2023 RETA Breeze March-April

Funny that the Presidency of such a great country as the United States of America, has only four faces on their Mount Rushmore. A Refrigeration “Mount Rushmore” would require a mountain range the size of the Himalayas. Debates will rage forever about the greatest refrigeration engineer of all time. I understand that a significant portion of the youngsters are willing to engage in pub brawls with all who would deny Garland top honors. I will not pose an opinion as to the tallest mount. Certainly, Gardner Tufts Voorhees deserves a mount of considerable view. GARDNER TUFTS VOORHEES THE REFRIGERATION HISTORIAN VOLUME XXXIII Gardner was born June 6, 1869 in Stamford, Connecticut. He had one sister and would eventually find out about one half-brother. The validity of his birth would later be questioned. The legality of his parents marriage would eventually be decided in a Massachusetts court room. Gardner aggressively defended the validity of their marriage and prevailed in the law suite. Mr. Voorhees attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gardner Graduated in 1890, age 21, with full honors and a Bachelor of Science Degree (SB). In 1892 it was rumored that Gardner would wed K. Rose Leonard. The rumored engagement made the local newspaper. Perhaps the first time that Gardner’s name would be in print, but not the last. Ultimately reverend Reed united them in marriage on February 1st of the same year. Rose would divorce Gardner in 1895. Gardner started his career at the Voorhees Electrical Company. His first patent would be filed as an employee of said company. The patent was filed in 1893. He would obtain several other patents in the electrical field before progressing his career toward the sweet science of refrigeration.

Oil separator, an early oil still

One of Mr. Voorhees greatest achievements was the “Voorhees Scheme”. A process by which a compressor could be injected with vapor mid stroke. If this sounds like side port injection, then your instincts do you credit. This process is ancestor of the side port injection process. Voorhees described this in his patent as “multiple effect to absorption and compression machines.” It because better known as the Multi-Effect Compressor (M.E.C.).

Gardner followed this with the Multi-Effect Receiver (M.E.R.) Another interesting invention was the oil separator, an early oil still. Already having great renown, in October of 1902, Gardner was appointed refrigeration construction engineer for the 1904 World’s Fair. He later served as the Chairman of Refriger-ation, being appointed in February of 1903, and serving until his

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