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Veggie Processing Equipment For Smaller Producers
Washing root crops or bunching spears of asparagus and other vegetables goes a lot faster with specialized equipment from Willsie Equipment Sales. A drum washer handles up to 100 lbs. of root crops at a time, with 55 gpm of water flowing over the rotating drum. The washer can be used in batch or continuous flow fashion.
"It's the amount of water, not the pressure, that helps," says Gary Willsie. "You don't want pressure, or it bruises or even cuts the vegetables. What you want is the rubbing action in the rotating drum with enough water to loosen, soften and wash the dirt away."
Willsie's washer consists of a 26-in. dia., 3-ft. long, rotating drum powered by a -hp motor. The drum sits in a frame over a 160-gal. tank for the recirculating water. The 55-gpm sump pump is set about 10 in. above the floor of the tank inside a screen. Most dirt and other material settle out of the recirculating water, but the pump can handle debris of up to 1-in. dia. A 2-in. dia. pvc pipe drilled with exit holes releases the water across the top of the drum.
  Once produce has been washed it's bagged or loaded into boxes and bags.
   Bunching asparagus spears, broccoli and other veggies is made easy with Willsie's semi-automatic buncher that offers hands-free stretching and release of rubber bands.
"Simply place the rubber band on the four fingers in the mouth of the table, and step on the foot pedal to stretch the fingers and the rubber band into a square opening," explains Willsie. "Set the bunch in the opening, and release the foot pedal. When the fingers contract around the bunch, the rubber band is released from the fingers."
Both pieces of equipment are easy to operate and increase productivity. The buncher sells for $350. The washer with motor and pump costs at $3,250.
Contact: FARM SHOW Follow up, Willsie Equipment Sales, R.R. 1, 9516 Northville Road, Thedford, Ont., Canada N0M 2N0 (ph 519 243-2616; toll free 800 561-3025; info@willsie.com; www.willsie.com).


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2010 - Volume #34, Issue #2