Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: A question about A Perfect Storm, ice machine & salt water?

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Posted by Stephen Frazza (Member # 2320) on 12-06-2004, 01:17 PM:

The movie A Perfect Storm was on the other nite while a was at work.Now having to deal with our ice machine a few times i've seen how wastful it can be with water.My question is where do the get the water for the ice machine on the boat.They can't possible use salt water can they?And if the do purify it how do the purify so much so quickly.And i dont think they would use fresh water that they brought on because it seems like to much is needed.

So does anybody know anything about this?

Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 12-06-2004, 03:24 PM:

It was in the script. [Big Grin]

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 12-06-2004, 04:32 PM:

I do believe the ice machine broke down in real life, however.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 12-06-2004, 05:53 PM:

Why not use salt water, the fish just came out of the salt water. I think it would jsut take a little longer to freeze.

Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 12-07-2004, 10:56 AM:

EDIT: To reduce the length. See the link for more info.

This thread made me curious. I found this at fao.org There are some tables and things that wouldn't paste well here. Click on the link to see the whole document. It is likely more than you ever wanted to know.

quote:

2. The manufacture of ice

2.1 Sea or freshwater

When considering the manufacture of ice on board fishing vessels, seawater will be the natural choice of raw material. When considering whether to use fresh or seawater in land-based plants, the decision will depend on several factors, such as the availability of regular supplies, the location of the ice plant and the intended use of the ice (e.g. for use on board fishing vessels or on shore). Whatever type of water is used, it must be remembered that the resultant ice will come into direct contact with food. For this reason it is essential that the water used is free from contamination that could cause risks to human health or tainting of the fish so that it becomes unacceptable. This implies that the water must be of drinking-water quality and comply with the safety standards laid down by such bodies as the World Health Organization.

The use of seawater ice for chilling fish has been studied for several years and, with the development of suitable small ice machines that can be installed on board fishing vessels, this alternative is becoming more feasible for fishermen. The main advantages of the use of seawater ice are:

It can be produced at sea or on shore where shortages of freshwater are a serious problem or where freshwater is expensive.

Since space on fishing vessels is limited, the ability to produce ice when and if it is needed, rather than having to predict needs before a fishing trip begins, can have practical advantages.

Slightly lower storage temperatures can be obtained with seawater ice; therefore the shelf-life of fish can be prolonged. Commercially available flake/scale ice machines can manufacture seawater ice with a temperature from -9 °C to -20 °C and a variable percentage of salt content.

[ 12-07-2004, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: Joe Beres ]

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-07-2004, 12:38 PM:

Does that set the record for the longest post ever on Film-Tech?

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-07-2004, 01:01 PM:

Any guidelines on how much to quote from a link? My understanding is that you want enough to get the gist of the quote in case the link dies, so people aren't confused by a dead link.

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 12-07-2004, 05:50 PM:

No, I'm sure a low-brow thread takes the longest post/quote honors. [Big Grin]

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 12-10-2004, 03:31 PM:

Actually on the real Andrea Gail out of Gloucester Massachusettes (where I am proud to be from!) they purchased ice from Cape Pond Ice as do most fishermen in the area. They then store the ice in "cool compartments" to make them last longer. Some boats are equipt with ice machines, some with coolers to store the ice... depends on what you're driving.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-11-2004, 12:24 AM:

Seems like mechanical refrigeration would pay for itself with no more money for ice, greater time at sea, and probably greater payload space. But it wasn't that long ago that railroad refrigerator cars were cooled by ice bunkers and the railroads had the infrastructure in place to keep them iced along the way.