Electric pecan shellers, anybody build one?

[BTDT]

Looks like we have a bumper crop of pecans this year, probably due to all the rain back in the spring. Any body have one, and preferably one you have built, that you would be willing to share pics? I have envisioned a couple of rollers (like conveyor belt roller), and then a drive roller like from an old wringer style washing machine hooked to a pulley driven by an electric motor. I'm guessing it just chunks them into a hard surface at a high rate of speed to crack them. Am I on the right track, or would it be better to just buy one?

 

[Bird]

I've never made or used a homemade electric pecan cracker or sheller, but I've used a commercial machine myself a couple of times, and also paid others to do the cracking and shelling. In my opinion, with my limited experience, the secret to getting the machines to do a good job is to have pretty uniform pecan sizes. They don't work worth a hoot if you have big pecans and little pecans mixed.

When we lived out by Navarro Mills Lake, I got tired of hand cracking and shelling pecans and started taking my pecans to Bancroft Pecan House in Powell, TX, on S.H. 31 east of Corsicana. I'd sell them some of my pecans and have them crack the ones I was keeping.

 

[ScottOkla]

Pecan crackers need to push in from the ends of the pecan in order to break the shell without damaging the kernel. As Bird stated, the pecans will need to be similar sizes in order to run them through a cracker. Just keep each tree's pecans separate from each other, and that should do it.

Automated pecan crackers are very expensive (in the thousands), but you can have them cracked by others for not much (.25/lb?) in many places in your area probably.

The original size of this year's pecan crop was determined by late last summer, and mostly due to not having a crop last year combined with the excellent health of the trees in your area last year due to favorable growing conditions. Once the crop size is set internally in the trees (late last summer) nothing can improve it, just take away from it. The amount of rainfall this year helped the original fruit set mature out fully this fall, provided they didn't scab too much due to the excessive rain.

Here is a link to a place in central texas that sells used ones. There are only a few types, and most have been around (and last) many years.

Southern Nut'n Tree[ID]=&class1[ID]=34&class0[ID]=3&

 

[Bird]

you can have them cracked by others for not much (.25/lb?) in many places in your area probably.

Of course, it's been 6 years since I had pecans cracked at Bancroft's, but I think it $.50 a pound to crack them, $1 a pound to crack and shell, and $1.50 a pound to crack, shell, and clean. We just had ours cracked and my wife and I did the shelling and cleaning.

 

[mikim]

Find some small bags that are "gift appropiate" , fill them and send to out of state friends & family for Christmas. Let them crack 'em.

 

[BTDT]

Thanks for the reply's, and the link.

 

[phebrank0331]

Hi I know this is a really old post but I do know where you can buy electic pecan cracker/sheller units
Thank you

 

[Drifter52]

http://www.thegoodsurvivalist.com/h...-walnuts-in-just-5-minutes-awesome-idea-here/

Pretty neat home made machine.