North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Don Yellman <dyellman@earthlink.net>]

1.  Since Doc and Claude seem interested, here are a few more details on
the garbage disposal apple grinder.
2.  The table I built measures 20X24" across the top, and is 36" tall.
Top is a piece of kitchen countertop.  Those dimensions are not rigid.
I discharge into 5-gallon buckets lined with nylon pressing bags, but if
you want to discharge into a 40-gallon garbage can, build a bigger
table.  Don't know how you would move around 40 gallons of slurry
though.  The legs have to be braced so the unit is stable.  You could
also use an old sink, although I see no advantage to that.
3.  Wiring is pretty simple.  Use 16/3 cord, and a switchbox with an
ordinary light switch.  Carry the ground all the way through, since you
will be working in a damp environment while standing on the earth.  Only
the hot wire needs to be switched.
4.  Garbage disposals come with a 90 degree black plastic fitting for
the discharge outlet.  That's all you need.  It will cleanly fire the
slurry into your bucket.
5.  This system works only with nylon pressing bags, the strongest you
can find.  Coarser mesh is usually heavier and for that reason better.
You can blow out a weak bag with a screw type press.  I did that last
fall and put some apple slurry up on the garage roof.  Nylon bags are
available at beer/winemaking shops.
6.  Once the bucket is 2/3 full, twist and lift the bag out to the
press.  You can put two bags of slurry into your pressing basket; I do
not recommend three or more, since you start to lose some efficiency.
Even so, you will have at least 6-7 gallons of slurry.  There will
already be a gallon of juice in the bucket when you lift out the bag.
7.  The difference between a garbage disposal and any type of toothed
grinder is that the disposal produces slurry, with the juice cells
already broken up, while a toothed grinder produces chunks.  Even a
well-engineered toothed grinder like Claude's will turn out chunks,
although they might be smaller chunks.  A garbage disposal is
essentially a miniature hammermill.  Slurry will always give you a
higher juice yield.
8.  Victoria's idea of using a trash compacter as a press is intriguing,
but I think the problem would be --- how do you strain out the juice?  I
have thought about drilling hundreds of little holes in a stainless
stock pot, eliminating the pressing basket and bags completely.  But I
have not found a sturdy stockpot with the 13" diameter of my pressing
plate, and anyway, I wonder if it would not quickly clog up and reduce
my juice yield.  With the nylon pressing bags, you just dump out the dry
cake, call the horses over for a little treat, rinse the bag and resume
pressing.
9.  If you can sell this idea in N.H. Victoria, it might mean an
expanded market for garbage disposals.
Rgds, Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA



------------------------------------------------------------------------
SALESFORCE.COM MAKES SOFTWARE OBSOLETE
Secure, online sales force automation with 5 users FREE for 1 year!
http://click.egroups.com/1/2658/0/_/423498/_/961686462/
------------------------------------------------------------------------