Salad Spinner as a Cream Seperator?

Wags · #1 06/09/10, 10:34 AM

http://www.theworld.org/2010/06/02/s...er-centrifuge/

Some Bioengineering students at Rice University were challenged to come up with non-electric centrifuge to spin blood so that hematocrit levels could be checked in third world countries. They say the get 950 rpm's from the salad spinner.

After watching and reading about it this I got to thinking I wonder if that could be modified to work as a small non-electric cream separator. I know that isn't any where close to the 8000 - 14000rpms that a Novo cream separator puts out, but do those of you that are mechanically minded think it would work for small amounts?

CaliannG · #2 06/09/10, 12:16 PM

My haphazard research in this area has come up with a study from 1956 that says you only need 5,096 r.p.m. for a self cleaning cream separator. I haven't been able, yet, to find the minimum r.p.m. needed to just do the separation, but it is likely lower than that.

lisa's garden · #3 06/09/10, 12:28 PM

I'm envisioning a salad spinner hooked up to belts and a series of gears that you turn with an exercise bike...would make a great cartoon, even if it didn't work!

suzyhomemaker09 · #4 06/09/10, 12:43 PM

how would you get the cream to drain out?
the separator I had had dual spouts..cream came from one and the skimmed molk form the other.

Wags · #5 06/09/10, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzyhomemaker09

how would you get the cream to drain out?
the separator I had had dual spouts..cream came from one and the skimmed molk form the other.

I'm sure it would have to be modified some how. I just saw that it was a hand powered centrifuge, and since a cream separator is basically a centrifuge too I thought someone crafter than me might be able to figure out how to rig something.

gryndlgoat · #6 06/09/10, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

My haphazard research in this area has come up with a study from 1956 that says you only need 5,096 r.p.m. for a self cleaning cream separator. I haven't been able, yet, to find the minimum r.p.m. needed to just do the separation, but it is likely lower than that.

Remember that rpm is just speed of spinning, not the force needed to separate the cream. The force depends on the distance from the center of the spin (forces increases with the distance) so a salad spinner, say 10 inches in diameter, will have to be spun at twice the speed as a 20 inch separator to generate the same force.