Automatic Apple Cider Production

Automatic Apple Cider Production BALERS Balers 30-6-8 Grinding apples before crushing them for juice is the most strenuous part of making cider. Jack Nachamkin of Glen Mills, Penn., found a way to reduce the effort "to the point where it's now almost an enjoyable pastime". He uses an apple grinder from Happy Valley Ranch (www.happyvalleyranch.com or ph 913 849-3103). "My helper, George Jones, devised a way to mount an electric motor to belt-drive the drum." The pair used a 110-volt AC, 1/3 hp 5,600 rpm motor they had "just lying around." A motor controller that's connected in series with the motor is very helpful, but not essential. "The 1/3 hp motor is barely sufficient, so some modifications were needed," Nachamkin says. George added a spare wheel to the machine for extra flywheel action. This helped considerably, as long as we weren't too enthusiastically loading the hopper. An overflowing hopper crammed full of large hard apples could slow the motor to a stall if we aren't careful." At this point, the chore of apple grinding became almost fun, he says, adding that he and Jones couldn't help laughing when the first apples flew through the motorized hopper. "Once we found the right feeding rate, the apples went through as fast as two people could load them into the hopper." The pulleys were sized to turn the grinder drum at about 300 rpm's. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jack Nachamkin, 51 Broomall Lane, Glen Mills, Penn. 19342 (ph 610 455-3897; jackn1@verizon.net).

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