Crusher-chopper for apples from a washing machine

If the season turns out to be rich in harvest, then in the fall, summer residents collect tens and even hundreds of kilograms of apples from their “possessions.” It is very difficult to process such volumes manually, so some of the fruit simply rots, waiting for its turn. But how can you speed up the processing process? There is special crushing equipment for fruits on sale. It is quite expensive, but there is no need to be upset, you can make an apple chopper from a washing machine. Therefore, if an old washing machine is gathering dust at your dacha, do not rush to throw away the equipment.

How is a shredder made?

Any summer resident will be happy with an apple crusher. Using the device, you can chop tens of kilograms of fruit to make juice, wine, and jam. How to make such a device with your own hands? What parts of the old activator machine will be useful in the process? To make an apple crusher, you will need to remove from the old machine:

• engine;
• a stainless steel centrifuge (if you have a semi-automatic machine);
• starting capacitors (activating the motor).

In general, you can only take the engine from a washing machine as the basis for an apple slicer.

All other parts of the structure are easy to find or buy separately. Basic elements of a homemade fruit grater:

• a frame that ensures the stability of the device;
• starting capacitor and motor;
• a stainless steel bowl in the shape of a cylinder (it can be replaced with a semi-automatic centrifuge);
• steel circle with sharp slots;
• pulley and shaft;
• nuts and bolts for fixing the main elements of the apple crusher;
• power cable.

To begin with, all the components of the device are prepared. The motor with the starting capacitor is removed from the old washing machine. It is due to the motor that the structure will be set in motion. Next, prepare the bowl. The easiest way is to roll up a sheet of stainless steel to form a cylinder. The size of the bottom disk should be slightly larger than the diameter of the tank. Using metal scissors, you need to make several holes on the steel disk so that the sharp edges look inside the bowl. Due to this, the bottom will turn into a kind of grater. It is due to friction against these protrusions that the apples will be crushed.

A shaft and pulley are required, with which the metal rod will be connected to the motor.

The shaft should be 15-20 cm longer than the cylinder to leave room for loading apples into the bowl. The further algorithm of actions will be as follows:

• connect the shaft to the washing machine motor;
• drill a hole in the lower disk exactly in the center - the second end of the shaft will be inserted into it;
• assemble the structure by threading the shaft through the cylinder and metal disk;
• secure the shaft from below with a washer and nut.

Next, you need to secure the structure vertically, for example, by making a metal or vertical frame. You need to leave space at the bottom so that you can place a bucket or basin under the cylinder to collect fruit. Power should be supplied from a regular 220 Volt outlet. The wire is carefully connected through the motor starting capacitor. If everything is assembled correctly, the device will work smoothly.

Shredder for the lazy

When time is running out, and there’s nowhere to get a motor from a washing machine, it’s easy to make an apple crusher in another way. You can chop fruit with a primitive device consisting of a drill, a metal pin, a piece of wood, a pair of nuts and 30-40 screws. Let's try to figure out how this is possible.

The apple crusher will look like this:

Let's figure out how to properly assemble the chopper. The algorithm will be like this:

• using a hacksaw, cut off a branch with a diameter of 3-5 cm from any tree;
• process the piece of wood so that you get a cylinder-shaped block, 10 cm long;
• remove the bark from the cut branch, sand it so that the surface is smooth;
• drill through the block with a drill. The hole must be through. You don’t have to try to make a “passage” exactly in the center; it’s enough to determine the middle by eye;
• insert a 10mm threaded pin into the wooden cylinder;
• tighten the block on both sides with an engraving washer and bolts. This is necessary so that the bushing does not fly off the rod, rotating at high speeds and experiencing resistance;
• clamp the other end of the pin into the drill chuck (the length of the metal rod can be reduced by cutting off unnecessary centimeters);
• Screw 30-40 self-tapping screws into the bushing in a chaotic manner. They should stick out from the cylinder by 1-2 cm and be located over the entire surface of the piece of wood.

The structure is assembled. To chop apples, you need to transfer them to a deep container. After filling the bucket halfway, use the device to crush the fruit. So, in literally 10-15 minutes, you can “grind” several kilograms of fruit.

Having assembled such a “manual” crusher, you will be able to verify its effectiveness, and perhaps change your mind about making a full-fledged stationary crusher. Having finished processing the apples, simply remove the pin from the drill chuck, rinse and dry the structure well.The device is not intended for one-time use; it can be used in the future.

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