My good friend gave me an old pasteurizer! It was one that was buried under stuff at her house. She had gotten a newer one and didn't need this one anymore.
Here's a photo of my 'new' old pasteurizer. I looked it up on the internet and the new ones cost quite a bit of cash, so I'm very happy with this one.
I took it to the local repair shop and they put a new electrical cord on it because the other one had been kinda chewed up by the mice! I spent $35, which I found out later was a bit silly because our son-in-law knows how to replace cords. Apparently he has replaced many cords since he works construction and construction workers regularly cut through their electrical cords. It's a good thing he's going to school to be a nurse, it sounds like construction workers can really cause themselves some damage!
Notice the twist tie on the side? That's because I couldn't get the lid-holder to stay. I tied it to the side and don't have any trouble getting the lid to seal now.
The white stuff around the side on the drain tube is mending putty. I couldn't figure out why the water level was lower when I finished pasteurizing than when I started. It was because there was a slow leak around the edge. I love mending putty!
I always do things that could make a mess in the sink. When I'm using the pasteurizer it sits on a pot in the sink just in case there is a leak. It makes it much easier when I am draining the water level before I take the milk out, too. There have been quite a few times that I have been grateful that I've made using the sink a habit.
It is really easy to tell when the milk is pasteurized. There is a loud buzzer that we can hear throughout the house and the yard (if the windows are open)! It usually takes about 40 minutes to pasteurize 2 gallons of cold goat milk. It takes less time if the milk is still warm from milking.
I love having a pasteurizer because I can do something else while the machine does the work! Like blog! Oh, there goes the buzzer. Time to cool the milk and make some farmstead cheddar!
