The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

BM-14 BETTER MANAGEMENT TRUE STORIES FROM ALTEC FILES EDWARD M. FAY, Owner, Fays-Majestic-Carlton Theatres, Providence, R. I. System Restored Day A fter Flood Hits N. E. Theatre PROVIDENCE, R. I.— "When the flood and tidal wave of last September hit Providence, doing untold damage to theatres here in Providence, our Fays Theatre was flooded to an average of twelve feet in the auditorium^’ declared Edward M. Fay, prominent ownerexhibitor. "I notified A. W. Hyde, our local Altec service inspector, that some DC power would be available. Although the flood was still raging, Altec rushed equipment by truck from Boston and from New York by plane, and the very next day, Altec had set up temporary apparatus and notified me that the system was ready to operate. "Since the flood, other services that Altec has performed have paid for my service agreements for some time to come.’’ Let the Altec service inspector tell you, without obligation to yourself, what Altec service means in greater protection to your equipment, greater freedom from worry for yourself. Write to ■ALTEC 250 West 57th Street, New York City THE SERVICE ORGANIZATION OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY selves, or by treatment, sufficiently fire-resistive so that fire spreading over the filter when loaded with dust and under operating conditions will not be materially fed by burning of the filter itself. The installation of approved automatic extinguishing equipment, employing water, gas or other suitable means, is recommended in the enclosure of the air conditioning system to protect against combusion of material that may accumulate, except that protection is not required in the unit or cabinet type of air conditioning equipment with blower capacity not exceeding 20,000 cubic feet a minute and where the unit supplies only one floor area or a portion thereof. Where sprinklers are installed, suitable provision should be made for drainage. In buildings not equipped with automatic sprinklers, the water supply may be taken from the house piping, if the supply is adequate for the purpose. Liquid adhesive coatings used on air filters shall have a flash point not lower than 3 50 degrees Fahrenheit, Cleveland open cup tester. Oil tanks into which removable filters are dipped should preferably be located outside the building or in a separate fire-resistive room. Such tanks should be of metal, equipped with tight-fitting covers and shall be kept tightly covered when not in actual use. Where filters are flushed with oil flowing through the air stream, the system shall be arranged so that the filters cannot be flushed while the fan is in operation. All air filters shall be kept free of excess dust and combustible materials. If of the automatic oil type, sludge shall be regularly removed from the oil reservoir and if of the replacement media type, the filter media shall be changed at proper intervals to eliminate excessive dust deposits. • FANS. The term "fans” as used in these regulations refers to the assembly comprising blades or runners and housings or casings and includes both blowers and exhausters. Blowers are fans used to force air under pressure into affected areas. Exhausters are fans used to withdraw air from affected areas under suction. When installed, fans shall be so located and arranged as to afford ready access for repairing, cleaning, inspection, and lubricat'on. They should be placed on proper foundations or firmly secured to substantial supports. Exposed openings into fan housings shall be protected with substantial metal screens or gratings to prevent accidents or entry of foreign material. Fans and air handling equipment connected thereto, such as washers, filters, and heating and cooling units, should be located in a room cut off from other portions of the building by construction having a fire resistance rating of not less than one hour, where either of the following conditions prevail: (a) The main portion of the duct system served by the fan passes through floors of fire-proof construction, semi-fire-proof construction, or heavy timber construction, in which vertical openings are generally protected, (b) the system serves more than a single room of a public or institutional building. Examples of public buildings are schools, libraries, exhibition buildings, assembly halls, dance halls, theatres; and of institutional bu ldings, hospitals, asylums, sanitariums and jails. • CONTROLS. Each installation shall be equ'pped with a manual control, located at a conveniently accessible point, for quick shutting down of the fan in case of fire. This location should be submitted to the inspection department having jurisdiction for approval. In systems utilizing re-circulation, serving more than one story of a building, or more than one fire section of a single story, fans shall be arranged to shut down automatically when the temperature of the air in the system becomes excessive, as from a fire. For this purpose an approved manually-reset thermostatic device, with a maximum setting of 125 degrees Fahrenheit, shall be located in the system at a suitable point in the return air duct ahead of the fresh air intake. In sections of the country with moderate summer temperatures it will be desirable and practical moderately to reduce the above temperature setting. • ELECTRIC WIRING AND EQUIPMENT. Electric wiring and equipment shall be installed in accordance with the National Electrical Code. Lamps within the enclosure of the air conditioning system shall be enclosed in fixtures of the marine (vapor-tight) type. • AIR COOLING AND HEATING EQUIPMENT. Coils carrying refrigerants which are flammable or which are classified by Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc., in toxicity classification Groups 1 to 4 inclusive, shall not be placed in air ducts or other air circulating passages. Brine or water cooled by such refrigerants may be sprayed into such air passages or may be circulated through coils located in such passages, but no such brine shall contain any flammable constituent. (NOTE: The classifications are those made by Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc., in their report on comparative life, fire, and explosive hazards of common refrigerants. Refrigerants which are flammable or which have been classified by Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc., in toxicity classification Groups 1 to 4 include: ammonia, butane, dicholoroethylene, ethane, ethyl bromide, ethyl chloride, methyl bromide, methyl chloride, methyl formate, propane, sulphur dioxide.) Refrigerants which are both non-flammable (or practically so and for the purpose of these regulations are so considered) and have been classified by Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc., as less toxic than Group 4 include: carbon dioxide, dichlorodifluoro-methane (F-12) [known in the trade as Freon], dichloromonofluoromethane (F-2 1 ) , dichlorotetrafluoroethane (F114), monofluorotrichloromethane (F11), methylene chloride dichloromethane. ) (NOTE: It is recommended that joints in refrigerant-carrying parts, when located in the air stream, be constructed in such a manner as to resist without failure a temperature of not less than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.) Unless otherwise provided by these regulitions, mechanical refrigerating equipment shall be installed in accordance with the American Standard Safety Code for Mechanical Refrigeration. Heating equipment shall be installed in a standard manner, with due regard to prop r clearance between hot surfaces and woodwork and other combustible materials. (NOTE: The inspection department having jurisdiction should be consulted regard'ng standard requirements for installation of heating equipment.) • FOR THE BASIC MATERIAL from which this article was prepared, the writer gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to and the assistance of George W. Booth and H. E. Howell, of the National Board of Fire Underwriters; of H. D. Rice, of the New York Fire Insurance Rating Organization; of W. A. Bornemann, of the Carrier Corporation; of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers; of the United States Weather Bureau; and of the various theatre and equipment representatives who have, from time to time, been exceeding generous in their explanations and information. March 2 5, 2 939