# Homemade Milk machine ?



## R and R Farms (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm ready to finish accessorizing my machine after getting pump and vacuum tank lined out and decided I like the Hoegger 6 Qt bucket. My question is about the inline pulsator adapter they say you have to have. Can I still use the interpulse pulsator and if so, how? Partsdept has an adapter that mounts directly to the tank. Will that work? Can anyone draw me a simple sketch of how this all connects?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Using the 6 quart pail means only milking one doe at a time and dumping between does. It's at least $50 and for a few dollars more you can go on ebay and get a real 5 gallon milk can, DeLaval style, doesn't have to be the brand, or for less, in fact most of the time shipping costs more than the Surge can. You don't want or need a lid, inflations or lines or anything they are selling with it, so don't pay more for stuff that you are going to throw out. Then a regular Surge or Delaval lid will fit onto it with an adapter for which ever lid you buy. The Hoegger milk pail (and your talking about the one that you can get a half moon lid for?) is way bigger around at the top to fit any surge or delaval style lids. A pail that small if the lid actually fit on it is fine for just fresh does, milking out colostrum or transitional milk, but you need at least a 5 gallon regular milk can to milk nubians. Chris of cottoneyedoes on here has diagrams on her website and thought we had all that up in goatkeeping 101? 

The easiest way to do this if you don't have someone to do it for you the first time, is to simply call Mike and purchase a lid to inflations setup either to milk two or to milk one. Ask specifically for the interpulse pulsator and specifically for in the milk line shutoffs, and don't let him talk you out of them  Spring for claws if you can afford them, if not upgrade to them at a later date. But ones you have a setup in your hands it's one of the AHH HAA moments of what did I pay so much more for this. Like buying a Hoegger setup for all that money, or any setup, when you can so eaily do it yourself had you seen one before. I have had tons of people come here with their husbands and then it's "Oh I see now".


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## R and R Farms (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks, Vicki. I have a Delaval and a Surge bucket, both in excellent shape but they seem so big. My thoughts were to start with the small 6 qt and if I grew later I could get out the big bucket and never miss a beat. No, I wasn't talking about the hand milking bucket with the half-moon lid. I was referring to the one for $240.00. It comes with a lid, gasket and some hose , I think. It seems as though everyone who has these small cans loves them.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

$240? You already have a can...add $100 to that price and Mike will make you a lid, pulsator/adapter, all your milk and airlines, inflations, shells and shutoffs for you and ship them! The surge is just combursome to pour, is your delaval the big 7 gallon or something? I milk 4 at a time, and then pour. Are you planning on putting the can under the doe or something? It's so much easier to learn in the milkroom...I love getting one of my older does up on the milkstand before milking and then ask.....so where are you planning on placing your milk can under her...with her big ole udder full of milk and a big barrelled stomach  As a doe ages you don't even have room for the inflations to stay verticle and that is on does with E udders.


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## R and R Farms (Jul 7, 2008)

Yea, you're probably right about putting the thing under the doe. Might be a problem at some point. I don't know if anyone else does this but I would really rather attach the lines from behind the doe. With the shorter lines they have on the 6 qt I would have to place it under the doe and move the whole setup from doe to doe. That seems it would be a bit of a pain.


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Hey Mike
Did you look at my website. There are pictures and instructions there. Maybe that will help.


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## R and R Farms (Jul 7, 2008)

Chris, I have studied your plans many times. I think i have a grasp on the pulsator-mounts-to-lid design. It's just that the Hoegger 6 qt bucket isn't designed for a pulsator to be mounted that way (I think) but says that it requires an inline pulsator adapter. I was curious if anyone had any knowledge of a plan to make your own using that bucket.


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## JumpinIrish4ever (Mar 11, 2010)

I have a question...what kind of vaccum pump do you need for the type of set up that Christine has??


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

You need at least 3 CFM's so from a small, sized like a loaf of bread machine that will easily milk one goat (think vacume systems to run for shops keeping sawdust out of the air, lipsuction machines) to a large system that will run a milkstring (all HVAC guys have vacumes that take out moisture in their lines for house AC's all the way to huge units (like I have) that pull moisture out of HAVC for hospitals etc), there are many sizes of vacume pumps and many more sizes of motors to run them. From paying $1500 because it's all bright and shiny and new, to finding a barely used Welch at an auction at A&M because even in the ad they had no idea what it was for under $200, there are tons of deals to be had if you know what you are looking for.


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## Goat Town (Nov 20, 2010)

Connie and Mike,

Recently I had a conversation with Joe Hoeggar about using the 240 dollar bucket with a Surge Pulsator. He told me if I wanted to do that I'd need to treat the six quart bucket like a very large claw running off my Surge bucket. In other words, I'd need to set up my Surge Bucket and run two vacuum lines from the pulsator to the Hoeggar pail. He said I'd need two because of the vacuum level needed. In other words I could not mount a pulsator on top of the Hoeggar belly pail. Shoot, for that price, I'd just as soon go buy another Surge bucket, lid, and pulsator, or at least an an interpulse pulsator an adaptor.


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## R and R Farms (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks, Nicole. That's what I needed to know. After your post and what Vicki was saying I'm leaning toward just using one of the Buckets I have already. I only have one doe fresh right now and I know a lot of folks think it's a waste of time to dirty up a machine for one or two goats but I'd like to get it going and practice my routine.


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I use my machine as soon as I have two goats milking. I can clean that thing up in no time and it milks FAST and my hands don't cramp.

I also have a machine I made myself from spare parts. Changed out for the interpuls pulsator and I love my machine. I use my surge bucket but I do have a delaval style on but need to get a lid setup for it.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

LaNell why doesn't your lid fit from your surge onto your Delval bucket?


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## Goat Town (Nov 20, 2010)

Traditionally I have not used the machine until I had three does fresh even though I can milk only with one hand. However, after reading here, especially Vicki's comments, I'm inclined to begin using my machine from the very beginning. I enjoy machine milking whereas I don't enjoy hand milking. It's fast, efficient, and I think cleaner.


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## R and R Farms (Jul 7, 2008)

Goat Town said:


> I enjoy machine milking whereas I don't enjoy hand milking. It's fast, efficient, and I think cleaner.


I'm glad to hear that somebody besides me doesn't particularly enjoy hand milking. I enjoy my time with my goats no matter if it's letting them browse in the woods or just sitting in the barn with them but hand milking isn't that pleasant to me.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Yep I hear people say that they love milking, the whole process. I would rather trim feet


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

What would a milking machine set up cost, everything included?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Less than $600...cheaper if you can put it together yourself, cheaper if you find a really good vacume pump for cheap.


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> LaNell why doesn't your lid fit from your surge onto your Delval bucket?


I think it does but I was trying to make a different machine to take to shows. If I leave DH at home to milk he needs the machine I use now. I am afraid he would never finish if he had to milk by hand.


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> Less than $600...cheaper if you can put it together yourself, cheaper if you find a really good vacume pump for cheap.


Thanks. I'm sure one of these days I'll have to get one.


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I lucked into a vacuum pump for $60 and it has been pumping away for the past two years. I have since bought another but have never used it since this one is still working. Very small, old and noisy but runs. Pulls the exact vacuum I need according to my gauge.
All together I spent less than $300 but I shopped EBAY for long periods of time and got good deals on everything I bought. Bought tubing and connectors at my local Ace Hardware.


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## Loden Farms (Dec 21, 2010)

That's what I would like to do, since I have plenty of time to look for the parts. But honestly, I don't know what to look for. I've looked at plenty of sites of homemade milkers, but I have no idea what I'm looking at (anyone ever had that problem?). I know I want to either buy or put one together because I know my hands will not hold up to the hand milking, I just don't know what I should be looking for to buy. Anyone have any advise for what to be on the look out for?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

When you come visit, bring a camera and we will write out a parts list. Maybe come at milking time so you can also see how easy it is to work, it also helps to see how uncomplicated it really is with all those parts.


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## Loden Farms (Dec 21, 2010)

Sounds like a plan! :biggrin


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## shawhee (Jun 28, 2008)

Hey Everyone.... Yes it has been awhile. I am dredging this post up again, as I think I am finally ready to try to build a bigger machine, and use my Hoegger for shows. I have found a 6cfm hvac vacuum pump, is this going to be ok?? I may need some help..... :lol


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## Goat Town (Nov 20, 2010)

Shawna,

6cfm per minute at what level of vacuum? You need 4cfm per minute at 12 in. vacuum per bucket. Even if the pump with run 6cfm per minute at 12 in. vacuum, you have little margin for any type of vacuum leak.


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## shawhee (Jun 28, 2008)

Ok now Im lost again?? How do you find that out - is it on the machine??


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

The forum has had really good luck running one bucket, milking one doe on 3cfm machines at 12 inches of vacume, it's what I also have as a show milker. 

Shawna do you have any idea what the CFM of your hoegger is? I have never found any markings on my commercial vacume pump, but will go look on my new Welch and see if I can find something. Vicki


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## Goat Town (Nov 20, 2010)

Those Hoeggar machines use Gast vacuum pumps. It's possible to take the model number from the pump, go to the Gast website and retrieve the performance specifications by model number.


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