Lets get carried away with fruity goodness

[yakattack]

Can't wait to see how you've already made it better. I've been thinking about how to make it more efficient myself... Don't keep me waiting to long lol


Yak

[Wooday]

Fruity goodness!
Pressed 5 gallons of good cider this evening with the old man.
Wish I hadn't let him talk me into using the meat grinder as a starter. almost anything else would have been a lot faster. Damn thing kept plugging up

[contrahead]

So my sister who works as a special education teacher at an elementary school drops by and gives me a couple of crates of these ugly looking horned fruits. Seems as if either the school’s cafeteria didn’t know what to do with them or the kids were unimpressed.

A search found no mention of Kiwano fruit or Kiwano Horned Melon on this website. These (Cucumis_metuliferus) things that were grown in California but originated in Africa contain plenty of sugars but far too many seeds.

No local peach harvest due to late spring freeze this year so I am fermenting and distilling these to see what happens. I shaved the shins off with a paring knife, juiced the pulp a bit in a food processor and then (as I would with a grape wine) disinfected the must a bit with some sulfur dioxide. Yeast and a double dose of pectic enzyme were added 24 hours later.

Although Wikipedia calls these things melons or cucumbers, they are botanically classified as fruits. In culinary terms a chef might consider beans, corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, peas, eggplant, pumpkins, cucumbers and squash to be vegetables because they lack a sweet taste. These are however – all fruits, because they contain seeds. Even nuts are fruit!

Botanically speaking, vegetables come from other parts of a plant (like roots, stems and leaves). Potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips, lettuce, kale, spinach, celery and broccoli – are true vegetables.

[cranky]

Can't wait to see how you've already made it better. I've been thinking about how to make it more efficient myself... Don't keep me waiting to long lol


Yak

OK Yak you talked me into revealing a bit more.

Since I originally bought 2 mixers I decided to take them apart, The only thing that held it together was a single roll pin so I took a little punch and knocked the pins out.

Then I took one of the mixer blades and cut the bottom off and cut it in half with a band saw. This could be done with a hack saw but the band saw went through it like butter.

The holes for the roll pins were the same drill size as is required for a 6-32 screw so I tapped them for 6-32 and found some stainless steel screws to use as set screws. On the one that didn't have a hole I drilled and tapped it for the 6-32. Then I sharpened everything up, slid it back together rotating the 2 center ones to offset them and tightened the set screws.
Now it looks like this

I think this would work quite well but I still have further improvements to try and a limited number of apples so I want to have it finished before testing it.

[Bushman]

Very clever, nice demonstration as well!

[cranky]

Fruity goodness!
Pressed 5 gallons of good cider this evening with the old man.
Wish I hadn't let him talk me into using the meat grinder as a starter. almost anything else would have been a lot faster. Damn thing kept plugging up

The original version of the bladed paint mixer works surprisingly well for apples, I had been coring chopping and food processing but I think this method produces nearly as much juice as my old method especially after freezing and repressing.

[cranky]

Very clever, nice demonstration as well!

Thank you Bushman, Hopefully the next mod actually works out which will give me a pretty good chopper for about $24 including the bucket.

[cranky]

contrahead, I've seen those at the produce place but never tried them, If I got enough I would certainly ferment them because I believe whenever possible everything should be fermented. I'm looking forward to seeing your results.

[jedneck]

[quote="cranky] If I got enough I would certainly ferment them because I believe whenever possible everything should be fermented.[/quote]
If it don't ferment cure and smoke it.

[Jimbo]

[quote="cranky] If I got enough I would certainly ferment them because I believe whenever possible everything should be fermented.

If it don't ferment cure and smoke it.[/quote][/quote]

Ha! well put. Those horned fruits could be in a category with raspberries, 80 lbs for a bottle of brandy. Go for it

[S-Cackalacky]

Can't wait to see how you've already made it better. I've been thinking about how to make it more efficient myself... Don't keep me waiting to long lol


Yak

OK Yak you talked me into revealing a bit more.

Since I originally bought 2 mixers I decided to take them apart, The only thing that held it together was a single roll pin so I took a little punch and knocked the pins out.

GRINDER MK2 #1 - C.JPG

Then I took one of the mixer blades and cut the bottom off and cut it in half with a band saw. This could be done with a hack saw but the band saw went through it like butter.

GRINDER MK2 #2 - C.JPG

The holes for the roll pins were the same drill size as is required for a 6-32 screw so I tapped them for 6-32 and found some stainless steel screws to use as set screws. On the one that didn't have a hole I drilled and tapped it for the 6-32. Then I sharpened everything up, slid it back together rotating the 2 center ones to offset them and tightened the set screws.
Now it looks like this

GRINDER MK2 #3 - C.JPG

GRINDER MK2 #4 - C.JPG

I think this would work quite well but I still have further improvements to try and a limited number of apples so I want to have it finished before testing it.

Cranky, I didn't imagine that this was the way you were talking about putting it together. I pictured that you would just cut the knob off the bottom of one and stack it on top of the other on the same shaft. That is, give it a little more depth to operate in.

I was at Lowe's earlier today and picked up two more of these at the clearance price - last two they had. So, now I have three. I want to have one unmolested to use as a mash stirrer.

Problem now is finding some apples. The ones I thought I had a line on aren't available now. There were 5 or 6 trees growing on a horse farm where my daughter worked for a while. The guy who runs the farm told her I could come out and pick them a while back, but has since changed his mind. I drove by a few days ago and many of them were laying on the ground. I guess he would rather see them go to waste than give them away. Anyway, I did a google search and found a directory of orchards in the area and will start calling them to see if I can get some windfalls at a decent price. If that doesn't work out, I guess I'll be looking at store bought apple juice again this year.

[yakattack]

S-cac. Take a drive in old neighbourhoods. You'll find lots of single apple trees. Start knocking on doors. Got over 50 gallons of cider so far this year that way

[Jimbo]

S-cac. Take a drive in old neighbourhoods. You'll find lots of single apple trees. Start knocking on doors. Got over 50 gallons of cider so far this year that way

+1. Folks are generally pretty damn happy for you to come over and haul all that fruit away before it falls and rots on the ground attracting bugs, vermin and killing the lawn.

[raketemensch]

+1. Folks are generally pretty damn happy for you to come over and haul all that fruit away before it falls and rots on the ground attracting bugs, vermin and killing the lawn.

Totally. I've been that guy, we had a hundred year old pear tree in our back yard for 3 years, and back then I considered them a nuisance. Ironically, the dog, who spent most of his time out in the yard, only discovered that they were edible (and delicious) the last year. Like a tennis ball that you can eat...

Now, of course, I'm planting pear trees of my own, and that poor tree got taken out by a hurricane 2 years ago.

[MDH]

I'm glad we don't have hurricanes in the Pacific northwest.

There was one typhoon the year my mother was born, in the early 1960's. Since then nothing has been like it.

I agree on knocking on doors. You will be surprised how many people say yes immediately. Some will even come outside and help you do it. They do not like the ugly mess on their lawns.

I usually return a care package of cider, preserves and other goodies later as a measure of good faith. They will often call me the next year.

[cranky]

OK so here are today's improvements, although this is just a proof of concept prototype. I plan on making a stand mounted version using my 1/4 HP motor driving it. The shaft will be mounted vertically with a slanted pipe coming off to the side to feed apples through.

This first one showed the random stuff I happened to have that I thought might work for this project

I removed both mixers from their shafts

Cut the bottom off both then, as before cut one in half.

I reassembled them on the first shaft, just as before giving me a double stack of blade sets.

Total of 8 blades to chop through the apples.

[cranky]

I cut slots in the bottom of a bucket for apple pulp to pass through, with a slight dimple to try to hold the chopper in place.
I also cut the top out of another bucket to let me insert the bucket down into the catch bucket and keep it off the bottom. I turned another bucket upside down and cut the bottom out.
Since this was just a proof of concept piece and taped the buckets together with aluminum tape.
Then I hooked it up to the drill and had someone toss the apples in.
It chewed through 100 apples in no time leaving the pulp in the bottom catch bucket.

No need to move it around or anything, just catch the nice ground pulp exiting out the bottom.

[S-Cackalacky]

Cranky, now that's what I'm talkin' about. I like the way you stacked the blades - looks badassed.

I saw PVC pipe today in Lowe's, but I didn't take the time to measure it. The mixers are about 8-1/4 inches wide. Would be cool to stick that thang down inside a piece of slightly larger PVC. I bet nothin' would sneak past those cutters in one piece.

[S-Cackalacky]

About the apples - people around where I live usually use what they grow. I'm in a fairly rural area. Besides that, I don't see too many fruit trees in people's yards. If I had known Cranky was gonna rock my world with an inexpensive apple grinder build, I would have been working a lot harder to locate some apples. There's a lot of growers around where I am. I don't know what their policies are about collecting windfalls. I'll start making some calls tomorrow.

[Wooday]

...

GRINDER MK2 #4 - C.JPG

I think this would work quite well but I still have further improvements to try and a limited number of apples so I want to have it finished before testing it.

Cranky, I'm taking this idea and running with it. I have about a bushel of apples to test it out on, with more to come later this week.

Edit:
By "run with it" I mean continue down the "giant hand blender" road.

[cranky]

I wish Yak had come up with the idea in July when my apple season started but I appreciate him pointing this out to me.

I checked Lows and couldn't find any pipe that would fit it which is why I continued using the buckets. I did attempt to cut a bucket and roll it into a tube that fir the blades a bit tighter but it was a fail. I have considered cutting the blades down to fit inside an 8" pipe.

One thing I had trouble with is keeping the the shaft centered. My ultimate plan is to drill out the end of the bottom mixer so the shaft can pass through while still being rounded and get some high density plastic to use as a bearing, then drill a hole in it to extend the shaft through to help keep it straight. Eventually I plan on mounting the shaft on a stand with a pulley and the 1/4 HP motor I already have driving it.

Another issue was some of the screws backed out. I plan on using proper set screws to hold it all together.

The third issue was holding this monster still, It took 2 -3 people to hold the bucket to keep it from spinning. I think one person could hold it with 4 blades but with 8 blades mounting the tube is a must.

I ran this with the same air drill I've been using and while totally cool it was also somewhat terrifying when the shaft came off center and everything started shaking which made me stop running to get it re-centered which is where some of the larger chunks came from.

All this is pretty minor and easy to fix, so I'm pretty happy with it.

[cranky]

S-Cack, Last year around this time just south of me some guy was selling cider apples for 10-15 cents a pound, but you had to buy 1,000 pounds but still 1,000 of apples for $100-150, If I had this grinder working to my satisfaction I would have been very tempted to buy them, But I kind of like knowing they are pesticide free, even if they are wormy. Keep an eye on Craigslist, maybe you could find a deal there.

[yakattack]

Sorry cranky :p we have a short apple season here. Pretty much done. Have a few more trees I have permission to finish cleaning but with my truck broke down at the moment, doesn't look like I'll be getting them this year. But yah I wish I had thought of it sooner too, but man you've sure taken the idea by the balls and ran like Terry fox. I really am loving where this is going.

Have to say cranky, would love to sit back with a tipple with ya and shoot the shit, toss ideas back and forth. Seems we both have. Some unique perspectives on how to skin the cat.

Yak

[cranky]

Sorry cranky :p we have a short apple season here. Pretty much done. Have a few more trees I have permission to finish cleaning but with my truck broke down at the moment, doesn't look like I'll be getting them this year. But yah I wish I had thought of it sooner too, but man you've sure taken the idea by the balls and ran like Terry fox. I really am loving where this is going.

Have to say cranky, would love to sit back with a tipple with ya and shoot the shit, toss ideas back and forth. Seems we both have. Some unique perspectives on how to skin the cat.

Yak

Sometimes I wake up at 3AM and can't get back to sleep and start thinking about goofy things. Sometimes an idea bounces around in my brain for a while only to find the light of day at 3AM. This was one of those epiphanies. A lot of what I do is in the Red Green style because I hate to spend money so when I find a cheap alternative I like to expand on it. In your thread somebody asked about making a fixture to hold the drill which started me thinking and sometimes I'm dangerous when I think

[raketemensch]

Seems we both have some unique perspectives on how to skin the cat.

Yak

Skinning a cat sounds horrible. Maybe we should go with "shave the yak":

[yakattack]

Hahaha hahaha. That's funny


Yak

[Jimbo]

... or the beaver

[S-Cackalacky]

My continuing source for apples saga - Of all the orchards I found in the area, I found only one that allows the gathering of windfalls. They want $4.00 per bushel and consider a 5 gallon bucket to be 1/2 bushel, so for $16.00 I can gather 8 buckets, or about 175 lbs. I was able to get a list of about 8 orchards. I had a couple that didn't answer the phone and most others just flat out don't allow the gathering of windfalls. The one I found is probably the most distant - about 20 miles. My daughter has agreed to go with me to lend a hand, so one day next week it is. The lady I spoke with on the phone said they are currently picking red and golden delicious and will be picking others later in the month. I'm hoping to make more than one trip out to the orchard over the next few weeks. Guess I better be getting my mud mixer sharpened up.

[Wooday]

...

GRINDER MK2 #4 - C.JPG

I think this would work quite well but I still have further improvements to try and a limited number of apples so I want to have it finished before testing it.

Cranky, I'm taking this idea and running with it. I have about a bushel of apples to test it out on, with more to come later this week.

Edit:
By "run with it" I mean continue down the "giant hand blender" road.

Lowe's buckets are cheap and flimsy.
I broke a cutter when it ripped through a bucket wall. Thank god it missed my foot.
Will try again this weekend.

There are more apples to find.

[S-Cackalacky]

I guess my next big project will be a press. I'll be looking to Harbor Freight for a hydraulic jack. They have some pretty good sales sometimes. I think I have all the beams I'll need, but might have to buy some carriage bolts. But, that'll be a project for next years harvest.

For now, I guess I'll be using the ass press. I don't expect it to do the best job, so I might be doing a combination of juice musts and pomace sugarheads.

Maybe I shouldn't be counting my chickens - I don't have the apples yet.