The "Simple Pulse" is a pretty cool concept, the brainchild of a husband and wife who have a goat farm on the West Coast. It consists of a vacuum pump to create suction, together with a vacuum chamber and a pulsator. One hose is connected from the vacuum chamber to the milk jar to create suction and draw the milk in. Another hose is connected from the pulsator to the two teat "inflations" in order to draw the milk from the goat's udder into another hose leading back to the jar.
In theory, milking is as simple as cleaning the goat's teats, turning on the suction pump, attaching the inflations to the teats, and watching the milk flow into the jar. And indeed, as soon as I figured out how to put everything together, it worked exactly as promised. After three milkings, the goats seem to have accepted the contraption. We are getting about the same about of milk as we were by hand-milking, maybe even a little more.
So, my first thoughts are kudos to the couple who contrived to put together this milking system. It's a nifty contraption that works as promised. My understanding is that it's as good or better than most everything "hobby-farm sized" on the market, and certainly better than more cheaply priced options. That said, there are a few "cons" that I thought I'd put out there for anybody who is considering making a similar purchase:
- The milker increases in value the more goats that you milk. Although I'll probably save some time once I get more used to it, at present it actually takes me a little longer to use the milker than it would to milk by hand. This is with milking two full-sized goats and one Nigerian. In essence, the hold-up is cleaning the lines after milking is finished. This involves, at a minimum, running some soapy water and then some plain water through the lines and hanging them up to dry. It doesn't sound like much, but it is time consuming, especially without a milk house. I'm actually thinking of storing the milker until we have more goats "in milk," as I'm not confident that its benefits outweigh the inconvenience of daily cleaning and storage.
- There is also an inconvenience for anybody who milks both full-sized and dwarf-sized goats. Since we have two full-sized goats in milk, I elected to purchase inflations for larger teats. Our one Nigerian who is "in milk," however, is a first-freshener with very small teats. Although I can attach the inflations, they won't draw out all the milk. This means that I have to finish milking her by hand. And unless I wanted to bring out the filter system that we use for hand-milking, the best I can do is give the rest of the Nigerian's milk to the cats. "Simple Pulse" also sells Nigerian-sized inflations, but I imagine that it would be inconvenient at best to switch inflation sizes mid-milking.
- Finally, I'm still a little intimidated by the vacuum pump due to the oil mist that it emits as it runs. Already, the oil level has gone down somewhat, and I've had to order more oil. At $11 per quart, it might not be a huge amount of money, but add the electricity to that, and consider that milking by hand simply involves burning some calories while developing stronger hand muscles, and then it all starts to add up.
In no way is this a negative review. The "Simple Pulse" is a nifty little machine, and even if I end up packing it away for another day when we have more goats "in milk," I'm impressed by what I've observed so far.
You have some handsome young farmhands!
ReplyDeleteI just got my Simple Pulse and only started using it a week ago. I find it worth every penny. I raise miniature nubians and sheep. I hand milked for 13 years and I wish I'd had this much sooner. My hands are crippled. But...I love milking and making goodies with all that great milk. This machine allows me to continue :)
ReplyDeleteIt is junk. The vacuum pump blows oil in the air. The filters they give you to stop it is only green scrubby that you wash dishes with. The parts to build one can be acquired for less then $150 dollars. If you're not in a controlled environment you can not get the pressure right, because the use a ball and spring to regulate it. There is really no way to clean the pressure tank correctly as a result, it smells like s#!t when in use.
ReplyDeleteSave your money.....
Do you have the oil less attachment ?I Just have the jar with 1 hose going from the pump to the canning jar then the hose that goes outside if done correctly with out a kink in any hoses the jar should fill with the oil mist and when needed you can pour it back into the pump. Yes it does get faster and easier the more you work with it, you will get your own groove. I bought double hoses and double inflections so when 1 is in the wash the other is ready to go also the Inline Filer is a time saver must. After your done milking suck up some warm to hot soapy water into the jar and then empty ir then move on to the warm bleach water. I then take the I no line filter apart an swish it in the bleach water swish the stainless steel filter in the bleach water,just incase any hair or anything eles gets in the (I haven't had the anything else) put it together and done for 2 goats It takes me a half hour including getting each goats rinsing lines again begorr starting, to taking them back to the pen then cleaning up running hot soapy water into the lines the dooing the same with bleach. Then using black water to clean the milking stand. 1 time a week it does get the deluxe cleaning. It is a gem. I also bought a longer hose. I love. If you have 2 different butter sizes get a set of each they are easy enough to switch out. Have fun with it. It is genital on the utters.that is the way I roll with thr Simple Pulse. Oh I use All glass jars I feel better seeing my milk than having it on a stainless bucket, that id just me. Have fun when you get it
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful milking system, expensive but worth it. The negative comments about the oily exhaust from the pump are just silly. The mist is sent into a waste bottle that collects most of the oil. In our case, the exhaust line from the pump runs through a small hole I cut in the wall of our milking room into the bottle located on a ledge outdoors. We have ZERO problem with this and neither should you, assuming you create the simple setup necessary.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of the vacuum pump oil is truly minimal, a few cents a year. We've had to top off the oil level only once in two years of extensive use.
We've never cleaned the pressure tank. We flush our lines with a warm bleach solution and then hot water. Some of the bleach solution ends up in the tank, and is emptied periodically. The bleach kills any germs in the tank. The only time the tank "smells" is when you open it to dump the refluxed water.
I'm looking at several systems and this one keeps getting my attention. Some people call the tank a pressure tank and some call it a vacuum tank. Which is it? I think a tank for the vacuum that is too big would over work the little pump. Thoughts?
ReplyDeletepurchased 2022. Not happy with mine. Six months old and works inconsistently.. Sometimes.pressure,sometimes none...all in the same.milking.
ReplyDelete