Vacuum milking machine

Just out of curiosity: Would anyone know if it is possible to run a vacuum milking machine on pressured air or built up vacuum made with a wind mill or similar? The question came to mind now because many places in my area have lost their electricity because of a storm, and people with cows have trouble milking.

Oystein Skjaeveland wrote:Just out of curiosity: Would anyone know if it is possible to run a vacuum milking machine on pressured air or built up vacuum made with a wind mill or similar? The question came to mind now because many places in my area have lost their electricity because of a storm, and people with cows have trouble milking.

Oystein Skjaeveland : I expect that some where there is one or more reports filed on using air pressure to run a milking machine, but I have never heard
of such a thing ! Determining how to do a Google search on that topic would be a task in itself.

The problem hear is in the storage of the vacuum in a sturdy enough container, the piping is not the problem it is the tank, with out a tank to 'store' a vacuum
you would be dependent on a stable power source.

Searching for 'Vacuum Tank failures pictures' mostly seems to deliver pictures of regular and even pressure tanks that failed catastrophically when a vacuum
was accidentally produced inside the tank !

Link to picture below :

http://www.mankenberg.de/de/164/UPLOAD/cmsimages/vauumschaden.jpg

I am sure that the guy who picks up the bulk milk in your area can tell you about failures he has heard of, it can happen with home heating fuel (liquid)
delivery and even fire trucks !

For the good off the Craft ! Big AL

It is easier to store compressed air than a vacuum. Many tanks are designed to hold many multiples of atmospheric pressure (think compressed air tanks for diving that can hold 200 bar), where as the same tank can only store 1 bar worth of vacuum.

I know nothing about milking machines but think you would have better luck using compressed air to drive some kind of partial vacuum pump, or perhaps even just using a venturi effect with compressed air.

You can use a venturi to create vacuum from compressed air, but it takes a LOT of air to do it. Off grid electricity is much more practical and multipurpose. All the dairies too big to milk by hand of you have to used to have generators for these kinds of emergencies.

actually it's possible to use the venturi http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/lsb-forum/showthread.php?p=507069

she states she has been using it and I'm about to set my system up too

back in the day we made a valve unit that would thread into a spark plug hole on the allis chalmers W D and start it up [hand crank] and run a hose to one of the petcocks in the barn to make vacuum to run 2 surge milkers [40 head twice a day] normally we would run 4 and the step saver but it beats doing it by hand

I would think you could make something up for a current style tractor,lawn mower,or some type of equipment

Mike

pto of windmill direct to the vacuum pump? Would think you might want large vacuum storage so you can build vacuum all day long and bleed it off for milking. a long piece of old take out well casing with the ends welded shut might work and be easy enough to find cheap.