What do you use for a scalder?

[Tre3hugger]

@Mountain Roost Wow! I really like your creations. That is the epitome of cheap effective diy. I just bought a propane burner, but I would like the ability to use wood. We have lots of that around here. I just may make one of those scalders in the near future.

Digging the plucker too. Haven't even put mine together yet.

 

[Ditch Chicken]

I use a 200,000 but burner I bought on Amazon. A friend of mine turned me onto it, he uses his for boiling maple syrup. Heats water quickly good flame. I used to use a turkey fryer but the new one works much nicer. I do somewhere in the 200-250 birds a year range.

 

[charthorn]

I used a turkey fryer for years and it's okay but kind of a pain to use all day. I made an electric one and it works great. I used a 30 gal plastic drum and installed an electric water heater element and a temperature controller. I set it in the morning and the temperature stays plus or minus 1 degree all day.

 

[Iveta]

Title sums it up. I just got a Yardbird plucker (hurray!) and I know a good scald is essential to make it work right. Last year I used a stock pot on an open flame so really I can only improve. I am leaning toward a big turkey fryer but may consider a low end electric scalder. It is to process about 50 birds a year in my backyard for my family. So what do you guys have? How many birds a year do you do with it? Are you happy with it, or wish you had ___? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Hoping to make a purchase by processing day at the end of this month. Thanks!

where did you get your quail from? this birdie is still on my list

 

[Tre3hugger]

I got my quail from a member of this forum, @RoosterML . They came from a feather sexable mix of eggs from Myshire Farms that he graciously hatched out for me. They're awesome!
@Iveta

 

[Tre3hugger]

A turkey fryer is just a stock pot on flame. I've got one and the flame is just too high. Being cheap model it's not adjustable friendly, goes out if I turn it down. For a manageable flame I picked up a gas burner with small portable cast iron stand. Much better to keep the heat 155 F but then I don't process as many as you do so don't have the need for a turbo flame.

Do your homework and pick up a good propane stand. Your stock pot is perfectly fine. I'd just purchase a quality base that will adjust flame easily. If you're not dunking birds constantly mine would get the water too hot very fast.

I went with your advice and scalded on a propane burner yesterday. I used my old stock pot. It went swimmingly! Heated the water in minutes. I went with the "GasOne" brand off Amazon. I believe it is 52000 btu. More than enough. Appreciate the guidance.

 

[CaroleW]

We cut up a food grade 55 gallon drum and use one half for the bottom fire pit and the other half as the scalder. We use a metal stand in the middle that was just around the house, I think it was some kind of side table before I found it. We use split firewood to heat the water and a digital meat thermometer to take the temperature. If the water is too hot we take some hot water out and put in cold hose water to get it right. We start the fire on our way out to start chopping heads, about 16-18 is all we can do in a day. One very long day. And when we get back we adjust the temp and only have to add a piece of firewood or two through the end.
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Pluckers are amazing and I couldn't imagine doing 50-100 birds per year without one. We cut up a plastic barrel and bought the chicken plucker fingers on amazon. We use a "hole hog" type low speed drill on the shaft and pulse it, not full speed.

I have 100 broilers showing up next month and we did 60 last year and the year before.

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Any more details on the plucker setup? I would love to build something similar. I looked up hole hawg drill (by milwaukee) and found it - which model are you using? And where did you get the metal hub on the barrel bottom? I know I can find the plucking fingers (at Rite Farms) and I have the barrel. Thanks for sharing the pics - looking forward to any details you might share.

 

[Mountain Roost]

The specific drill we're using is a Dewalt DWD450 which is variable speed, two gear transmission and has reverse. We use it in low speed at full rpm for about 15 seconds forward and 15 seconds reverse. Its important to have the chuck very secure and we usually use a pair of pliers to turn the key. You'd have to check the specs for exact RPM. But we run it on full throttle in low gear.

The magic to the setup is the weight of the brake rotor as a flywheel. This is why you are able to use a relatively small hole hog drill instead of a heavy duty 220v electric motor like "whizbang plucker". The larger the rotor the better; fronts are usually heavier. The flywheel allows for the 1/2 hp drill to do the work of a 2 hp motor. Without the flywheel you'd likely grind the gears in the drill. So far our DWD450 has probably processed 500+ chickens.

There was also a sprocket gear that was welded to the rotor to decrease the diameter of the central hub so that it could be attached to a rebar shaft. That was just what farm junk we had available. Anything else would do. The aim is to add weight and reduce the center hub diameter of the rotor to accept the rebar. One way or another you have to weld/affix the rebar to the rotor.
Sometimes a chicken foot will get stuck under the bottom and will need to be freed.

The other thing that was not in the first pics was the upper 3 point rebar assembly that holds the shaft on center while the drill is turning. It also helps retain the circular shape of the 55 gallon drum. That was a large 6 sided nut as a "bushing" and 3 equal length pegs of rebar each with a 1/4 thread bolt welded to the end. The bolt then passes through the side of the barrel and is attached with a nut. Its helpful to use a stainless bolt here as it will make setup easier later on without tools, but not critical, it will just rust a little and require a wrench to break down. Also a piece of pipe on the center shaft that spins freely helps keep the chicken from binding up.

The one drawback to the design vs whizbang is the central shaft in the chicken plucking area... which limits you to about 12 lb birds (very large chicken or small turkey). But the perk is you are spending your money on a versatile drill with many other farm uses vs a single use motor and pulley assembly.

The base we used was an old metal TV stand. Nothing fancy just available repurposed farm junk. What is important about the base... there are 4 steel pegs (just 3/8 bolts maybe 3-4" long) which sit in the dirt and prevent the whole assembly from spinning when the drill is powered.

One last thing... when pulling the fingers through the barrel. We found the box end of a wrench could be used to pry them through pretty easily, maybe it was 11/16ths? Whatever fits and allows you to pry.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask for any more specs.

 

[CaroleW]

The specific drill we're using is a Dewalt DWD450 which is variable speed, two gear transmission and has reverse. We use it in low speed at full rpm for about 15 seconds forward and 15 seconds reverse. Its important to have the chuck very secure and we usually use a pair of pliers to turn the key. You'd have to check the specs for exact RPM. But we run it on full throttle in low gear.

The magic to the setup is the weight of the brake rotor as a flywheel. This is why you are able to use a relatively small hole hog drill instead of a heavy duty 220v electric motor like "whizbang plucker". The larger the rotor the better; fronts are usually heavier. The flywheel allows for the 1/2 hp drill to do the work of a 2 hp motor. Without the flywheel you'd likely grind the gears in the drill. So far our DWD450 has probably processed 500+ chickens.

There was also a sprocket gear that was welded to the rotor to decrease the diameter of the central hub so that it could be attached to a rebar shaft. That was just what farm junk we had available. Anything else would do. The aim is to add weight and reduce the center hub diameter of the rotor to accept the rebar. One way or another you have to weld/affix the rebar to the rotor.
Sometimes a chicken foot will get stuck under the bottom and will need to be freed.

The other thing that was not in the first pics was the upper 3 point rebar assembly that holds the shaft on center while the drill is turning. It also helps retain the circular shape of the 55 gallon drum. That was a large 6 sided nut as a "bushing" and 3 equal length pegs of rebar each with a 1/4 thread bolt welded to the end. The bolt then passes through the side of the barrel and is attached with a nut. Its helpful to use a stainless bolt here as it will make setup easier later on without tools, but not critical, it will just rust a little and require a wrench to break down. Also a piece of pipe on the center shaft that spins freely helps keep the chicken from binding up.

The one drawback to the design vs whizbang is the central shaft in the chicken plucking area... which limits you to about 12 lb birds (very large chicken or small turkey). But the perk is you are spending your money on a versatile drill with many other farm uses vs a single use motor and pulley assembly.

The base we used was an old metal TV stand. Nothing fancy just available repurposed farm junk. What is important about the base... there are 4 steel pegs (just 3/8 bolts maybe 3-4" long) which sit in the dirt and prevent the whole assembly from spinning when the drill is powered.

One last thing... when pulling the fingers through the barrel. We found the box end of a wrench could be used to pry them through pretty easily, maybe it was 11/16ths? Whatever fits and allows you to pry.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask for any more specs.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! This is the kind of info I was looking for - DIY from what you have on hand - and great explanations as to why & how you did it. I'm sure this has helped quite a few of us.