Best ideas for a DIY scalder?

[skeeter]

it dont take much to do a couple birds at a time,some hot tap water and a tea kettle with boiling to increase temp and a bucket,ive used a plastic bucket that laundry soap came in to pluck birds
chop off their head let them bleed awhile grab them by the feet dunk a few times in the hot water pull on some wing feathers if they dont pull dunk some more, presto

 

[professor-yellow]

Before i processed all my Pekin ducks, i found a turkey cooker kit with propane burner, thermometer, and 30 gal pot for 23 dollars at Sports Authority. It was a closeout clearance deal that was a real bargain.

And it made plucking those ducks sooo much easier. With chickens its even faster. I hold the temp around 130 to 135.

 

[kelliott]

Ive got what may be a completely wacky idea.

here's my thinking, bottom half of an electric water heater tank over a wood/charcoal burning fire.

you could have an aquastat turn on a valve to let cold water into the tank whenever the temp exceeded a set point. You could also use the connection for filling

extra hot water would drain through an overflow

 

[Buster52]

Fiberglas mop sink on legs, hole drilled near bottom for an electric water heater element to fit in, appropriate bolts to hold element in sink, water heater thermostat for temp regulation.

About sisty bucks if you buy everything new at Home Depot...cheaper if you scrounge parts.

Bob

I have two of these. I also use an electric bucket heater to help the hot water element heat the water faster. Takes about 20 minutes, then I take out the bucket heater and the thermostat on the water heater element keeps it between 155 and 160.

 

[Buster52]

Before i processed all my Pekin ducks, i found a turkey cooker kit with propane burner, thermometer, and 30 gal pot for 23 dollars at Sports Authority.

I have 4 of these, but prefer the electric tub method. More automatic, less hassle. Also, doesn't matter how windy it is. Only problem is, you have to be close enough to an electric outlet to run a cord.

 

[AinaWGSD]

We just use a 12qt stock pot that we've had for as long as I can remember (well, probably not much longer than the 12 years we've been married, but I don't remember buying it so it was either purchased shortly after our wedding or my husband had it before we got married). We fill it with water and get it going inside on the stove, then move it outside and keep it warm on the gas grill while we slaughter and pluck. My husband does most all of the slaughtering and I do pretty much all of the plucking. He can kill and bleed a bird faster than I can pluck, but not by a whole lot so we keep pretty good pace that way. What we really want for scalding though is a turkey fryer. Haven't seen any recently, but we'll be on the lookout for one this fall.