Questions About Milkers

Moonlite37 · Dec 12, 2019

How many pulses per minute? Can the number of pulses be changed or adjusted? Do all four pulse at the same time? I have visited dairy farms and watched but did not watch closely

farmerjohn · Dec 12, 2019

It?s been a while, but if I remember right we had a couple different Deleval setups, one had side to side alternating, one had all at once, probably about 60 cycles a minute.

Bruce from Can. · Dec 12, 2019

My Bomatic milkers start out at 100 pulse per minute for the first 30 seconds then drop to 60. And all 4 pulse at the same time. The quick pulse is supposed stimulate milk let down. My older De Laval units just ran steady one pulse per second.

centash · Dec 12, 2019

When we first had those, I thought the cows would be startled by the rapid pulse, but they easily accepted it. If you watch a calf suckle, you can see that the milkers pulse.....rapid then slowing once the milk flows....is much like the calf's

Ben

rdandersom · Dec 12, 2019

Some have a different rate of pulsation for front and rear. I believe the Surge 60/40 pulsators pulse faster on the rear than on the front. I once milked in a parlour that had a high and low speed pulsator that was controlled by a milk flow sensor. The pulsators would go into slow speed when the milk flow tapered off. If you pressed down a little on the milker unit they sped up again as the milk flow increased then slowed again after about 20 or 30 seconds and the cows were milked out. The only adjustable pulsator I've seen is the old Surge vacuum pulsator.

Moonlite37 · Dec 12, 2019

Thanks to all who replied. These long nights I get to thinking too much

db4600 · Dec 12, 2019

As RD said I recall the old Surge being adjustable. I remember cleaning and replacing O-rings. I don?t recall the pulses per minute. I do remember the #12 Massey baler running 18-20 plunger strokes between knotter cycles.

Bruce from Can. · Dec 12, 2019

And on a cold morning the pneumatic Surge pulsater would barley move. So you would turn up the screw on the front, next thing you knew, they milkers were going like to beat the band after some warm milk had the milker warmed up. And you would have to run and get them slowed down before the cows kicked the milkers off. Oh the good ol day?s, as we like to think back on them

jon f mn · Dec 12, 2019

We had DeLaval milkers and they would alternate front/rear while milking. Don't know how many per minute tho. This buckets were big and heavy. We had 4 that were 5 gal and two that were 7 gal. We would use the larger buckets for the good milking cows and even then sometimes it would not all fit. We had what was called a step saver which was a small tank with a hose you rolled out in the barn so we wouldn't have to carry the buckets all the way to the milk house. Vacuum would suck the milk into a glass bottle that would dump it into the tank. Lifting those heavy buckets is likely why I hurt so much today.

Donald Lehman · Dec 12, 2019

Over the years about every pulsation configuration imaginable has been tried. For a while the trend was to provide 60% of the pulsation the the hind quarters and 40% to the front quarters, the theory being that the average cow produced 60% of their milk in the hind quarters. You can imagine how well that worked on cows who gave more milk in the front quarters.

BarnyardEngineering · Dec 12, 2019

We had electric pulsators on the Surge bucket milkers. All three milkers ran in perfect unison as I recall, as the pulsator driver was mounted on the beam in the middle of the barn.

Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second.

coshoo · Dec 12, 2019

Have some memories of sitting on a stool in the corner of the milking parlor thawing out the pulsators with a propane torch in really cold weather. And hooking up the hose from the 8N manifold to the system to get vacuum when the power was out. Didn't do much actual milking because the cows went down the road when I was 11. I did do the morning that last summer- our cattle hauler could haul 5 cows, and each week I picked out the next 5 to go. And one day, the last of them went, I washed up everything, and that, as the say, was that.

Bob · Dec 12, 2019

(quoted from post at 09:40:02 12/12/19) We had electric pulsators on the Surge bucket milkers. All three milkers ran in perfect unison as I recall, as the pulsator driver was mounted on the beam in the middle of the barn.

Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second.

"Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second."

That would be HUMMMMMING right along!

:shock:

BarnyardEngineering · Dec 12, 2019

(quoted from post at 07:54:58 12/12/19)

(quoted from post at 09:40:02 12/12/19) We had electric pulsators on the Surge bucket milkers. All three milkers ran in perfect unison as I recall, as the pulsator driver was mounted on the beam in the middle of the barn.

Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second.

Click to expand...

"Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second."

That would be HUMMMMMING right along!

:shock:

I mistyped. No reasonable person would think I did otherwise.

60 pulses per MINUTE... Okay?

Tom OConnor · Dec 12, 2019

We had three International Harvester milkers and they were non -adjustable 60 cycle pulsators. Always had a couple extra units on the shelf for back-up service when needed

Leroy · Dec 12, 2019

Never counted but they alternated 2 at a time and that could be front to back or side to side depending on the purson using them. Started with one Sears unit in 1946 and later added a Wards unit. Had to quit using that Sears unit when they would no longer allow a tin plated milker or strainer. The last we had were sold bu Farm Breauro but cannot remember model. Always had can milk. Quit milking as it happened the day when Regan was elected president but that happened the day a buyer was able to get a loan thru for herd after hauler had to quit because of health problems.

Fordfarmer · Dec 12, 2019

I have a Surge Autoflow parlor with Surge milkers. IIRC, it's about 60 pulses per minute like others have said, with a 60/40 split. (Front to rear, not side to side on mine) The pulsation is electronically controlled, and is adjustable, tho I'd have to dig out the manual to figure out how. Or more likely, call the service guy.
Before the parlor, we had Surge buckets with the pneumatic pulsators, and a step saver. Don't miss them!

JimB2 · Dec 12, 2019

Bruce, I remember the vacuum operated Surge and DeLaval pulsators doing that in the cold, later went to the Surge electronic controlled pulsators that you could adjust the pulse per second for front and hind quarter. If I remember correctly as another Poster said they were set at 40 Front and 60 back pulses per second. They were good but even though my brother was very careful to turn off the main breaker to the Surge electronic control box a severe electrical storm blew out the control board. He was lucky that he kept the old Surge vacuum operated pulsators so he could do the milking.

JMOR · Dec 12, 2019

(quoted from post at 10:58:00 12/12/19)

(quoted from post at 07:54:58 12/12/19)

(quoted from post at 09:40:02 12/12/19) We had electric pulsators on the Surge bucket milkers. All three milkers ran in perfect unison as I recall, as the pulsator driver was mounted on the beam in the middle of the barn.

Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second.

Click to expand...

"Pretty sure it was a fixed 60 pulses per second."

That would be HUMMMMMING right along!

:shock:

Click to expand...

I mistyped. No reasonable person would think I did otherwise.

60 pulses per MINUTE... Okay?

erhaps a mental lapse or brain-fart, but no keyboard "typo" gets from minutes to seconds. Smile, enjoy life.

caterpillar guy · Dec 12, 2019

We had the old vacuum pulsators then when we put the parlor in they became Electric with a motor and cam deal in a box. If the motor went out we had somebody stand there and turn the cam to make them work.

db4600 · Dec 12, 2019

We milked in a 4 stall individual entry parlor. It worked well for the time. Yes, vacuum actuated pulsators. The big 5 inch glass claw hung off a swing in arm on a spring carried adjustable tree.
I made the mistake of showing my brother I could hook up the milkers in our pre-milking chores. I was mine for the next 12 years.
We also had 1 old stainless bucket for fresh cows and dad had a vacuum line plumbed to the nurse pen at the stanchion area of the barn for those instances. I never did have to milker off the tractor manifold vacuum.

mijohn · Dec 12, 2019

db4600 back in 1974 had a chance to buy a 240 acre dairy farm. It was set up to milk in stanchions' some where around 12 to 20. Milking in sets. Had a chance to buy a system like you had. Always wondered how many cows you could milk in a set time. I thought it might have been a good system because each cow milked in her own set time and you wouldn't hold up the rest milking string like in a herringbone setup. just always wondered. Thanks, john

r.w.b. · Dec 13, 2019

That 60-40 is time collasped inflation time uncollasped inflation some are 50 50 and some are 60 40. We had hynman bucket milkersand they were 60 40 dad set em to 45 pulses a minute

Brown Swiss · Dec 13, 2019

Ahh them things, then they be chugging along and then slow down and quit so would grab the oil pick up the little cover drop some oil on for the leathers and some times that didn't work so you would have to use your finger to manually keep it going till bossy was done! Yes the good ol days! Lol

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