Best economy scalder.... pre fab..... not homemade????

[randyandmegs]

Who has the best deal on a good scalder that isnt home made. I seen some on E*bay for around 190.00. Anbody have any other good deals? I have heard a lot complain about the propane turkey fryer pot as not being able to keep the temp constant.

 

[stanglover2001]

I bought a propane heater at gander mountain for like 35 dollars, and went to bed, bath and beyond and got a nice stainless steel 12 qt pot for 50. It doesn't keep the water constant but the amount of gas is adjustable and worked just fine for us.

 

[chickenma]

I was planning to buy a scalder but was glad I didn't.
I bought at TSC one of those water heating element for $40 .
I had an old electric turkey fryer pot that I filled with water and put the heater in it until 150F. It takes like an hour to heat up though but when it is hot enough I dunk my chicken s in there and after dunking 6 or 7 times, the feathers just come of like they never stick on the chicken.
This method works great for a family with a backyard flock. I have a family of 5 and process only for my family. It works great and I never had cleaned the chickens so fast.
I have try to clean my muscovy ducks this way too and it worked good too.
It saved me a couple hundred dollars and it works great.
I don't think it will work for 100 birds but for the family it is the best thing your money can buy

Good luck

 

[mstricer]

Doesn't everyone have a turkey firer. I will let you know how this works. We are about to rid our yard of some roosters. The BF has no idea how many yet, he thinks a few but, really the roosters are driving me crazy.

 

[Dogfish]

Turkey fryer or a crab cooker. Same basic idea. Big pot, sturdy burner.

 

[JohnL11935]

I've used a two-burner propane cooker with two small galvanized trash cans (~13 gallons comes to mind) and a couple of clamp-on candy thermometers.

I like this size because when the water gets nasty it doesn't take too long to exchange for fresh and get it back up to temperature.

I dunk two birds in each bucket at a time, give a final dunk in my cold water basin, then drop them into the Whizbang.

I can easily process 100 birds on one-half a 20 lb cylinder of gas.

 

[petrelline]

I use a turkey fryer but the temperature drops too fast and waiting for it to come back up to 150 in between birds slows things down wayyyyy too much. I'm probably going to move up to a trash can on the burner next time in hopes that the water temp is more stable. I'm OK with a longer startup time.

 

[muddstopper]

Just a question about the hot water. So far everybody is saying they heat their water to 150F. If that works then fine, but we always heated to 140f and never had any problems plucking. So I quess my question is, whats the best temp for scalding chickens.

I use a 6 gal 110v hotwater heater to heat my water. It came out of a small camper. When I get ready to slaughter, I just hook the water hose to it and plug it in. I then place the chicken in the pot and run it full of 140 degree hot water. If the water starts getting cold. I just run some more in the pot. I never run out of hot water this way.

Ok, just a quick search and I answered my own question.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/resource-room/meats/homeprocessingpoultry/

Scalding
Scalding involves submerging the carcass in hot water to relax the muscles holding the feathers. For small groups of birds a large bucket can work well. For larger numbers of birds a thermostatically controlled heated tank may be best. For birds that are difficult to scald (waterfowl, in particular) a wetting agent or detergent may need to be added to the water.
Scalding temperatures should be determined by the type of poultry and the difficulty of picking. For waterfowl and mature birds a higher temperature and longer submersion time should be used. For younger birds a lower temperature and shorter time is recommended.

Semi-scald or slack scald is the name given to scalding for 30-60 seconds in 125-130 degrees F. water. By using this time and temperature the epidermal layer is left intact. Birds that are being slaughtered for an exhibit should be scalded in this way to improve the appearance of the carcass. Water that is too hot will cause the outer layer of skin to loosen and be lost. Loss of that skin also results in loss of some yellow pigment on the skin.

Sub-scald is the use of water at 138-140 degrees F. for 30-75 seconds. The epidermal layer is broken down by this time-temperature combination but the feathers are usually much easier to remove. For home processing this method of scalding is recommended.

Hard-scald or full scald requires a water temperature of 140-150 degrees F. This method is faster and eliminates pinfeathers, but the birds tend to dry out and have a less desirable appearance. Waterfowl may be scalded at this temperature.
Whatever method is used the birds must be properly bled. No scalding should be done before all movement has stopped.

 

[daleeper]

Quote:
Would you mind telling me a bit more about this heater, I would like to improve on our turkey fryer scalder.