Crusher

[dralarms]

Bought a weston crusher on ebay and the first time I used it was a total cluster.

Took it apart, cleaned it, let it dry

Put it back together (correctly this time, it was assembled whenni got it).

Used it tonight to crush 2 bushels of apples thst had been and actually were still partially frozen.

Man, I love this thing, it ate everything I through at it and right now I have about 11 gallons of apples playing ball with some pectic enzyme.

For small batches this is great, but I can see where youwant a big motorized sucker for large batches.

 

[homesteader26]

Hmmm I did a search on this and think it may be what I request for Christmas!! Congrats on your purchase! What did you end up getting it for?

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

When one of you guys figures out where to get a pulley wheel to fit the shaft let me know, our next step is to put a motor on our, the drill we use to turn it gets a little warm after a couple bushels. WVMJ

 

[garymc]

Would it work on muscadines? I'm guessing it's one of the red ones?

 

[dralarms]

Yes, I think it will. And iplan on finding out in a couple weeks.

Hmmm, a wheel hooked up to a motor. I think I may look into that.

 

[richmke]

What did you end up getting it for?

On ebay, they go for about $175-$200 including shipping.

 

[dralarms]

I got mine for 185 shipped. Mine was used you can get it new for the same price. Or less

 

[richmke]

When one of you guys figures out where to get a pulley wheel to fit the shaft let me know, our next step is to put a motor on our, the drill we use to turn it gets a little warm after a couple bushels. WVMJ

The comments give some suggestions
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ3W6PPsEgg[/ame]

 

[dralarms]

That guy is nuts, too much speed. It can be done with out all the mods he did. You need power, not speed. A variable speed motor around 3/4 horse turned down enough to not sling apples everwhere would work fine.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

I think I have read where 700 rpm is about the right speed, no safety switch or any useful information with the vid like where he got his wheel, the shaft is a funny size. WVMJ

 

[richmke]

He said it was an odd sized shaft. Looks like he took a standard 8" pulley with an axle hole close to the right diameter, and then machined the shaft down to the right size.

 

[Runningwolf]

That guy is nuts, too much speed. It can be done with out all the mods he did. You need power, not speed. A variable speed motor around 3/4 horse turned down enough to not sling apples everwhere would work fine.

I agree with you Dr. He should also have a hopper put in on top so he can just dump the apples in it and it would also recover some of the apple pieces flying all over.

 

[dralarms]

Dan,

He actually did, he has another video showing a robo hopper and a press made from a log splitter.

 

[dralarms]

Well, out of 2 bushels of apples, crushed and fermented, iended up with exactly 1 gallon of waste (skins, seeds, and stems) and almost 9 gallons of wine.