Garbage disposal thoughts...

[Joe_in_CT]

I may never need an electric powered apple grinder but if I used a garbage disposal I would try a different arrangement.

The first thing I would do is to cut back the top of the disposal unit. Cutting off the mounting flange will allow large apples to enter the cutters. Having cut back the top of the device I would mount it inside a PVC pipe coupling, and use a length of PVC as the loading tube. The large diameter pipe will be easy to feed apples into and the two pieces can be easily separated for cleaning.

I would set up the "grinder" and its loading tube on an angle of about 45° with the discharge facing down. This might improve motor cooling and hopefully allow the processed apple to exit the cutter more easily.

My intention would be to avoid having a mushy apple sauce to press... And if necessary / possible, I would consider modifying or removing pairs of blades until I attained the desired result.

Any thoughts?

 

[Homercidal]

Not bad ideas. I have wanted to build a press for a while and besides my overabundance of hobbies, the thing that has held me back was having to make a grinder. Then I saw the disposal grinders...

But they applesauce you get out of them is a turn off. I wonder if modifying as you say, and then also adding a motor speed control and somehow adjusting the grind (not having seen inside a disposal, not sure how) it would work well.

I've seen several videos online of people using them very successfully, though.

 

[Joe_in_CT]

snip
I wonder if modifying as you say, and then also adding a motor speed control and somehow adjusting the grind (not having seen inside a disposal, not sure how) it would work well.

Homercidal,

I believe the motor would heat up more if a rheostat was used.

After looking at some illustrations I see that there are not any "blades" to be modified. There is a stationary shredder ring and the spinning impeller plate with "hammers".

If the shredder ring could be accessed perhaps the metal could be removed between pairs of slots. This would more than double the size of the material being "hammered through.

 

[Homercidal]

I have a gear motor, maybe the best thing for me is to modify the mount on my grain crusher to make it easy to swap onto a grinder. The thought of trying to use applesauce is not a peeling.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Don't you have to have water running whenever the disposal is on? I assume this is for cooling. Perhaps it's just to keep things moving.

 

[jmayerl]

This was my first year making cider and I used a 3/4hp disposal. I cut all apples in half, and they fed right through. When put in whole it would overheat the motor. I made about 50 gallons and gave away most of it, but am currently making 2 five gallon batches of hard cider. The cider tastes great despite some peoples warnings of chopping apples and seeds. The grounds made for supper easy pressing and I would change a thing for next year.

 

[sashurlow]

No need to modify the disposal in such a way. You can't just throw in a load of apples and have it grind them up. With that in mind, cutting the apples in half gives you a good pace so you do not over load them.
I did not find that getting rid of the grind was an issue. I used a coffee mug to recycle some of the grind every now and then. It did wonder in cleaning out the grinder.
You are wanting to reduce the apples to sauce, it makes them easier to press. As said before, there are no blades in a disposal.
The biggest modification that should be thought about is preventing the grinder from over heating. Garbage disposals are ran for 30 seconds at a time under normal circumstances with running water. They are definitely not made to grind apples without a constant flow of water. Therefore they over heat. If you really wanted to go nuts then figure out how to cool the motor down. I thought of putting a fan on it, but that would increase the dust around my precious apples. Maybe copper or aluminum coils filled with cold water??? Punching holes in the outer shell might help.

 

[Joe_in_CT]

While flowing water would normally carry the debris through a garbage disposal, I doubt if it aids in cooling the motor.

Openings in the motor housing would provide the greatest heat lost, but the vented housing would then need to be shielded from liquids and debris.

 

[jmayerl]

No need to modify the disposal in such a way. You can't just throw in a load of apples and have it grind them up. With that in mind, cutting the apples in half gives you a good pace so you do not over load them.
I did not find that getting rid of the grind was an issue. I used a coffee mug to recycle some of the grind every now and then. It did wonder in cleaning out the grinder.
You are wanting to reduce the apples to sauce, it makes them easier to press. As said before, there are no blades in a disposal.
The biggest modification that should be thought about is preventing the grinder from over heating. Garbage disposals are ran for 30 seconds at a time under normal circumstances with running water. They are definitely not made to grind apples without a constant flow of water. Therefore they over heat. If you really wanted to go nuts then figure out how to cool the motor down. I thought of putting a fan on it, but that would increase the dust around my precious apples. Maybe copper or aluminum coils filled with cold water??? Punching holes in the outer shell might help.

You sure can just put them in and have at it. as long as they are cut in half they feed right thru. the material (apples) once cut up will run through very fast and help cool the motor. I was able to feed them in as fast as possible and grind away for 10 minutes without any problems. I would not put any holes in the motor housing as it will no longer be water proof.

 

[jmayerl]

While flowing water would normally carry the debris through a garbage disposal, I doubt if it aids in cooling the motor.

Openings in the motor housing would provide the greatest heat lost, but the vented housing would then need to be shielded from liquids and debris.

disposals are designed so that anything running through them passes near the motor and aids in cooling. There are no openings in the motors because if ther where it would not be safe near any water source.

 

[Joe_in_CT]

Are there any rugged single stage machines, or are all/most single stage disposals economy models?