Winegrowers Supplies
- Flash Pasteurisers - for bottling juice or sweet cider or wine
These are 'flash pasteurisers' - a short time at high temperature - far superior to 'in bottle' pasteurisers as the flavour is not 'cooked'.
Controlling the pasteurising temperature:
on the KTM models there is an accurate digital thermometer right in front of the
operator, which is easily viewed while filling. This gives the actual
temperature of the juice just before it goes into the bottle. That's an advantage
over the machines which feed to a separate bottle filler. These larger pasteurisers can have automatic control of the
pasteurising temperature, but the juice will
inevitably cool down slightly while in the bottle filler; and as bottles are not
normally pre-sterilised then the juice temperature could possibly drop
low enough as it enters the bottle that it is below the necessary
pasteurising temperature, and hence may not be sterile. Care has to be taken to ensure this does
not happen, the connecting tube and bottle filler header-tank can be insulated, and if
necessary the juice can be pasteurised at a slightly higher temperature.
A thermometer can be fitted to the header tank of the bottle filler, so the operator
can monitor the juice temperature there, as well as when it leaves the pasteuriser. A digital thermometer is easier to
read accurately than a dial (analogue) thermometer.
Stainless steel probe with ½" bulkhead fitting, £23
Accurate digital thermometer, 4 seconds response time, £34.64
Micro-biological analysis can be carried out (initially) on some filled bottles to ascertain that they are sterile.
IMF-250: 4395 Euros (£3995) including delivery, a very exciting new model with pipe-in-pipe (coaxial tube) heat exchanger, at a very
low price: 250 litres per hour is the normal rate, although this can be increased by pre-heating the
juice:-
This model does not need 3-phase electricity, only 230 volts, it incorporates a 28 kWatt propane gas heater. Two
propane gas cylinders and matching regulators are needed, it is suggested that both
are connected, which they say avoids the gas 'freezing' in the regulators.
It's built on a steel 800mm x 1200mm pallet, so it can be moved around easily with a
small pallet truck.
There is an accurate digital thermometer, and a ball-valve to control flow, on the outlet of the pasteuriser; once the
ball-valve is adjusted to give the required temperature (80 °C for apple juice;
78 to 82 °C is suggested by the manufacturer) it normally does not need any adjustment for hours.
A 4-head bottle filler can be connected, with a short tube (insulated). When starting it is important to return the first 20 litres of juice from the bottle filler nozzles, back to the main tank, to be pasteurised again.
Alternatively, there is a simple hose-tail connector for bag-in-box filling; a silicone tube can be attached to the hose-tail and directed to the bag. The bag-in-box is placed (with the tap at the top) on a set of accurate weighing scales, the fill-weight corresponding to the volume (5, 10 or 20 litres) having first been calculated according to the specific gravity of the liquid at 20 °C.
The juice needs to be fed in at a rate of approximately 250 litres/hour, ideally a
pump with a Variable Frequency Drive is used to achieve this. Alternatively, if
the juice tank can be sited much higher up than the pasteuriser, then gravity can feed the juice to the pasteuriser,
although in this case as the level of juice in the upper tank falls it is
necessary to open the flow-valve very slightly to maintain the temperature.
Very thick liquids can be pumped in with a rubber-impeller
pump, the speed being controlled by a VFD.
Special pasteuriser cleaner, sodium hydroxide, 1 kilo (about a litre), £6.20
dilute to 2% solution for use, wear rubber gloves when using it.
Hose cleaning orange 'mouse', pushed through the tubing with water from a pump or tap,
use 3 together: size 19 for 13 mm tube: £0.75 each
Filling into cold bottles increases the risk of
glass breakage, so warming the bottles to 40 °C or more is advantageous.
As long as the bottles (or plastic containers) are clean inside it is not
necessary to sterilise them with wine sulphur before use, since the
pasteurisation will achieve this.
Screw caps or crown caps are normally used, since corks are 'sucked' into
bottles by about 10 mm as the contents cool. Bottles should be capped immediately
after filling, and then laid on their side so that the cap is also pasteurised.
The fill height of the bottles must
be adjusted, so that the correct fill level is achieved after the contents have
cooled to 20 °C; a trial run will be needed to ascertain this.
While in operation parts of the machine become
very hot and would cause skin burns. Protective insulated gloves must be worn,
so that hot bottles can be handled; i.e. removed from the filler to the capper,
and then layed down. The gloves should be thick enough so that no liquid can
penetrate them if a bottle with hot juice were to break. Rubber outer gauntlets
and Kevlar inner gloves are ideal; available from www.toolstation.com
or Screwfix etc.
Suitable shoes must also be worn, not Wellingtons where it would be possible for
hot juice to run down inside. Protective glasses and clothing should also be
worn.
or
KTM THA-100 (also sold by Voran as PA-180E) - high quality stainless steel machines at low prices:-
All models have dry running protection for the heater, which is normally 3-phase 380 volt.
They are 440 mm in diameter and 1580 mm high. Weight is approx 43 kilos.
A very long spiral stainless steel tube runs through a water bath (initially set at 92 °C, but adjustable if required),
juice flowing through the tube gradually (in a few minutes) heats up to the required temperature.
There is an accurate digital thermometer at the filling head. A flow-control valve is used
to regulate the temperature, which is normally 82 °C for cider or apple juice, 85
to 87 °C for grape juice or sweet wines.
The filling speed depends on the temperature of the juice as it enters; the
colder it is the longer it takes to heat it up to 82+ °C.
9 kWatt heater, one filling head, up to about 100 litres per hour, 3180
Euros + 180 Euros delivery
a
special 220/230 volt single-phase model can be produced for 190 Euros extra.
18 kWatt heater, two filling heads, up to about 200 litres per hour, 3890 Euros + 180 Euros delivery
18 kWatt heater, three filling heads, up to about 200 litres per hour, 4150 Euros + 180 Euros delivery
For 695 Euros extra there is an option of a pre-heating unit (stainless steel heat exchanger) that fits inside the juice tank. When supplied with hot water from a suitable source, this can raise the juice temperature to 50 - 60 °C, and hence increase the output by up to 150 litres per hour. The best hot water source for this is a 24 kWatt Propane-gas water heater; these are widely available and relatively cheap, any local plumber can install one, normally on an external wall with a flue through.
Another option is a Bag-in-Box filling attachment, platform, feed-valve, bag holder and digital thermometer, 690 Euros:-
25 mm cleaning balls, which must be run through the juice tube at the end of each session, £8 for 3.
for greater throughput:-
Gebhardt: sturdy stainless steel frame with a heating module, hot water pump (electric control), coaxial tube heat exchangers. Has a juice pump but without bottling facility:-
P-EHA40: 11,900 Euros:-
about 400 litres/hour at 80°C;
up to 500 litres/hour according to the ambient juice temperature (pre-heating
the juice would increase this substantially, as described above).
48 kWatt heating energy; uses heating oil at about 4.5 litres/hour. 2.2 kWatt electrics, 1000mmL x 1000mmW x 1200mmH.
P-EHA66: 15,675 Euros:-
about 600 litres/hour at 80°C; up to 700 litres/hour according to the ambient juice temperature.
66 kWatt heating energy: uses heating oil at about 6.0 litres/hour. 5 kWatt electrics, 1200mmL x 1000mmW x 1400mmH.
P-EHA132: 24,605 Euros:-
about
1200 litres/hour at 80°C; up to 1400 litres/hour according to the ambient juice temperature.
132 kWatt heating energy: uses heating oil at about 12.0 litres/hour. 7.5 kWatt electrics, 2200mmL x 1250mmW x 2200mmH.
Voran:-
PA500 Oil powered, up to 500 litres per hour: 9,875 Euros
PA500: Propane gas powered: 14,850 Euros
up to 500 litres/hour according to the ambient juice temperature. 46 kWatt heating energy;
1.1 kWatt 230V electrics, 1825mmL x 1100mmW x 1900mmH, weighs 500 kilos.
PA750: Propane gas powered: 16,450 Euros
up to 750 litres per hour.
PA1000: Propane gas powered, : 18,900 Euros
up to 1000 litres per hour.
or for a small producer the Voran PA90: 1095 Euros (£995)
This consists of a stainless steel high-pressure pot that has to
be filled with water to the level indicated on the inside of the pot.
The pot is then closed with the leak-proof cover. Mounted on the cover is the
water heater (6 kWatt, 3-phase 400V; 5-pin 16 Amp plug) and inside is the
stainless steel spiral tube that the juice flows through (middle photo above)
while it heats up. The juice should be without sediment; it should
be piped from the clear juice drain of a header
tank positioned higher up so that sufficient flow is achieved by gravity.
Just before stopping bottle-filling the heater should be switched off, in order
to protect the system from overheating. If not switched off then the pressure-valve will open and steam will exhaust.
If the water level is too low, the integrated security system will switch off the heating automatically.
The pasteurising temperature is controlled by altering the flow of the juice. The temperature is shown on a dial-thermometer. Filling temperature suggested: 76 - 80 °C, which is slightly below the ideal. Up to 90 litres per hour (30 seconds per 75 cl bottle) is claimed although this is rather optimistic. A single automatic-filling head could be attached, or the fill level adjusted by sight.
Prices shown are exclusive of Vat.
