Wild Rice Dehuller Might Have Other Uses

Wild Rice Dehuller Might Have Other Uses FARM HOME Food Wild rice a northern delicacy is expensive to buy Since it mostly grows wild people often harvest their own “Gathering and processing wild rice isn’t for everyone ” says retired veterinarian Tom Hohl “In Minnesota you need a license a properly-outfitted canoe and special equipment for processing ” Hohl has spent many hours harvesting and processing about 20 lbs of wild rice each of the past few years He made the processing a lot easier in 2013 by building his own dehuller “The mechanical dehuller I made uses a small electric motor to turn a fan-like mechanism inside a 2-ft long drum made from a piece of 12-in dia plastic drain pipe It’s a simple design that nearly anyone could build ” The dehulling drum is 24 in long It’s smooth on the inside and corrugated on the outside He covered the smooth inside surface with an abrasive rubber-like fabric that rubs against the rice hulls Inside the chamber 4 metal paddles that are 2 in wide and 23 in long are connected to a 5/8-in dia shaft with sturdy metal rods “The idea was to create a fan-like mechanism to stir and dehull the rice ” says Hohl The paddles are covered with abrasion-resistant skirtboard The dehulling shaft rides on two bearings bolted to endcaps that Hohl made from finish grade 3/4-in plywood The endcaps and motor mount are supported by a simple frame that he made from scrap wood The dehuller shaft is driven by a 1/2-hp electric motor that connects with a V-belt to a 6-in pulley The motor has a 40:1 reducing gearcase so it rotates the shaft about 40 to 45 rpm’s which seems just the right speed Hohl says “I put about a gallon of rice in at a time and it takes about 35 to 40 min for dehulling ” Hohl says “When it comes out I separate the rice from the hull fines with a fan ” Harvesting the rice which is considered a sacred food by some Native Americans must be done in a traditional manner Restrictions are placed on the width and length of the canoe that is poled into standing rice Wooden sticks known as ‘knockers’ and others called flails are used to gently brush the ripe grain from the heads into the canoe Hohl says it took him about 2 days to build the dehuller but it cost less than $40 and it will be useful for several years He thinks the design could be used to process other seed that’s harvested in small batches Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tom Hohl 4772 McComber Rd Duluth Minn 55803 hohlt4772@msn com

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