Sorghum press

Seahag

New User
I am just starting out with sorghum this year. Found a verticle press (W.B. Belknap & Co New Blue Grass 1896 Model No 3 Sorghum Mill made in Louisville KY). It's located 4hrs from me so I hate to just go look at it without being forearmed with a little knowledge. Questions are these:

1. Is a working horse driven verticle press worth $795.
2. Is it difficult to adapt the horse driven press to run on tractor pto or other power source considering it is intended to operate at slow speeds?

I would be very appreciative of any help/advice.
 
Used to be a tractor show near me every year that had a horse operated sorghum press - ran it with a Farmall Cub. I would think any tractor with a small enough turning radius would work.
 
Thank you for the reply. I am hoping I can convert the press to pto drive or engine and pulley. Don't know what power is needed to turn the press. Thanks again.
 
(quoted from post at 17:29:37 03/02/19) Thank you for the reply. I am hoping I can convert the press to pto drive or engine and pulley. Don't know what power is needed to turn the press. Thanks again.

To your question on the horse power required:

I have been told a horse can walk at 2.5 MPH with a hitch pull of 150 Lbs. 2.5 MPH is 220 ft/minute. So, we have 220 ft/min x 150 lbs = 33,000 ft-lb/min which is equal to 1 HP. I can't say for certain the HP unit was actually intended to equal the work/unit time one horse could accomplish. However, I believe the above is instructive and provides a starting point.

Powering the press with the PTO would involve some sort of right angle gear box....perhaps a post hole digger could be adapted. I think that would run it much faster than the horse would walk around in a circle. Remember, HP is proportional to force x speed....doubling the speed (RPM) means Hp required will double!
 
That sounds like about $300 too much for it. Is it a 3 roller? Check and see if the bearings are worn out. Does anything else come with it like an evaporating pan? You can
mount a pickup truck differential to the vertical shaft by turning it on it's end and attaching the axle to the vertical cane mill shaft. Hook the truck manual transmission to
the differential and convert the truck drive shaft to a PTO shaft. You can adjust the speed by using the transmission gears. You can run it with a 25 HP tractor. Where are you
located?
 
I do not think it would be out of line if it is in working order. If it is as found, no way. There are presses available from
various sources that handle small lots and are self powered. I think a vertical mill could be laid sideways and work with a
proper pan under it. Gear reduction, or hydraulic motor would work well. We have a mill in the family It gets used at steam
shows etc. Not my thing, but was an ever present device till I was 16.
ASk yourself three questions:
1 Do I have a market for gallons of sorghum?
2 Do I and the family et.al. Want to do the manual labor of harvesting stalk sorghum and transporting it to the mill and
pressing it?
3 Do I have the energy to feed a fire under the evaporator and stir the batches and filter the product and bottle it, and label
it, and meet the local/state food purity standards?
If no to any one of the above, purchase a small press and do 3 or 4 gallon batches for friends! Jim
 
We have one using a post hole digger on a 30 horse kubota, at low idle it turns to fast. We have been told a reduction gear is needed, but we have not found one. Amo
 
The old locker we had in small town Iowa had a 4 speed truck transmission hooked up to a PTO shaft run by a WC
Allis that set on steel wheels. It slowed things way down.
 
Go over to the Tractor Tales forum and post asking for Richard G. , he has the setup you are wanting to make. He can post a few pictures of his outfit. They have to be geared down to turn slow and it takes a heavy reduction gear to handle the torque required.

Garry
 
I live in Vergennes, IL near Carbondale (Southern Ill University). There's almost no sorghum activity in these parts. Having to travel to get what I need....Thanks for your reply!
 
Post hole digger is a great idea. I'll think on that..... Thank you for taking time to reply.
 
I'm in VA. Last time I tried making molasses the weather turned dry about the time it came to harvesting the stalks and there was no juice in them.
 
google search sorghum syrup making,you should see a listing on the youtube videos you can get a first hand look at what your
wanting to know, if it's still on the web there are a couple of sites listing mills for sale, as for the mills look them over
good for worn shafts and bearing,also broken housings with bad repairs, I have one we used a small tractor in place of a mule
to pull the pole that turns the mill before I set it up to be pto driven,first one I saw pulled that way was a three roller
Chattanooga that daddy and my uncle hooked a cub tractor to the pole, it replaced the three mules they were wearing out a day
little cub never tired,LET ME FOR WORN YOU A MULE WILL STOP WHEN YOU HOLLER WOOOL!! OR SOMETHING OVERLOADS THE MILL (A
TRACTOR WON'T!!!) been there.
 
The price would depend on condition, but note they are not easy to find, I live in sorghum country and rarely see any for sale.
It has been along time since I helped my grand parents make any.
 
Youd better look for a good operating corn binder WITH a conveyor attached to it, as I have, to cut
your sorgum, and a hay rack with front and back frames to hold the bundles onto the wagon . That
will take out 1/2 the fieldwork at least.
 

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