# I need cream!!



## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

I really want to get cream from my goats. I know all the reasons why this is so hard, and yet, I know people do it. 

I bought one of those plava 2 hand cranking cream separators and I just can't get it to work. I let the milk down and it just shoots milk all over the place. I've tried the fridge method and it's just too inefficient. 

Has anyone used an electric cream separator? If you are making goat butter on a regular basis I really want to hear from you!!


----------



## kc8lsk (Jan 10, 2014)

You do have to make sure the cream seperator is put together right and it is all tight then you spin it up and then release the milk I use a hand crank one and you also have to make sure the metal seperator disks are real tight.


----------



## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

I have a manual separator too. I haven't been able to use it yet. We had it screwed on to a wood board which was C-clamped on to a table but it was too wobbly - I'd get up to the right RPM then all of a sudden the tiniest little wiggle would send it all out of whack and I couldn't get it back up to speed. SO frustrating! Seems like we are going to basically have to put it in a cement block in order for it to work! Wish I had gotten an electric -__-


----------



## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

My manual one works great. Watch the videos to make sure it is set up correctly and your milk is around 100 degrees.


----------



## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I have an electric one, from the late 1940's, floor model. Works awesome. I've never tried a hand crank one.


----------



## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

I swear guys, I've done everything right with this hand crank unit. I know that thing inside and out. Ii have it bolted to a big piece of wood and crank it outside on my truck tail gate. I

use store milk because I'm not wasting my precious goat milk on that thing until I am sure it's working. But milk gets into everything. I even think I saw some leaking into the base where the oil goes. Maybe mine is just a pos.


----------



## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

I don't think store bought milk will work. You won't ruin your goat milk, even if you can't get it to seperate. Mine will leak if I don't get it all snapped together tight, other than that not too bad.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

a friend sits her fresh goats milk in the frige for 24 hours then carelfully scoops cream off the top,...she keeps it in a jar until she has enough to make butter..: ) its slow but effective


----------



## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

If you are using homogenized milk it will not separate. I would try with your own milk and see what happens. How much milk are you using? We just separated last weekend. Out of 3 gallons of milk we got just a little over a quart of cream so it takes a lot of milk. Then, you will get about a pound of butter. I actually took pictures cuz I wanted to post a little pictorial thread.


----------



## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

Baphomet said:


> I swear guys, I've done everything right with this hand crank unit. I know that thing inside and out. Ii have it bolted to a big piece of wood and crank it outside on my truck tail gate. I
> 
> use store milk because I'm not wasting my precious goat milk on that thing until I am sure it's working. But milk gets into everything. I even think I saw some leaking into the base where the oil goes. Maybe mine is just a pos.


I think we are having the same issue with the hand crank machine. Do you have the one from Ukraine? Mine was set up the same way, bolted to wood and then clamped to something else. I don think a tail gate is sturdy enough. It needs to be bolted into something that absolutely will not move or wiggle even the tiniest bit, or else it will throw off the balance and if that happens you are screwed. We are gonna bolt ours to a super heavy workbench or concrete slab or something and hope that works.


----------



## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

That's a good point about the homogenized milk, but then, as goat milk is naturally homogenized, why would it be any different ?

Yes it will ruin the milk because it mixes with OIL in the crank case. See what I mean? This is not good. 

I am probably going to throw it away and get something else (jersey cow!) so if someone wants it for parts let me know. 




Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I have a friend who has a friend that says you can freeze milk, thaw it out, and the cream will be separated... neither of us has tried it though.


----------



## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

Okay, I am not a scientist so my views are anecdotal. But when they homogenize cows milk they beat it into submission because people about a hundred years ago did not like having to shake their milk. The molecular structure is changed.
Goat's milk is not really naturally homogenized. The molecules just do not separate as quickly. But they do separate.
If you want the facts I think you can find them at realmilk.com


----------



## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

your milk should not be mixing with oil! Something is not set up right on your seperator. Can you post a picture of it? Mine works great and it was a cheapy from the UK.


----------



## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

Okay, with all this talk about cream separators; I just have to post a pic of my 1934 Sears manual. She's a beauty and works great. It took us a year of searching to find it.


----------



## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

That's a nice looking separator.

Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to give my separator another try. 

But my current (first ever) milker is due to be dried off in 6 days. SHe's not producing much right now, so I'm going to squeeze one more block of cheese out of her and give her a break. 

The next group of gals have some different genetics and should give me much more milk than I get with this one, so I won't be so worried if I waste a little learning how to use the thing.

I'll keep y'all posted.


----------

