Chicken plucker biuld

[rasorbackq]

On my 3rd chicken plucker build . The last 2 have been a Whiz bang plucker style . This one is larger with a 30 " spinning plucker plate for doing turkeys better.


So my question is plucker picking plate should spin at 172 RPM and with a 1725 RPM motor to a 10:1 gear reducer the math adds up. But this seems to spin very fast !!.
My question is with this set up will a plucker plate that is 10" 20" or 30 all spin at 172 RPM at the outside edge?? Or does some how as diameter increase so does the speed?
Never took all that stuff in school and my math skills are not up to par

Tried the net but didn't know what to type in as a search.
Someone here will have the answer .

 

[TnAndy]

The outside of the plate spins at the same speed as the inside.

A larger plate will have more torque, but also require more power from a motor to get it started, and over come the additional load you could potentially put on it compared to a smaller plate.

 

[rasorbackq]

I noticed after the plucking section that lots of feathers missed the bucket and were thrown 3-5' past the drop bucket.
. We have momentum and inertia on a larger disk so that explains a lot.

 

[Mysfyt]

Although the RPM's are a constant, the SURFACE SPEED gets faster the farther you go out. Think of a merry go round and trying to run to stay in the same spot. Toward the inside near the axis, you can do it by a fast walk. Go to the outer edge and you will be in a full out run.

 

[rasorbackq]

Ok . Thats where I get confused . You say the surface speed increases . Do I want to slow the rpm down to control the surface speed to an acceptable speed?

 

[Mysfyt]

Yes. Have you thought about making the speed adjustable? Several ways you can do it depending on your budget.

 

[Train]

My wife wants to raise chickens to butcher. Told her the only way that's happening is if I build one of those Wiz Bang pluckers.

 

[Mysfyt]

I had a dxf file to cut out the feather plate but can't seem to find it. If I do, I'll pass it on if you can source a laser or water jet to cut it out.

 

[TnAndy]

My wife wants to raise chickens to butcher. Told her the only way that's happening is if I build one of those Wiz Bang pluckers.

We only do 30-40 a year, and I think it was worth building one ! Hand plucking takes me 20-30min per bird (I clearly am not a pro....nor to I WANT to be...ahahahaa). The plucker does a bird in a minute or less, clean a can be with the exception of a few tail feathers sometimes.

I did a solid bottom in mine with a chute for the feathers/water to exit rather than fall down on the mechanical below.

 

[rasorbackq]

My first looked like yours only was painted.

This was my second. 22.5 tub



And this is my third 30" puck board tub Solid 1/8 steel bottom with ring attached. 3/16 aluminum picker plate Over 200 fingers.




Popped the breaker several times yesterday as the feathers are getting caught in the shoot and slowing the plate when the feathers jam between the plate the tub wall.


The feather momentum is so fast that the from the wall of the house to the plucker was covered

 

[Mysfyt]

Very nicely done, rasorbackq! Welcome to the popped breaker club.

 

[MNBobcat]

Could you please post some photos of the plate inside the drum and maybe some info on where you got your gear reduction from?

 

[MMagis]

Gear reduction is simply done with a belt and pulley.

Question for those that have done more chickens than me. How long do you scald them before throwing them in the plucker? I did a small batch last fall with a plucker I built, but had a lot of skin tearing. We would scald until the wing feather pulled out without much effort, but I think that was too long. I do need more fingers on the plate to help hold the bird up, but I also think we scalded them too long.

 

[MossRoad]

On my 3rd chicken plucker build . The last 2 have been a Whiz bang plucker style . This one is larger with a 30 " spinning plucker plate for doing turkeys better.


So my question is plucker picking plate should spin at 172 RPM and with a 1725 RPM motor to a 10:1 gear reducer the math adds up. But this seems to spin very fast !!.
My question is with this set up will a plucker plate that is 10" 20" or 30 all spin at 172 RPM at the outside edge?? Or does some how as diameter increase so does the speed?
Never took all that stuff in school and my math skills are not up to par

Tried the net but didn't know what to type in as a search.
Someone here will have the answer .

You didn't put the gear reduction on backwards to make it 1:10 by chance? That would give you 17,250 RPM! :laughing: Turbo Turkeys! :laughing:

 

[PHPaul]

Some rough calculations:

A 30" feather plate has a circumference (pi times diameter) of 94.2 inches

At 172 rpm the rim is traveling at 22.5 feet per second or 15MPH. 172x94= 16168 inches per minute. 16168/12=1347 feet per minute. 1347/60=22.5 FPS or 15MPH (all numbers rounded)

Using the same numbers for a 24" plate gives about 12.25MPH

To get the same rim speed from a 30" plate as you get from a 24" plate, you'd need a shaft RPM of about 138.

On a 1725 motor that'd be a reduction of 12.5 to 1.

Based on one season's experience with my home-built Whizbang, I need to slow my feather plate down too.

 

[rasorbackq]

Could you please post some photos of the plate inside the drum and maybe some info on where you got your gear reduction from?

Princess Auto in Canada. This reduction system is great as it comes apart to move the I/P and O/P shafts from top to bottom or left and right depending on direction and how its going to be mounted. The plate is 3/16 The 3/4 shaft is welded to a 1/4 x 3 x 6 plate and bolted to the plate. The extra 4 holes were drilled with a hole saw and are slightly big to hold the fingers.
I will get some electrical box knock outs and plug them.

 

[rasorbackq]

No belts on this one Direct drive gear reduction.

Scalding water temp is 147F for 1 min.

Much more and you can sell skinless poultry

 

[rasorbackq]

Some rough calculations:

A 30" feather plate has a circumference (pi times diameter) of 94.2 inches

At 172 rpm the rim is traveling at 22.5 feet per second or 15MPH. 172x94= 16168 inches per minute. 16168/12=1347 feet per minute. 1347/60=22.5 FPS or 15MPH (all numbers rounded)


Using the same numbers for a 24" plate gives about 12.25MPH

To get the same rim speed from a 30" plate as you get from a 24" plate, you'd need a shaft RPM of about 138.

On a 1725 motor that'd be a reduction of 12.5 to 1.

Based on one season's experience with my home-built Whizbang, I need to slow my feather plate down too.

The book .......Anyone Can build a Tub style Mechanical Chicken plucker (Only book I ever bought and read cover to cover . I hate reading books) says the rpm can be 150-300.. Since the gear reducer only comes in ratios of 10, 30 and 60:1 how can I slow it down. I have a variact transformer but not wanting to kill the motor.

 

[rasorbackq]

Some rough calculations:


To get the same rim speed from a 30" plate as you get from a 24" plate, you'd need a shaft RPM of about 138.

On a 1725 motor that'd be a reduction of 12.5 to 1.

My gear reduction is 10:1 already

 

[PHPaul]

The book .......Anyone Can build a Tub style Mechanical Chicken plucker (Only book I ever bought and read cover to cover . I hate reading books) says the rpm can be 150-300.. Since the gear reducer only comes in ratios of 10, 30 and 60:1 how can I slow it down. I have a variact transformer but not wanting to kill the motor.

One way that comes readily to mind is to add a jackshaft between the motor and the gearbox or between the gearbox and the shaft on the feather plate. As noted elsewhere, you can then use a belt and pulley setup to provide reduction. This would require the most fabrication but be by far the cheapest.

Option 2 would be a faster motor (3450 RPM) and deeper reduction (30:1) giving a shaft speed of 115RPM. Easiest to build but probably most expensive.

Option 3 a gear reduction motor driving your existing gear reduction unit. Gear reduction motors are available in a variety of options from places like Surplus Center.