Root Crop Washers
The concept for the root crop washer was given birth through the need for a tool to wash field crops suitably for marketing. After researching and learning that only large-scale commercial and expensive equipment was available, Farmer Dick de Graff designed an efficient and effective solution for the small farm. The innovation started with the construction of a rotating barrel with a freshwater delivery system to rinse and clean a wide variety of vegetable crops harvested from our small vegetable farm. His root crop washer, designed to be simple, versatile, and economical, satisfies the much needed solution and fills the critical equipment gap for the small CSA and market farmers.
Not only does the root crop washer meet your needs, it is easy to operate, has longevity and has saved incalculable hours of scrubbing tons of dirty vegetables on numerous small family and CSA farms across the country. Both fully built washers and kits containing base components and instructions for do-it-yourself buyers are available, the latter saves on freight and make ownership more economical. The root crop washer serves the small-scale farmer well, an outstanding benefit, confirmed by numerous customers, is that it pays for itself within a matter of weeks through labor savings and productivity.
Pricing: Fully Built $3600 ready to wash
Kit $3200 FOB Pulaski, NY
Kit includes: everything to build this machine EXCEPT 24 1x4x8 foot boards, 1 piece of 1 inch EMT steel conduit, 1 piece 3/4 inch copper tube and miscellaneous fittings for the wash assembly. Approximate cost $275 at a big box hardware store.
Call us today as each machine is built to order. 315-298-4139
IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY!
Construction
The root crop washer frame is constructed from aluminum, the barrel, common pine, with steel rings serving as the frame for the round, tubular shape. Power is supplied via 120 volt AC to a DC controller which gives variable speed to a ¼ hp DC gear motor and chain drive. The wash water is supplied through a standard garden hose connected to a copper pipe with small holes drilled out which distribute the cleansing spray of water. Unwashed produce direct from the field enters the barrel through one end, tumbles through the rotating barrel, is sprayed with water; the friction and water cleaning the product as it traverses the barrel and finally exits clean on the discharge end. A batch of about two bushels, in a continuous lot, takes approximately two to three minutes to complete the washing process. University level testing is showing there is no food safety issues with this wood root crop wash barrel construction as long as the equipment is thoroughly washed and allowed to dry periodically between uses.
Uses
Produce suitable for washing in the root crop washer are carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, herbs, herb roots, daikon radish, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and even spinach. Other crops that can be washed, though not root crops, include apples, green beans and peppers.
Call us today as each machine is built to order. 315-298-4139