My winter project is to build a small scale apple washer (to go with our small scale orchard). I have given up finding plans, or anyone who has tried to do this, so I am starting from scratch more or less. I need help from someone who owns a commercial washer for some critical specifications.
It seems to me the only critical component is the brushes. I have purchased four 24" apple washer brushes from Tew Manufacturing. The rest I hope to construct from used or salvaged materials (such as a stainless steel sink from Re-Store) or off-the-shelf hardware (bearings, sprockets, chains, hoses, nozzles). My goal is to build one that does not require welding, and to keep the cost under $600. It will not have a conveyor system; I will load it with apples and run it till all the Surround is gone, then unload that batch and start another. Not fast, but hopefully beats the heck out of washing one at a time by hand in a sink. I will share the results -- good or bad.
Here's what I need:
(1) Spacing of the brushes -- ideal gap between them.
(2) Gearing -- assuming a standard 1750 rpm electric motor, how is the speed reduced? Pictures of commercial apple washers you can find on line are no help because the drive mechanism is shielded. If you own one, a picture or description, along with the number of teeth on each sprocket, would help immensely.
(3) Any other insights you would care to offer, such as "If this is going to work, you are going to have to ...."
Turkey Creek Orchard
Solon, Iowa (zone 5A)