches in height. This will bring the walls only 8 inches above ground
level—which makes it easy to lift the milk cans in and out.
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Use a wet mixture of concrete, of proportions 1: 2: 4. Place as
described on page 74; and be sure to build walls and floor at the same
time. The floor should be 6 inches thick.
The vat described has a partition 6 inches thick, dividing the tank
into two chambers, each chamber being 6 feet 9 inches long. An iron
grating is placed in the bottom of the tank to allow free circulation
of cooling water around and under the milk cans. Arrangements must be
made for inlets and outlets. The inlet pipe can be simply placed above
one end of tank.
The pipe rail at back of tank provides a convenient purchase when
lifting heavy cans from the tank.
A hole must be provided at the other end of tank, in the bottom, and
connecting, by an iron pipe, with the drain tile. Into this hole a
removable upright iron pipe is fitted, the length of pipe depending
on the depth of water desired for the cans. This allows the water to
come only to the top of the pipe and provides an over-flow outlet at the
proper height. The pipe must fit tightly into the hole.
Time required to build:—one day with three men on the job.
Approximate cost, at current prices of materials and including labor,
$16.00.
The materials required are 2 cubic yards of crushed rock or screened
gravel, 1 cubic yard of sand, and 5 barrels of Portland cement.
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