Milker advice

[Double H Ranch]

So I mentioned to my hubby that my arms and hands are getting too old to milk anymore and I'd really like a milker... he bought me a belly milker!!! I was grinnin' like the Cheshire cat. More Milk! No more sore arms! Heaven..

I took it to a dairy parts store and had them help me replace all the tubes. I thought I was good to go.

Until I used the thing.... blah! It is kicking my butt. I have questions.... because I really want to like it ~ but today is not that day...

1~ the tubes are black, how do you know when she is finished milking? Or how long does it usually take to milk out a Jersey? I am afraid of leaving it on too long and hurting her. but for a week now I have had to remilk after I milk.

2~ Does it have to be broke down and washed every time you use it? Or can you run sterilizer through the lines and then wash the bucket? We drink our milk raw and I don't want to get sick because I'm lazy but heavens! by the time I get the rubber parts back out of the teat cups, scrub everything down and put it all back together it just doesn't seem worth it.(maybe I need to buy more cows..)

3~ I have fought the pressure tank every day, I almost think it needs replaced what would be a good replacement for it.

Advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[Madsaw]

Pinch the inflation between thumb and index finger between the shell and claw. Pull down just a little on the teat this way. Try it when you first put it on you feel a surging sensation. Us this to milk out the quarters if they are still milk in them. Putting the milker on grasp the shell twist upward to line up with teat. Pull it close to the machine to pinch off sir flow. With a quick move put it on. Been using surged for many years.

[Oakshire_Farm]

Yes you must totally sterilize it EVERY TIME!

To know when she is done feel the udder, when she is done it will be all "floppy" and empty feeling.

[BlackWillowFarm]

Yes, you do need to clean the machine after each milking but you don't have to pull the inflations out of the shells each time. That's too much work! Get an inflation brush to scrub them good and wash your bucket in the sink. Drip dry until next milking. Best to sanitize your milker right before you milk into it for "clean" milk. I do it in the beginning and at the end of milking. Once a week you should tear it all down and do an acid wash to break down the milk protein that builds up but can't be seen by eye.

As for getting her milked out all the way, it's okay to hand strip to get the last bit of milk out, but if you're getting more than just a few squirts, leave the machine on a little longer. It won't hurt her for a few extra minutes and if it's bugging her she'll move around or kick it off. You'll figure her out after you get used to the new machine. No one can say for sure how long it will take a certain cow to milk out. I have one who milks out in four minutes and another one that takes twelve minutes to get it all.

I can't help about the pressure tank but your pressure gauge should read approx. -13 for milking. Your pulsator should pulse about once a second or sixty times a minute, maybe a little less than that. One pulse is two beats, like "tish/whoosh" That's one pulse.

Using a machine is a trade off. Hand milking makes less cleanup, but takes longer and can wear out your arms and hands. Plus it's easier to get dirt in your milk if you hand milk or the cow can knock your bucket over or step in it.

Machine milking is easier on your arms and hands and for milking the cow, but then you have all the clean up and sanitation to do afterwards. You'll have to replace parts and fiddle with the pulsator but your milk will be cleaner without so many particles to filter off when you bottle it.

I started off hand milking but had to give it up for the machine. It made my arms and hands hurt so I couldn't sleep at night. Now that I have the machine, I can milk faster and I can milk more than one cow which is a big plus. I also have herdshare members and I feel much better about using a machine knowing it's a closed system and dirt can't get in very easy.

Hang in there. You'll have it figured out in no time.

[Madsaw]

We never remove the infkations from the shells only to replace them.
When are you having your vacuum leak? Sometimes the lid gasket has to be one way or the other to get it to seal. At times you need to press down on the pulsator till the vacuum seals up every thing.

[Awnry Abe]

Its ok to leave a little milk behind. When we started, we thought we had to milk until dust came out. I think up to 100mL per teat left behind is considered "fully milked", but I have no idea what committee argued over that amount. You'll get to where you can read the deflated-ness of the quarter to know when she is done. I have a clear claw, but I can also tell just by listening for the lack of milk splashing into the pail. I don't post-machine hand strip anymore. In fact, I do my best to make sure I touch teat as absolutely little as possible after milking. I have my teat dip cup sitting beside me and dip immediately after pulling off the claw.

2 of our cows take about 7 minutes, but one takes about 10. One very helpful tip that I ran into 'on the net' is that the letdown hormone kicks into gear around a little less than a minute after the first teat is pre-stripped. So don't attach the inflations immediately after pre-stripping. I count to 30 after I do the last one, then attach. It definitely helps speed milking. You could also try singing, but in my case that usually ends with a hoof in my forehead.

Unless your cow has 4 teats that harmonize like the Beatles, you'll end up with one that lags (or finishes way ahead of) the other three. I keep them all attached and wait on the straggler unless things progress past about a minute. In that case, I'll stop vaccuum, detach the three real quick, and pop back on the 4th. Sometimes one will have a twist in the teat--or in the inflation itself--and will milk slow that day. With my inflations, milk very often stops flowing when I can clearly see that milk remains based on the very slight bulge of the udder. When this happens, I pinch the tube, unseat it from the spot on her teat that it has latched onto, and release my finger to resume. I try not to fully remove the inflation. That usually gets things flowing again all the way to milk-out. Interestedly enough, for me anyway, it only happens on 2 of the 12 teats I milk.

If you have occasional milk-out issues, check for one of these: 1) slightly twisted inflations inside the cup, 2) twisted teat inside the inflation (happens very easily). 3) on a belly milker with the tank on the floor to the side of the cow, the milk line not running down the center of the cow and causing the entire claw and udder to twist.

If you have persistent milk out issues, I agree with Madsaw. Check your vacuum.

With regards to cleaning, the system has to be fully sanitized after milking, but you don't need to disassemble everything. I do the full teardown on a weekend, but it doesn't need to happen every week. My preferred cleaning regiment is room-temp rinse, followed by a hottest-water-my-faucet-can-muster detergent rinse, followed by a hang-to-dry-completely cycle. Aside from drying all day, cleanup takes about 10 minutes, which I spend scratching the belly of the last cow and thanking her for the milk I stole. Prior to use the next milking, I run a clean water rinse with a touch of chlorine, compliments of the water department. An occasional acid rinse tidies up the milk stone and keeps the thing as shiny as the day I bought it.

Hang tuff!!! You will find a routine that has your milk chore humming like a sewing machine. I finally found mine, and milking is now my favorite part of the day, instead of a chore. (Except when one little thing is out of kilter in the routine, then everything falls apart, and I forget to do things like lock the cows in the stanchion).

[Double H Ranch]

Thanks everyone! I felt awful, here he had spent the money for a milker and all I wanted to do was go back to hand milking. I am definitely not leaving it on long enough, I had read that if you leave it on too long she'd get mastitis. I've had her for three yrs and no mastitis and I wasn't about to start now. I was pulling it off after five minutes tops. I'll leave it on longer and try waiting after stripping.

I am SO thankful that the inflations can be scrubbed in the shell ~ those things stink to remove.

As far as the vacuum, I think you are right, it could be the seal. The salesman looked at it and said it was okay but not great ~I should have taken the hint and got a new one.

I feel better, we'll hit it again today and see how we do.

Thanks!!!!

[Double H Ranch]

I was reading through again, Abe, when you take the three off and leave on the fourth do you have to cap the 3 or will it work with only one attached? I hadn't thought about twisted teats, they showed me how to check the inflations for twists but I didn't know that I could twist the teat... I'm blessed that she's a good natured old gal, ya know it? With all the fussing, learning and mistakes.... I'd of kicked somebody by now. lol!

[farmmaid]

I am buying the NEW Ultimate E-Z milker. Click on and watch the video--very good, you clean only the inflations and jars you milk into, NO tubes to clean!!!!!!! @$470.00.

[Awnry Abe]

I will sometimes cap the other three. I can usually fold the others back and achieve the same result. It depends on how well the coffee is working.

[sammyd]

Ultimate E-Z milker

That looks like a nghtmare to operate I would hand milk before I played around with that mess.
No tubes to clean unless you let your quart jars overfill.....

[commonsense]

Double H, you can get silicone inflations through Hamby that will let you see the milk coming into the bucket, then you can see when she has stopped milking on each quarter. They are pricey but last a long time.

[milkman]

Above all make sure the vacuum is correct. I think it's 11ibs mercury. Always sanitize, sanitize!

[sammyd]

Whether you milk it all out or leave a bit behind the main thing is that you do it the same way every time.
A good three squirts left in each quarter is about what is considered normal to leave behind.
We wash our equipment by a similar method to modern pipelines sucking a rinse a wash and an acid rinse through the milker parts into the bucket after milking then letting air dry.
To sanitize wash your equipment in a water/ bleach solution about an hour or so before milking so it's just about air dried before you start. The high powered Hi Lex is usually on the approved list for grade A barns not Chlorox.
Or you can consult a dairy supply place if you have one nearby.


Vacuum is expressed in inches not pounds.

[Madsaw]

If the milker is hung correctly there is no need to cap off any inflations not used. They will hang down and pinch off. No need for clear silicone inflations either. Once you get the feel of pinching and pulling down on each inflation its simple. Also it will take some time to get the cow accustomed to bring milked out with a milker.

[sammyd]

If the inflations are new they will have a hard time shutting themselves off and any movement of the unit can cause them to bounce and open to the atmosphere. Get plugs or twist and tuck those empty teat cups.

[Madsaw]

We change inflations at least twice a yrs. Never have a issue of them not sealing off when new. That is the idea behind the stainless steel shells. I will try to get a video made and posted of different steps on using a surge.
Bob

[arcticow]

Originally Posted by commonsense

Double H, you can get silicone inflations through Hamby that will let you see the milk coming into the bucket, then you can see when she has stopped milking on each quarter. They are pricey but last a long time.

And silicone can be stiff in cold weather, but warm sanitizer water will solve that. And some vacuum pumps just need to warm up a few minutes when it's really cold.

[Double H Ranch]

Thanks everyone for the help! I'm learning a lot.

Originally Posted by Madsaw

If the milker is hung correctly there is no need to cap off any inflations not used. They will hang down and pinch off. No need for clear silicone inflations either. Once you get the feel of pinching and pulling down on each inflation its simple. Also it will take some time to get the cow accustomed to bring milked out with a milker.

I thought about that.. I had bought her from a dairy and it took us about two weeks to learn the ropes for hand milking, I wondered if she might be slow to let down now that we had switched back.. I'll practice feeling the inflation, I replaced them all when I bought the machine because the old ones were gross. I couldn't replace them with silicone right now and feel good about it.

articow, the surge really goes on strike when it gets cold, we have to keep it in the house but I hadn't thought of the pump needing to warm up.

Thanks again everybody, I am able to put a lot of good ideas to use!

[mrs whodunit]

I have so much to learn. LOL I am cow sitting for my friend who just bought a milker for her short handled cow. Neither she nor I have ever used a milker before.

Watching all the you tubes and reading I can about milkers.