How Do You Clean Your Crusher/Destemmer?

[Boatboy24]

Having cleaned mine for the first time yesterday, I was wondering how other people do it. The winery where I get my grapes has larger SS C/D's and they actually use a power washer. Yesterday, I removed the cover and the 'thingy that the grapes fall through' and washed them down with the hose. Did the same with the rest of it, making sure to turn the rollers as I sprayed them down. It was a little tricky getting the underside completely clean with the hose, but I got it done. Just wondering what others do and how careful those with electric motors have to be with water.

 

[ibglowin]

Open it up by removing all the panels. Spray lots of water from the hose then wipe it down after it drip drys for a few minutes with a towel. I added a motor to mine several years ago and it can easily be removed by pulling a cotter key pin so no water hits the motor at all.

 

[balatonwine]

My bin separates from the rollers with two wing nuts. Then spray all down all parts that contact with grapes with hose. Let air dry.

 

[Kraffty]

Same here, open, spray, wipe, spray again then I hit it all with my spray bottle of star san. Probably a wasted step but can't hurt to put it away really clean. I've also considered wrapping it up in garden trashbags while storing in the off season but didn't bother last year. Just pulled, hosed, sanitized again - looks just like new.

@ibglowin do you have any info on your added motor set up or maybe some pictures of how you did it? I'd think about 1 hp and somehow getting down to 10 or 15 rpm would do the trick.
Mike

 

[TXWineDuo]

We picked up a used manual one in July totally disassembled it and cleaned it completely, it is crazy how stuff was dried in the crevasses. A week later I tried to operate it and it seemed stuck I could only move the handle back and forth a couple of inches. So from advise here I purchased some Food Grade Silicon and sprayed in lube ports for the rollers, everything is working fine now and will be part of the clean up before storage.

TXWineDuo

 

[ibglowin]

Here is a pretty good snap shot. A retired good friend of mine actually did this for me. He found a treadmill in like new condition at the dump and pulled the motor and electronics board off of it. The motor uses a serpentine belt that goes over to a flywheel that attached to where the hand crank used to be. I have complete control over the crusher motor speed with the small knob attached to the electronics board. I can go from full stop to way too fast. I just pick a nice even speed and it cranks though whatever I can throw at it so far. As stated earlier, the motor/electronics panel can be pulled by removing a cotter key and sliding the whole thing out. Then I can hit the crusher as usual with as much water as needed without having to worry about getting any electronics wet. Let me know if you need a side picture or close up. This was all I had handy at the moment. But there is a plate behind that the motor and electronics are mounted to. That plate is held in place by the bracket that came (stock) on the crusher even though it was a Manuel C/D it had the mounting bracket for a motor attached.

@ibglowin do you have any info on your added motor set up or maybe some pictures of how you did it? I'd think about 1 hp and somehow getting down to 10 or 15 rpm would do the trick.
Mike

 

[TXWineDuo]

@ibglowin what do you use FG spray or grease on the chain and lube holes? Or grease on chain and spray in the holes?

TXWineDuo

 

[Kraffty]

Jim, sorry if I took this a different direction away from cleaning but maybe you could use this info too on your crusher. @ibglowin if you have more pics later I'd love to see them, especially the mounting. I just happen to have a working treadmill that doesn't get used and is just taking up space on the patio, great excuse to take it apart and then dump it. I was looking for and hi torque, low rpm motor on the web and didn't find anything, never considered a treadmill, thanks, Mike

 

[ibglowin]

I can pull the motor off later today and shoot some pics of the back side as well as the pulley. I think the flywheel was machined from a piece of aluminum.

Jim, sorry if I took this a different direction away from cleaning but maybe you could use this info too on your crusher. @ibglowin if you have more pics later I'd love to see them, especially the mounting. I just happen to have a working treadmill that doesn't get used and is just taking up space on the patio, great excuse to take it apart and then dump it. I was looking for and hi torque, low rpm motor on the web and didn't find anything, never considered a treadmill, thanks, Mike

 

[ibglowin]

I bought a tube of the food grade lube a few years ago from Morewine IIRC. A little dab will do ya as they say to keep it greased up. Mine got stuck as well last year when I pulled it out. Just needed a little lubricant and was turning circles in no time flat.

@ibglowin what do you use FG spray or grease on the chain and lube holes? Or grease on chain and spray in the holes?

TXWineDuo

 

[Boatboy24]

Good info guys. Mike and others: any info on the lubing of the C/D is also appreciated. I'm not sure where or how to apply it and will be looking to do so when crush is but a memory.

 

[TXWineDuo]

@Boatboy24 our C/D didn't have a manual (used) so from what I could scrounge up nothing showed about lubrication my guess is the red highlighted area is the lube holes and that is where I sprayed the silicone and the unit started working like a champ.
At the end of the season I will clean up the unit, dry it, then lube it and cover it then put it at top of wire shelving in garage. Almost forgot need to partially disassemble C/D stand to put on shelving too.
A word of warning to those who have a Stainless Steel hopper or sharp metal edges, you might consider wearing leather gloves while cleaning, when it slipped out of Mrs. Duo's hands I grabbed for it and we had a different kind of red juice that started flowing.
All is good just take caution!

TXWineDuo

 

[Boatboy24]

Thanks @TXWineDuo . I have a manual, but it is in Italian and there aren't many pictures.

I haven't been brave enough to disassemble anything yet. All I had to do when I got it was attach the flywheel and handle. I'll have to see if there's a way to get the rollers out as you've displayed. Do you know what brand yours is? Mine is Marchisio.

 

[JohnT]

My bin separates from the rollers with two wing nuts. Then spray all down all parts that contact with grapes with hose. Let air dry.

Can you post a picture of it?

 

[TXWineDuo]

Thanks @TXWineDuo . I have a manual, but it is in Italian and there aren't many pictures.

I haven't been brave enough to disassemble anything yet. All I had to do when I got it was attach the flywheel and handle. I'll have to see if there's a way to get the rollers out as you've displayed. Do you know what brand yours is? Mine is Marchisio.

Jim, ours is a Pillan N-1 model and our thread.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57391
Interesting though I think someone copied someone else in Italy, I have holes in the base for support brackets for the hopper like yours but no brackets, which will be a future upgrade if we have problems this year.

You should not have to disassemble to lube the rollers, I put arrows on your pic for reference to location, it is hard to see in your pic due to the white plastic bracket holding your rollers in place. If you can see the metal bar of the roller through the hole that is where I put the spray.

TXWineDuo

 

[TXWineDuo]

Also ours is much older in that we do not have the motor add-on bracket like is on yours, ibglowin and Krafty's units do. Oh well, from 6 lugs 2015 to 9 lugs this year, we don't need the motor yet.
Secretly I'm trying to add the 44gal brutes slowly so the Mrs. doesn't catch on, gotta carefully plan the equipment expansion.

Somehow I think I convinced here the C/D was for our anniversary this year!

TXWineDuo

 

[dcbrown73]

I bought a tube of the food grade lube a few years ago from Morewine IIRC. A little dab will do ya as they say to keep it greased up. Mine got stuck as well last year when I pulled it out. Just needed a little lubricant and was turning circles in no time flat.

+1 for the old brylcreem slogan reference.

 

[Johny99]

Hi Jim

I remove the panels and pull the screen - wear gloves! Then spray well from the hose with a garden spray nozzle set to stream. Worst place for stuck stuff is up under the rollers. I did install a hot water tap last year, so it gets all this with 110F water. End of season, I so the same but go over it with a little scrub brush to get all the nooks and crannies.

 

[NorCal]

I turn it on its head, its side, its tail and spray until there is not a single piece of evidence of the mass grape crushing that it just completed. At the end of the season too take it apart and food safe lube everything.

 

[ibglowin]

As promised, closeup pics of my C/D motor setup made from a used treadmill motor.