Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

An in-churn cooler would be very useful to me http://www.cheffins.co.uk/lot/-584122-vintage-0
if anyone has one tucked away somewhere who wants to part with it or knows someone who does.

I think I have one somewhere Jac but it would cost more than it is worth to send it! I haven'e seen it for a while so it might not be in very good state.

Duncan

What do you use one of those for??

They were used in the days before bulk milk tanks on dairy farms to cool milk in 5 gallon churns. Cold water circulates through the pipes which are immersed in the milk. Jac probably wants it to cool her coffee.

Duncan MacIntyre wrote:I think I have one somewhere Jac but it would cost more than it is worth to send it! I haven'e seen it for a while so it might not be in very good state.

Duncan

Dig it out Duncan, I am desperate!

where abouts are you, had one in the loft, not sure if its still there, didnt have the stand but would still sit in the churn

SteveM wrote:where abouts are you, had one in the loft, not sure if its still there, didnt have the stand but would still sit in the churn

Near Tregaron in Ceredigion, Wales. Well, if it is still there, looks as it will work and you are willing to post it out to me I would be very grateful ( PM me with the purchase price and cost of P&P ).

Do you have the other parts of the cooler? The piece shown in the auction catalogue is only one part of it. It really needs a refrigeration unit, a base tank and a chilled water circulation pump. We used them with 10 gallon churns in the early 1960's. The churns stand on slats over the water tank, chilled water is pumped through the coils in the milk churn, turning them to stir the milk, then sprays down the outside of the churn back into the base tank. I suppose you could just connect it to the water tap, but it won't be very effective and will use a lot of water.

davidw wrote:Do you have the other parts of the cooler? The piece shown in the auction catalogue is only one part of it. It really needs a refrigeration unit, a base tank and a chilled water circulation pump. We used them with 10 gallon churns in the early 1960's. The churns stand on slats over the water tank, chilled water is pumped through the coils in the milk churn, turning them to stir the milk, then sprays down the outside of the churn back into the base tank. I suppose you could just connect it to the water tap, but it won't be very effective and will use a lot of water.

That's very interesting. Were they always meant to function in that way or was this just a modification with the advent of refrigeration?

See link http://pilgrim.ceredigion.gov.uk/index. ... cleid=2519

Can anybody else throw any light on this?

I have to say my pasteuriser works on water cooled principle but just bathes the container sides with cold water.

As far as I know, they were always designed to work with chilled water. In the 1950's, my dad used a surface cooler which dribbled milk down the faces of two corrugated stainless steel plates but even that used chilled water from a refrigeration unit.
The base tank of our in-churn cooler used to build up an ice-bank between milkings. Taking heat from the milk would cause it to thaw out as the water trickled back into the tank from the outside of the churns.
We changed to a bulk milk tank in about 1965. It was much easier work than heaving 10 gallon churns about - even the lightweight aluminium ones.
There is one of these coolers on ebay at the moment together with some more old milking equipment. IMO its very over-priced

No luck as yet, still looking.

This doesn't look that difficult to make. An intriguing design and not that far removed from a stainless steel hot water tank.

A business opportunity..........

On ebay.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/milking-equip ... 20dae1d4b7

nigel soar wrote:On ebay.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/milking-equip ... 20dae1d4b7

Thanks, but I don't want all the rest of the stuff as our place is heaving with bits and bobs as it is.