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Electric Scalder Cleans Poultry Fast
Cynthia Willis likes to raise a small number of chickens and turkeys which she butchers and cans. However, scalding the larger birds for feather removal was her most daunting task until a farmer friend modified an old 50-gal. hot water tank into what Willis calls "a wonderful" home-made electric scalder.
"This un
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Electric Scalder Cleans Poultry Fast LIVESTOCK Poultry 27-4-7 Cynthia Willis likes to raise a small number of chickens and turkeys which she butchers and cans. However, scalding the larger birds for feather removal was her most daunting task until a farmer friend modified an old 50-gal. hot water tank into what Willis calls "a wonderful" home-made electric scalder.
"This unit allows me to thoroughly scald even the biggest turkeys with no problem," Willis says. "You can buy commercial scalders for more than $900, but for people like me who have only a few birds, that's totally out of the question."
The home-built unit cost her only $200 total (parts and labor). Willis picked up an old hot water heater at a junkyard for $5 and took it to her friend who cut the bottom off and removed the element, replacing it with a 4,500-watt element.
Next, her friend flipped the tank upside-down and covered the exposed internal and external jacket with a metal lip, sealing it with silicone. He installed a $100 external thermostat. The thermostat's bulb sensor is protected by a section of PVC pipe that Willis's friend added inside the tank of the scalder.
He then wired the unit so it could be plugged into a 220-volt outlet. Since the tank's cold water intake and outgoing hot water line accesses were now at the bottom of the tank, he installed an L-shaped section of pipe on one of them to allow for draining of the tank out to the side. This drain is closed with a threaded cap.
Willis's friend built one of these scalders for himself as well. He and his family are able to process 60 birds an hour with it.
"For chickens, I set the thermostat for 150 degrees Fahrenheit and for turkeys, I've found it needs to be at 160 degrees. I know from experience that if you have inadequate heat treatment on turkeys, pulling feathers is a nightmare," says Willis.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cynthia Willis, 6406 Ebenezer Rd., Orrstown, Penn. 17244 (ph 717 532-3516).
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