Milking System

[Tom]

I'm currently hand milking 3 cows ,this spring(if all goes well) it'll be 5. I have a bucket milker I had planned to use but the inspector requires me to empty the buckets into a dumping station and then dump the milk into the processing room vat.. Which to me adds another handling of the milk that I don't want.. My question for those with pipe line systems and price knowledge.. What a system would cost to pipe the approx. 25 gal. of milk directly into the tank 25 ft. away?.. Thanks for any help.... Tom McLaughlin
Schultzville, Pa.

[FayeFarms]

I'm currently hand milking 3 cows ,this spring(if all goes well) it'll be 5. I have a bucket milker I had planned to use but the inspector requires me to empty the buckets into a dumping station and then dump the milk into the processing room vat.. Which to me adds another handling of the milk that I don't want.. My question for those with pipe line systems and price knowledge.. What a system would cost to pipe the approx. 25 gal. of milk directly into the tank 25 ft. away?.. Thanks for any help.... Tom McLaughlin
Schultzville, Pa.

Well, Tom, my Dad dumped 5-gallon bucket milkers into a 5 - gallon stainless steel tote pail, then carried that tote pail to the milkhouse and poured it thru the strainer into the cooler. 50 Holstien Cows twice a day, then drove a logging skidder 7 hours a day all winter as well.

I'm not half the man my late father was, so I put in a used Surge Pipeline.
I don't know about PA, but in Wisconsin dairy barn pipelines are obsolete, and if you attend enough farm auctions you will see the entire system - Receiver Jar, swing pipe, washer controls, and all the vacuum PVC, and milk stainless or glass pipeline sell for parts prices - $ 100 to $ 250 will buy the whole system. Everything except the Vacuum pump. But for a small setup, those go quite reasonable as well.

[Tom]

And a tip of hat to your Dad.. Its not the work but it's another chance of something happening to the milk. I like the idea of the milk going straight to the vat instead it being handled twice. For the cost it seems a whole bunch safer and alot less work... Speaking with no experience of course...Thanks.

[FayeFarms]

Another low-cost alternative would be what they call a STEPSAVER. It is a two-wheel cart with a stainless steel hopper/filter you pour into, and then a portable 5/8 plastic milkline carries milk from hopper bottom to bulk tank. You wind up hose as you get towards milkhouse, wrapping it on the built-in hose reel on stepsaver cart. These go cheap at farm auctions - if you can find one. Downside is milk is still exposed to barn air while pouring it into stepsaver.

[born2run]

Thought too about a stepsaver. But are they even around anymore?

[tomson]

Tom, any kind of pipeline or stepsaver is going to be a major cleaning headache for five cows. Are you sure you and the MI are on the same page? Many farmers have carried their milk in covered pails to the vat and I'm surprised to hear that the MI won't allow you to do that. How do you get the hand-milked milk to the vat now, and why should it be any different if you milk with a machine?

[Tom]

For the past few years I have taken the milk to the house in covered pails but we have decided to commercially produce and needed a whole floor plan. Milking parlor, milk house,processing room,utility room,and store front. The construction is finished and approved. At this last inspection he said(surprize to me) the milk could not be taken directly to the vat(which isn't in place yet) located in the processing room. He thought I would contaminate the processing room so I could have a change of clothes there or go to the house clean myself up and then transfer the milk . It seemed a major chore to do that and seemed alot less work to run a pipeline instead of cleaning the buckets, the dumping station and myself. His reasoning made sense to me on the sanitation end. .. In a straight line the milking parlor is(from door to door) 8 ft. away... He has been very helpful but the micro scale is new to both of us..

[LeakyBoot]

I'd run an ad in paper for a system. You can buy cheap around here if you can get the cob webs off them. If you can come up with a little Alamo 30 your set up for years. Few yrs ago I bought a barn out with a like new vac pump for 500$$ Got it just for parts. LB

[Tom]

I think we have the problem solved .. the pastuerizer will be able to vac. the milk from the bucket.. Tanks fur da help.

[country critters farm]

I just had a Step Saver system given to me. Needs a little fixing up. I think I can get it working. We are milking 22 goats. I am looking for a parts breakdown/manual for it.

[francismilker]

Very old thread but I'm wondering, does anyone have one of these stepsavers for sale?