Anybody built an olive mill?

[Gwil]

I've just discovered the following in an advert for the Piteba hand operated press, a very small but highly thought of unit made in Holland by hand. Yet more to think about, I was thinking stainless would be the way to go? A piston in its bore would inevitably wear, maybe less than a screw, but perhaps it's still significant?

'Oil production of nuts and/or seeds with a screw press have different rules than other food production such as meat, milk or juice. Nut and seed oil is anti-corrosive because it contains hardly any water. In contrast, milk contains about 87% water. In dairy production, there is no wear material from pipes or silo tanks. However, in an oil press, there is more friction and wear from machine parts. With stainless steel, the press screw will wear and release the chromium and nickel (found in stainless steel) which are toxic to humans. Therefore, the press and parts in a screw oil press should be made of hardened steel, not stainless steel'

 

[500e]

There seems to be 2 different methods.

1/ The berry to oil in one go (Piteba press) could be scaled up but complex screw & barrel to make + the screw to exit port ratio to get required pressure \ ejection of waste, the whole mechanism requires strong frame good bearings etc.
Have seen Arcamidies screw type that were over 6 ft long extracting from seeds, it was in a factory & would thing many bags of gold

2/ The crush them first, then mix the mash, then the press to remove oil.
Personally I think option 1/ is the simplest method, also could you also do contract squeezing for other villages if the capacity through put fast enough

 

[Gwil]

There seems to be 2 different methods.

1/ The berry to oil in one go (Piteba press) could be scaled up but complex screw & barrel to make + the screw to exit port ratio to get required pressure \ ejection of waste, the whole mechanism requires strong frame good bearings etc.
Have seen Arcamidies screw type that were over 6 ft long extracting from seeds, it was in a factory & would thing many bags of gold

2/ The crush them first, then mix the mash, then the press to remove oil.
Personally I think option 1/ is the simplest method, also could you also do contract squeezing for other villages if the capacity through put fast enough

The screw thing is complex to make, whereas a cylinder could be made from a diesel engine liner of the right bore, then maybe spin up a mild steel piston to avoid possible aluminium contamination.

Just remembering that a marine 2 stoke diesel I worked on years back had a cast iron piston, that would do. It wouldn't need rings probably, or maybe they could be made from square section nylon or similar if better sealing was needed?

I may of course (I have a long track record...) be hilariously over thinking it all. Feel free to agree!

 

[fixerupper]

In the next village to me there is an unused complete olive oil processing plant, it had completely new machinery installed in 2010 ish by the farmers co-op .They ran it for a 5 years I took my olives there and they seemed really on the ball ... and then they went bust , the building is locked up very sad ... all that kit wasted .. PS Gwill.I' got a bit of vid that I took of my olives in the mill that I take them to now..but when I try to post it on here it says the file size is too big ...it's only 7 seconds , but it shows the milling process quite clearly ..I you send me your Email address in a PM I'll try and send it to you ....

 

[Gwil]

In the next village to me there is an unused complete olive oil processing plant, it had completely new machinery installed in 2010 ish by the farmers co-op .They ran it for a 5 years I took my olives there and they seemed really on the ball ... and then they went bust , the building is locked up very sad ... all that kit wasted .. PS Gwill.I' got a bit of vid that I took of my olives in the mill that I take them to now..but when I try to post it on here it says the file size is too big ...it's only 7 seconds , but it shows the milling process quite clearly ..I you send me your Email address in a PM I'll try and send it to you ....

PM sent.

It wouldn't be unused here. More hectares every year are planted to meet the world's demand for olive oil. It's an easy crop to look after and with modern machinery very easy to harvest. Pretty tolerant of our increasingly problematic lack of rainfall. My pal the local goatherd is tearing his hair out.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Isn't there a disease that's attacking Olive trees?

Edit:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-vegetation-mallorca-combat-olive-tree-ebola/

 

[Gwil]

Isn't there a disease that's attacking Olive trees?

Edit:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-vegetation-mallorca-combat-olive-tree-ebola/

Yes, causing huge anxiety here and on the Spanish mainland.

Disease has already ravaged the cork oak industry in recent years, there is some kind of remedy, but apparently at huge expense.

 

[bigegg]

The pan crusher looks like a sand Muller (as used for casting sand)
There is a design online for one to make from a gas bottle...
George vontorne sand muller

 

[GW8IZR]

I'd be fascinated to see a photo and/or some details of the actuator. I'm thinking already of a multi purpose machine! We have loads of pomegranates, quinces etc. growing locally....

Hi
I cant show you the machine as most of it was firewood a long time ago, I still have the actuator(s) which were satellite dish actuators. I can definitley send pics of them next week.

Basically they mount between two ball joints

Available with massive throw, I've got an 18 inch one positioning a big antenna array and a 36 inch one which I used for squashing apples - they use a motor and screw gearbox and are incredibly strong, I'd be willing to bet there are plenty about in Portugal as the ex-pat's used to want odd satellites for home tv. Today its mainly internet of course so jackscrews are often available for next to nothing. Mine came from an unused arabsat install kit.

I also have a small 12v one from a lift, fine tuned the position at floor level.. thats only got a six inch throw but is rated to move ten people.

 

[500e]

That an interesting item never thought of that, finding big ones in UK more difficult, have an idea that using one of those would be looking at electric gate actuators at present

 

[Gwil]

Hi
I cant show you the machine as most of it was firewood a long time ago, I still have the actuator(s) which were satellite dish actuators. I can definitley send pics of them next week.

Basically they mount between two ball joints

View attachment 121680

Available with massive throw, I've got an 18 inch one positioning a big antenna array and a 36 inch one which I used for squashing apples - they use a motor and screw gearbox and are incredibly strong, I'd be willing to bet there are plenty about in Portugal as the ex-pat's used to want odd satellites for home tv. Today its mainly internet of course so jackscrews are often available for next to nothing. Mine came from an unused arabsat install kit.

I also have a small 12v one from a lift, fine tuned the position at floor level.. thats only got a six inch throw but is rated to move ten people.

This is a real possibility, as you say people with a good net connection are ditching their dishes everywhere.

One more decision to put in the mix, thanks!

 

[GW8IZR]

There are some heavy duty ones , in the TVRO sat world they are intended to move a 1.2m dish and they have a 36 inch throw. Even new off the shelf they are only about 100 quid so surplus they should be scroungable for almost nothing. They have a dynamic load rating of 1200lb.

I don't know the specification of mine as they are unbranded but I seriously abused the jack with no ill effect, with my improvised apple squasher I used a long arm with a few attachment points so you could multiply the effort / change the throw. At 36v I could see the current demand drop as a square of the distance from the pivot so I just picked a load that seemed 'about right' for the size of the motor.

You could of course move a hydraulic ram away from the action as well which would reduce the risk of contamination.

Somehow I do have a semi romantic notion of a donkey walking round a track working a screw type press but another bit of me thinks poor donkey ;-)



(note I don't call sat dish positioners 'heavy duty' as the positioners we used to move big dishes had a motor the size of a car starter .. but)

 

[bigegg]

You could always use a flypress - one at a time.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Somehow I do have a semi romantic notion of a donkey walking round a track working a screw type press but another bit of me thinks poor donkey ;-)

If you've seen the donkeys used to carry overweight folk [no finger pointing here, but mostly 'Murican or German ] up from the cruise ships to Thira town on Santorini Island [think...really steep paths ] then a bit of a walk round a press would seem like a holiday to the animal.

 

[GW8IZR]

If you've seen the donkeys used to carry overweight folk [no finger pointing here, but mostly 'Murican or German ] up from the cruise ships to Thira town on Santorini Island [think...really steep paths ] then a bit of a walk round a press would seem like a holiday to the animal.

Yes I've never seen it for myself but I've seen the donkey charity adverts on telly. They used to have small ponies down our local copper mine and the rock is quite worn where the hooves have been, no shoes no sparks, I don't imagine that they had a happy life.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@GW8IZR

I have seen pit ponies fitted with copper shoes in the past. The farrier I get my old hors shoe from has made some for a historic event. He also said with ferrous clad hooves they had a wooden and leather over boot as you say, to prevent sparks.

 

[GW8IZR]

@GW8IZR

I have seen pit ponies fitted with copper shoes in the past. The farrier I get my old hors shoe from has made some for a historic event. He also said with ferrous clad hooves they had a wooden and leather over boot as you say, to prevent sparks.

And to be fair that is quite probably what they used here, I'll ask my neighbour who is the resident historian and horsey type. There isn't much fire damp in these mines and they used open tallow candles

I got a sack of shoes and there were some fibrous things in it but suspect them to be more more modern than the mine working ( with ponies )

Anyway, I'm sure Gwils Donkey has a better lifestyle

 

[Gwil]

My donkey is a rescue donkey, he's quite happy carrying a couple of panniers of olives. Now and again he shows who's boss by rolling over and jettisoning his load of olives! Still, like me, he's in retirement so effort is always optional.

He's 21yrs old, and in his previous life was viewed more or less as a piece of farm machinery. When we asked his name we got a puzzled look and the response, 'well, we just call him Donkey'. Now he just thinks he's died and gone to heaven...

 

[GW8IZR]

My donkey is a rescue donkey, he's quite happy carrying a couple of panniers of olives. Now and again he shows who's boss by rolling over and jettisoning his load of olives! Still, like me, he's in retirement so effort is always optional.

He's 21yrs old, and in his previous life was viewed more or less as a piece of farm machinery. When we asked his name we got a puzzled look and the response, 'well, we just call him Donkey'. Now he just thinks he's died and gone to heaven...

All the dogs that come here are rescues and its very rewarding, and frustrating sometimes :-) but they make me smile every day. I was watching my old duffer of a sheep dog walking round the tame pheasant at breakfast this morning... he just looks the other way so he doesn't need to chase it.

Being recently retired I now have no excuse for doing jobs, its an old cliché that I don't know how I found time to work but its true!

 

[Wendelspanswick]

My donkey is a rescue donkey, he's quite happy carrying a couple of panniers of olives. Now and again he shows who's boss by rolling over and jettisoning his load of olives! Still, like me, he's in retirement so effort is always optional.

He's 21yrs old, and in his previous life was viewed more or less as a piece of farm machinery. When we asked his name we got a puzzled look and the response, 'well, we just call him Donkey'. Now he just thinks he's died and gone to heaven...

When I was an apprentice blacksmith the Master blacksmith and farrier who was training me stopped off at a house to file the feet of a donkey who was 2 years short of 50! It was the most sway backed animal I've ever seen but it still ambled around the field with Courtney cursing as he tried to catch it.