My Whizbang Inspired Scalder (but for much cheaper)

[Reta Fleming]

What is the brand of digital temperature control and where did you buy it?

 

[jaku]

Quote:
It's a Ranco, and I got it at Pex Supply online.

 

[jaku]

I fired up the scalder tonight! It worked great. I set the thermostat for 143, with a one degree differential. Sure enough, it heated to 143 in about 20 minutes, then shut off. When it got back down to 142, it kicked back on. It's awesome. Now I need to try it with some birds. It will be so great not to have to mess with keeping the temp right, relighting, etc.

 

[jaku]

I used the scalder for the first time this weekend on my remaining 37 birds. It worked perfectly. After reaching my target temp of 143 degrees, it held a range of only a few degrees for about 5 hours, without us doing a single thing to it- other than adding more water every now and then. Perfect scalds every time. Then, on Sunday, I cranked it up to 180 when I packed my birds in shrink bags. Again, perfect. Worth every penny!!

 

[saddina]

And for summer vacation, you'll road trip out to all of our places and give us a live demo?

 

[daleeper]

I too have been using a turkey frier, and have the whizbang scalder book, and it looks like a good scalder is in my future. I also don't feel like I need the auto dunker, so your thread is very interesting to me.

Good job on making a successful scalder. I would be interested in a few more details on what is actually different about yours compared to the whizbang other than the thermostat. Could you list a specific model of Ranco you are using please. Is everything else in the gas plumbing system the same?

Thanks for the post, am currently looking for a cheap gas water heater.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
Actually, I used all of the same electrical/gas parts listed in the Whizbang book- same model numbers. I got them at Pex Supply online. Other than the auto dunker, it's really the same as the Whizbang one- I did get cheaper wheels from Menards, and used a recycled water heater from Craigslist. I couldn't find a water heater that was wide enough to dunk chickens (around the center chimney,) so I had a welding buddy cut, angle, and re-weld the chimney to give me some more dunking room. Also, don't bother looking for the cast iron propane burner he describes as absolutely essential. All the heating/cooling/plumbers I know said that they've been making them all out of sheet metal for about 20 years. I looked, and couldn't find a tank with the cast iron burner, nor could I find (anywhere online,) an aftermarket one. My water heater is stamped for propane only, and was built (as opposed to converted,) for propane, and my burner is sheet metal.

 

[Reta Fleming]

I lost my whizbang book so I am trying from memory to build my chicken plucker and scalder. What I am using for my scalder is a block heater for trucks. I tried it in a 5 gl can and it heated the water. We will build the final model out of a hot water heater. But it would be nice to connect a thermostat to the core somehow. Where did you buy your thermostat from and does it give good directions? Thanks for all your help.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
I got mine from Pex Supply online. I threw the directions away and followed the EXACT diagram listed in the Whizbang book. I bought the EXACT same parts he used as well. It works great. The only thing is that you get a range of temps- I set it for a 1 degree variation (meaning that the temp is set at 143, but it kicks on as soon as the temp drops to 142.) After the heat stops, the temp continues to rise about 8-10 degrees before it starts to drop. The insulation provided by a water heater is AMAZING. In the 5 hours we scalded, the thing only kicked on a couple of times, so it used very little propane.

 

[Reta Fleming]

Just wondering if anyone knows of a cheap place to buy shrinkwrap bags?