Allen Dong demonstrating tools for seed processing and saving
A Roto-Hoe shredder set up for threshing seed.
Demonstrating how the Roto-Hoe conversion works for threshing beans. He added the screen at the bottom, ganged the hammers together, removes all but one of the concave plates at the bottom, and leaves the clean out door loose to let the threshed pods out.
Beans are threshed in batches and the door is quickly opened to let the threshed pods out before they are pulverized, making cleaning the seed easier.
Explaining how he built his hand crank fan winnower from old HVAC parts
The cage fan was replaced with wooden paddles driven by a bicycle crank that is hand operated.
Threshed seed is fed into the slot while the blower is powered by the bike crank. Heavy seed falls below while light chaff is blown out the top.
The chain drive which is geared up and has a freewheel allows the fan to be spun faster, safely.
An electric version of the fan winnower with a bit more power than the hand crank version. This one has enough power to separate split beans from whole.
Allen's small seed winnower made from a small blower and ABS pipe. There's a thin metal insert that adjusts the amount of air flow. By placing the air restriction at the outlet of the blower instead of the intake less power is used.
A detail shot of the electric blower winnower showing the thin piece of sheet metal at the outlet of the blower that can be slid in or out to adjust the air flow. Adjusting the airflow at the outlet is more energy efficient than adjusting it at the intake.
A simple shaking screen for seed cleaning. The screen is mounted with trampoline springs to make it easier for the operator to shake the screen by hand. Seed falls through, pods shake off the bottom of the screen.
Demonstrating how to modify a bicycle pump to act as a vacuum pump.
Allen showing how to vacuum pack seeds in a glass quart jar using a modified bicycle pump and an old can to create a vacuum chamber. Vacuum packing seeds reduces air, which suffocates insects and reduces moisture and seed respiration extending storage life significantly.
