Author Topic: Sugar Cane Juicer  (Read 58470 times)

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #50 on: December 17, 2013, 08:25:29 PM »
I also read somewhere that many men in the USA are getting too much Iron in their diets and that we should be decreasing our intake. I wonder if long term use of these Iron type Sugar cane extractors will cause a build up of iron in our bodies?
Simon

shaneatwell

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #51 on: December 17, 2013, 08:50:36 PM »
No
Shane

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #52 on: December 17, 2013, 11:29:44 PM »
No

Hey Shane, can you elaborate? From my horrible memory, the article mentioned that most men are already getting more than enough iron from our diets due to high consumption of red meat. I just did a quick google search and one site mentioned that too much iron can cause damage to your liver, heart and other organs. Too much iron is also mentioned as a possible cause of arthritis.

I know too much of almost anything can be bad for you but I do keep hearing that men need to cut back on our consumption of Iron.
Simon

Doglips

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #53 on: December 18, 2013, 04:30:07 AM »
What's this about seasoning the parts? What the hell is that?

My mind was focusing more on how lead will be in the metal and the parts.

Drinking sugar cane juice to be healthy  but die of lead poisoning.

But then again isn't there lead in everything.



Cast iron pans/pots, cookware, or other items made of iron, should be season, so they don't rust. Seasoning the iron metal, will also cause a non stick surface. So, if the iron parts of a sugar cane juicer was season, it will last longer and not corrode over time. Cast iron pans/cookware, that is well season, can last forever and is pretty much indestructible. Rusty iron metal or any kind of metal, that is rusted, is going to break more easily over time. Doglips, might know more about this though?

I don't know about breaking quicker other than corrosion.  But ya, carbon is hard hard stuff, like diamond hard.  I will say that normal cooking in cast iron tends to leave behind oil that continually seasons the metal, in a juicer like this that wouldn't be the case so it would be a more continual process of re-seasoning it in the oven.  If you don't season, you may well have to oil it after every use.  If you do season, you can probably skip this steps for several uses, depending on how well seasoned the metal is.  Cane grows in humid environments, so that will get unprotected metal over time.
I garauntee that if you have any rust, you'll know it, the juice will taste terrible.
I know nothing about these devices but if given the option, I would seriously consider the model made entirely with the food grade metal first.  I find it hard to believe that they would make them any other way but who knows.
Cleaning them looks like a PITA.  Almost seems like a fire hose would be the best way.



LEOOEL

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #54 on: December 18, 2013, 10:47:02 PM »
I can't help but think of the juicer machine(s) in some of the infomercials of the late Jack LaLane, the fitness guru.

The machine he was peddling appeared to have 'industrial' power, yet was intended for home use.

He would put in it all kinds of fruits, vegetables ... and out one end would come out pure juice. And, at the other end would com the fiber mass of the fruits, vegetables ...

I know that sugar cane has quite a bit of fiber, but on such machines with 'industrial' like power, I find it hard to believe that there is no such machine out there, that can efficiently and effortlessly process small sugar cane cuttings, as easily as a warm knife through butter.
'Virtue' should be taught, learned and propagated, in order to save others and oneself.

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #55 on: December 19, 2013, 01:37:02 AM »
I got my juicer in the mail tonight and it is very heavy! I just opened up the box and have not read the instructions yet nor have I opened up the panels of the machine. I was initially afraid the flywheel would be damaged because it was right up against the side of the box but when I pulled the flywheel out, it was extremely solid and heavy and it would be difficult to damage.

There are only a few small parts to assemble and I need to wash the unit a few times and grease the gears before use. I'll keep everyone updated once I test this unit out.
Simon








Dangermouse01

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #56 on: December 19, 2013, 05:25:20 AM »
Nice looking machine.

Wondering......In the ethnic markets here they sell sugar cane stalks, about 4-5 foot long and maybe about 1.5 inches diameter at the thick end. How much juice would be expected from 1 of those stalks run thru a machine?

DM

NaturalGreenthumb

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #57 on: December 19, 2013, 07:34:58 PM »
Me likely

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #58 on: December 19, 2013, 08:08:31 PM »
Nice looking machine.

Wondering......In the ethnic markets here they sell sugar cane stalks, about 4-5 foot long and maybe about 1.5 inches diameter at the thick end. How much juice would be expected from 1 of those stalks run thru a machine?

DM
One stalk that size can probably yield 1-2 small cups of juice from what I've seen on YouTube.

NaturalGreenthumb

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #59 on: December 19, 2013, 09:02:59 PM »
I can guarantee you that you are the only kid on the block with a shinny new  manual sugar cane juicer.

Lol.


You now have VIP status and have bragging rights.

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #60 on: December 19, 2013, 09:16:18 PM »
I opened up the panels this morning and the machine is solid and built to last. The machine was very dirty and I had to clean off the rollers along with all the other parts and pieces very well. Some parts of the machine had some rust on it. This juicer is exactly like the one on YouTube, no bait and switch.

One thing that you have to be very careful about is all the sharp edges on the sheets of metal covering the unit. I spent some time using a Dremel to grind down the razor sharp edges. Another complaint is that the panels are very roughly cut so many of the edges are not completely flush but they are very close.

Overall, this unit is extremely solid and will likely last a long long time. I recommend getting a cart or dolly to move this unit as it is very heavy and it will require cleaning after every use. I scrubbed the entire unit top to bottom three times and all I need to do is completely dry the unit and then grease the gears before I give the unit it's first run. Here are some pictures of the gears and shafts.

Having issues adding pics, I'll try later.
Simon

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #61 on: December 20, 2013, 12:17:30 PM »
One other thing I do not like about this juicer is that the handle on the flywheel is not really freely moving. The handle simply screws into the flywheel and there is no bolt to lock it in place so as you turn the flywheel, it tightens the screw that attaches the handle to the flywheel which eventually tightens the screw so much that it restricts free rotation of the wooden handle.

I will go to a Home Depot and look for a handle replacement that allows free rotation although this handle does work. I'm going to clean this unit another couple times before use because there is still some dirty spots on it. So far, I'm very happy with this unit!
Simon




simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #62 on: December 20, 2013, 12:20:51 PM »
Here are some pictures of the gears.






Doglips

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #63 on: December 20, 2013, 12:34:38 PM »
Thats quite the beast.  The handle sounds like an easy mod so it free spins.   So it looks like where the cane touches it is food grade, and else is raw steel.  I'd season anything I could thats not food grade.
I get the feeling that the joy of cleaning will fade quickly.  Hope the plantation is ready.  Save me glass.

nullzero

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #64 on: December 20, 2013, 05:39:38 PM »
Looks really nice, I would consider getting one myself. Simon thanks for the detailed information and pictures.
Grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Pasca

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #65 on: December 20, 2013, 06:39:51 PM »
Simon,

I look forward to  your formal review of the sugarcane press.  If I can secure a regular source of good sugarcane, I'd bite the bullet and get a press myself.

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #66 on: December 20, 2013, 09:28:02 PM »
The GPF juicer rocks! The initial cleaning is a major pain in the ass but this juicer is really awesome! I only had old sugarcane to test it out on but I got a lot of extremely sweet and delicious juice. A single person can clean and juice by oneself if you are pretty strong. The juicing can be done by anyone but you have to lift up the juicer for cleaning. Baby's crying I'll give details later!
Simon

palmtreeluke

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #67 on: December 21, 2013, 06:42:21 AM »
Hi Simon and fellow tropical fruit form members,

This is Luke from Green Planet Farm.  Thanks for the review Simon! Glad it made it from FL to Cali with no problems.

We have limited availability on the juicers but are working on a new model for 2014. I can give a $20 discount to all Tropical Fruit Forum members on our GPF-1 juicer if you mention this forum when purchasing.

if anyone has questions about our juicers feel free to email me.

Happy holidays and Happy Juicing!

Home of the Chewy Purple Sugar Apple Annona squamosa 'Isan Indigo'
www.greenplanetfarm.com

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #68 on: December 21, 2013, 06:52:18 PM »
Hello everyone,

I only had old stalks of sugarcane to test out my new juicer but I was pleasantly surprised by how much juice I got out of the canes.  I juiced two varieties, a green type and a black type.  I juiced approx 3.5 feet of green cane which yielded a little over 2.5 cups of juice.  I juiced approx 2 feet of the black cane which yielded a little over 1 2/3 cups of juice.  The Green cane is about 3 weeks old and was left in my garage sitting there just drying, both ends were completely dried up so I cut them off before washing the canes and juicing.  I stored the black canes in my refrigerator in a plastic bag and these canes did not dry up nearly as much.  The two varieties of canes tasted very different.  I'm not sure if it was because the Green canes had dried up so much and concentrated the sugars or not but the Green canes were super super sweet.  The Black canes were also very sweet but the sugars were not as concentrated.  The color of the juice was also very different.  Some of the color from the black canes came off while juicing and gave the juice a dark colored tint.  I see some people shaving off the black skin in order to have a better color juice. 

The juicer is absolutely amazing and does what it is supposed to.  Its a pain in the ass performing the initial cleanings because there is so much dirt and rust on the machine but post juicing cleaning is much easier.  After juicing it took me a total of 15 minutes to clean the entire juicer by myself.  I split each stalk of cane in half like Luke recommended in his video and the juicing was extremely easy, so easy that a single person can easily do it by themselves. I ran each piece of cane through the juicer 3 times and I could have run it through another time to get more juice out of it but I was lazy.  With each pass of the cane through the machine, I folded the cane in half which made the turning of the flywheel more difficult.  The small tray that comes with the juicer can actually hold quite a lot of juice, approx 4 cups of juice. 

I still can't believe how much juice I got out of the old canes I used.  The juice was extremely delicious, I added some ginger and lime to the juice and also added some ice to dilute down the sweetness, I love sweet things but its almost too sweet without the ice.  Overall rating for this juicer is 8/10.  It works extremely well for its intended purpose and from what I can tell, it will last a long long time.  The only real issue I have with this unit is the finish on some of the stainless steal covers and the handle on the flywheel.  This unit is extremely easy to use.  There was one video with about 5 people holding this unit while juicing and I believe they had such a difficult time because they did not split their cane before putting it through the machine.  With the canes split, the flywheel is easy to turn.  It does get more difficult to turn as the thickness of what you are juicing increases but its still fairly easy. 

Luke, do you have any info on the new juicer?  What improvements is the new unit going to have?  I'll post some more pics in a bit.
Simon

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #69 on: December 21, 2013, 06:57:02 PM »







simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #70 on: December 21, 2013, 07:00:22 PM »
I recommend a cart of some sort for transporting the unit. It will make rinsing off the machine much easier.




NaturalGreenthumb

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #71 on: December 21, 2013, 07:40:00 PM »
I'm so jealous.

I'm so getting th machine.

Thanks for sharing simon.

I have a few questions

1. Are there 2 rollers or 3 rollers?

2. Did you try tightening down the 2 top knobs? If so does it feel like the plastic knobs will fall of if you tighten it to much?


I also found some difference in machines. Not sure if it just a picture or a Different model.

Look At the knobs on the picture below. They look like it made of metal.

Look at the handle on the wheel it's metal vs wood.










This one only has 2 sections vs your has 3 section.



« Last Edit: December 21, 2013, 08:25:41 PM by NaturalGreenthumb »

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #72 on: December 22, 2013, 01:23:23 AM »
Hey Mike,

My unit has three rollers. The black nobs that tighten down the spring are pretty solid but your concerns are valid. Me and black plastic nobs don't get along very well, I tend to over tighten things and I've broken more than my fair share of these types of nobs. The handle is an easy fix and replacing the black nobs with steal ones should also be very simple.
Simon

Pasca

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #73 on: December 22, 2013, 01:47:03 AM »
Simon,

Thank you for the detailed review and feedback.  I like the fact that the pressor can be rinsed after use.  I definitely will grow some sugarcane and buy the machine to press for juice.

simon_grow

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Re: Sugar Cane Juicer
« Reply #74 on: December 28, 2013, 09:19:54 PM »
One other minor thing I don't like about the juicer is the spigot on my machine is very stiff when turning it off and on. Even when it is in the on position, the flow of juice is slow so I don't even use the spigot anymore. I simply poor my juice into my cups directly from the collection tray. I'm loving this juicer and cleanup is very simple, at least much easier than I expected.
Simon