Best electric crusher for a variety if fruit?

[Michael Clifford]

There are three crushers available in the US: Oesco, Speidel, and Pleasant Hill Grain. I've hear the last one tends to clog with larger apples, so I'm leaning towards the Speidel, but wondering if it has the same problem. Also needs to be adapted from 220V to 110V. This would be for use with a Lancman water press. Any experience folks can offer?

[radfordgraham333]

Hi, I would 100% recommend the speidel. I've had it for a few years and never had it clog with apples. I feed it at a rate of about 1 bushel/min. I honestly cant say enough good things about it. Pulp consistency is perfect, very powerful motor, and its extremely easy to clean. I've used the pleasant hill grain one in the past and it's an ok grinder. But nothing compared to the speidel. 

Hope that helps,

Graham 

Sent from my Galaxy

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[Patrick McCauley]

Hey Michael. I have the Pheasant Hill Grain mill and it works great. The 110V plug was the reason I bought it over the Speidel mill, as the power setup in my pressing area was non-existent and I had to run an extension cord. I've used both, as my friend has the Speidel, and I would say that they're pretty comparable in terms of power and rate of feeding, though the engineering on the Speidel is a bit better. Both seem to get jammed equally, though it's pretty tough to jam either of them if you're not being impatient or careless. You just need to feed the. with a consistent flow of apples vs. dumping the entire basket in at once. When you do get a jam, the Speidel is easier to clear though. With the Pheasant Hill Grain mill, you need to loosen three wingnuts which is annoying, but still is quick and easy to clear and keep grinding. The 110V plug on the Pheasant Hill Grain mill is a big advantage in my book, especially if you want to grind and press in different locations. It's much harder to find the right 220V plug for the Speidel. I don't think you can go wrong with either though. Happy grinding/pressing!

Pat McCauley

Ann Arbor, MI, USA

On Wed, Sep 29, 2021, 10:36 AM Michael Clifford <mjpcl...@gmail.com> wrote:

There are three crushers available in the US: Oesco, Speidel, and Pleasant Hill Grain. I've hear the last one tends to clog with larger apples, so I'm leaning towards the Speidel, but wondering if it has the same problem. Also needs to be adapted from 220V to 110V. This would be for use with a Lancman water press. Any experience folks can offer?

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[Ray Blockley]

Had a Spiedel for over a decade - we got one of the first models to replace our Vares Fruit Shark. Never had a problem with it mechanically or electrically. 
Occasionally apples can jam in the chute - usually when I'm impatient... Operator Error. Easy to sort. 
However, I've always wondered why the chute is parallel rather than having a slight taper that opens towards the cutters...? I doubt it would jam then.  
Some folk have said they've had problems with the bearing but we are fastidious in cleaning it down after each use, hose pipe & various sized brushes - no idea if that's why we've never had a problem in 10yrs+ use. 

The only maintenance we've done is rotate the blades & hone the "old" edge a couple of years back. 

Ray 
Nottingham UK

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[Stephen Buffington]

Michael, I have a Speidel grinder and a Lancman press. Very happy with the combo, though I wish I had 2 presses to be really efficient. If they are clean and minimal sorting I can grind enough apples to fill 2-3 80liter presses. 

Regarding the grinder specifically I have had no clogs, though I usually press pretty ripe apples. The chips are multi sized, which makes me think there is some loss in yield but my hunch is that it presses faster than uniform pieces. I have had it for 3 years and I am hearing a little more noise from the bearings than when I got it but I assume I should do more maintenance?

What really won me over was the cleaning time. I grind from September to January and I want it to be easy so I actually let every batch get to their peak ripeness. No exaggeration, 90 seconds total clean time!

I partially chose this unit because of 220V. I have used a lot of commercial and industrial motors and it is best for long use / high load applications. Also allows you to use much smaller wire. Has the added benefit that everyone you know doesn’t ask to borrow it 😉

It is a little inefficient how tall it is. You have to be pretty strong to hoist crates shoulder height all day. I have set up multi height platforms when I do a lot of apples and have helpers. I think the lawyers told them that the chute had to be longer than someone’s arm to not get sued. I was planning on cutting out the middle and sleeving it back together but haven’t got around to it. 

My biggest complaint is the color. Does it really have to be yellow?

Stephen Buffington

Shawnee Hill Farm

206.941.6353

On Sep 29, 2021, at 7:36 AM, Michael Clifford <mjpcl...@gmail.com> wrote:

There are three crushers available in the US: Oesco, Speidel, and Pleasant Hill Grain. I've hear the last one tends to clog with larger apples, so I'm leaning towards the Speidel, but wondering if it has the same problem. Also needs to be adapted from 220V to 110V. This would be for use with a Lancman water press. Any experience folks can offer?

[Michael Clifford]

Thanks, Graham. Did you manage to adapt it to 110V for American circuitry?

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[Stephen Buffington]

I will try not to go down the rabbit hole of electrical engineering but I wanted to add a few comments early on. This device is 220V mainly because it is the right way to design for the application, though I’m sure coming from Europe it made the decision easier. 220V motors allows you to do more work for less money and use smaller extension cords. 

If I was designing a commercial grinder in the US I would make it 220V (or 3 phase at even lower cost and more efficiency). If I was designing a homeowner grade grinder I would make it 110V for occasional use and flexibility. We see the exact same parallel with table saws: portable and homeowner 110V and commercial 220V (or 3 phase). 

This is really not a burden because all houses in the US (and Canada too I assume) have 220V power coming to their panel and have multiple 220V plugs and circuits (range, dryer, heaters, etc).

There are multiple, easy ways to get 220V to your grinder. If your convinced of the merits but don’t know how you can search on the web or email me directly. If your not, then you probably shouldn’t buy this grinder. 

Stephen Buffington

Shawnee Hill Farm

206.941.6353

On Sep 29, 2021, at 9:37 AM, Michael Clifford <mjpcl...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Chris Hoerichs]

To add to this, with a lesson learned 2nd-hand.  Speidel is single phase 220 and as others have said works great.  BUT, don’t buy 3 phase equipment in the US unless you have verified you have it where you are.  In many (most) non-industrial locations in the US there is only single phase 220 available, and using single phase to 3 phase converters, while doable, can be sketchy when it's often easier to purchase single phase 220 equipment if thats all you’ll ever have.  

Ask anyone who has purchased a 3 phase 220 asset, tried to wire it in, brought in electricians who contact the company regarding the wiring and then is told that because they wired it in they cannot return it because it was wired in incorrectly and voids the warranty.  Yep a friend has a nice new 3 phase 220 oven in his farm shop that he tried to wire in, but 3 phase doesn’t go out to him  I had the power company quote me on bringing 3 phase out to my orchard. $100k US.  I can buy a lot of single phase equipment for that...

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[CGJ]

Chris,

You're quite right: single phase may be functional with proper wiring
from three phase (that's what the power company does for you going into
your house), but you can not easily make three phase from single phase.

Also, for folks outside of the US: North America uses 60 Hz power, but
Europe uses 50 Hz. You can *generally* run European 50 Hz equipment on
North American 60 Hz, but generally can not run 60 Hz on 50 Hz. (Check
with the manufacturer, of course.)

Having set up instruments from the EU in the US, power is a common headache.

Cheers,
Carl
West Barnstable, Massachusetts

[radfordgraham333]

I had a 220V 20 amp(the electrician said it needed to be 20 amp) outlet made for it, run from my electrical panel. 

It added a bit of cost, however, the mill it self was cheaper than a lot of other options so wasnt a big deal. 

I dont quite know what you mean by adapt to 110v. But the wiring was done easily and I live in an old house with a small electrical panel so I am sure any home could accommodate it. 

I asked speidel(after having it on 20 amp circuit) and they said that it would also be fine at 30 amps as long as its kept at 220V. 

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[Michael Clifford]

Honestly, this whole process has me longing for an old fashioned ox-powered crusher and oak screw press... But thanks for the information. I'll see what I can do.

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[Eric Tyira]

Depending on how the motor is wound, it could be wired at 220 or 110.  I have a table saw that can be wired the two ways. As you hinted at, wiring at 110 will double the amps as compared to 220. 

On Wed, Sep 29, 2021 at 5:20 PM radfordgraham333 <radfordg...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[radfordgraham333]

Michael, thought I'd mention that I remember seeing that the zambelli muli mix/muli max (110V) are also available in the US I think from wine makers depot and possibly elsewhere. Might be a good option since its fully stainless, made in italy and also runs on standard 110V power. Might be worth checking out. 

Sent from my Galaxy

-------- Original message --------

From: Michael Clifford <mjpcl...@gmail.com>

Date: 2021-09-29 10:36 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: Cider Workshop <cider-w...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [Cider Workshop] Best electric crusher for a variety if fruit?

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[James Turner]

The Speidel  grinder is advertised as 230V 50hz 3kw which is around 13 amps draw. It would require 26 amps at 115V. Running on 60hz will probably change the speed of the motor. In regards to 3 phase, lower hp (less than 3-4) 3 phase motors can be run on single phase  230V using VFD’s. 230V 3 phase motors less than 1 hp can operate on 115 V single phase with the proper VFD. So the Speidel will require 220V, no rewiring option, and 3 phase motors can be used in the absence of a 3 phase supply.

[luis.ga...@gmail.com]

So if the Speidel mill must run on 220V, is the only option available to use a 15 amp 220 V to 115 V power converter unit, unless you want to change the whole electricity of your cider house by adding a 220 V outlet?

I admit I decided to go for a 110 V mill to avoid such complicated modifications on my cider house.

Louis

[Brian Drake]

I love my Speidel.  2 seasons now.  I looked at making a 220V circuit mod for my panel but I have a backup generator handy which needs a good run once in a while.  I made a patch cable from 220V/1ph out on gen and just run it that way.  Takes a pittance of fuel to blast through a few bushels then off again.

A lot less expense and hassle than the electrician.

I could easily keep a small squad of hydro presses going against the Speidel mill but don’t have the scale to worry about that.

Brian 

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[Dick Dunn]

I'm surprised at the difficulty of getting 220 to the Speidel mill for some
people. This is basically a US challenge, right (Europeans don't need to
deal with it?) ?

US houses built in any recent time (50+ years), seems to me would be wired
internally with 220V circuits for electric stoves or dryers. And I did
once take my Speidel mill to help friends where we ran an extension cord
from the laundry room out to where it made sense to put the press. Are
people working with "cider houses" so distant from the main house that it
doesn't make sense to run that sort of a temporary cord?

I'm not saying there ISN'T a problem; I just can't picture the situation or
I'm missing something.

The one consideration of running a cord from (say) a dryer outlet to the
mill, is that the cord should be rated to carry the current rating of the
circuit. That is, if you run power from a circuit with 30A breakers, the
cord ampacity should be >= 30A to prevent the cord from becoming a fuse in
the event of a total short in the mill.

On Thu, Sep 30, 2021 at 08:12:38PM -0700, Brian Drake wrote:
> I love my Speidel. 2 seasons now. I looked at making a 220V circuit mod
> for my panel but I have a backup generator handy which needs a good run
> once in a while. I made a patch cable from 220V/1ph out on gen and just
> run it that way. Takes a pittance of fuel to blast through a few bushels
> then off again.
>
> A lot less expense and hassle than the electrician.
>
> I could easily keep a small squad of hydro presses going against the

> Speidel mill but don???t have the scale to worry about that.

>
> Brian
>
> On Thursday, September 30, 2021, luis.ga...@gmail.com <
> luis.ga...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > So if the Speidel mill must run on 220V, is the only option available to
> > use a 15 amp 220 V to 115 V power converter unit, unless you want to change
> > the whole electricity of your cider house by adding a 220 V outlet?
> >
> > I admit I decided to go for a 110 V mill to avoid such complicated
> > modifications on my cider house.
> >
> > Louis
> >
> > Le jeudi 30 septembre 2021 à 02:18:55 UTC-4, turner...@gmail.com a écrit :
> >
> >> The Speidel grinder is advertised as 230V 50hz 3kw which is around 13
> >> amps draw. It would require 26 amps at 115V. Running on 60hz will probably
> >> change the speed of the motor. In regards to 3 phase, lower hp (less than

> >> 3-4) 3 phase motors can be run on single phase 230V using VFD???s. 230V 3

> >> phase motors less than 1 hp can operate on 115 V single phase with the
> >> proper VFD. So the Speidel will require 220V, no rewiring option, and 3
> >> phase motors can be used in the absence of a 3 phase supply.
> >>

...
--
Dick Dunn rc...@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA