# which milker should I buy?



## flatmountain (Aug 14, 2010)

Opinions for a novice milker,

Dansha farms milker which is the most cost effective, one teat cup and looks a tad harder to clean?? 

or 

go for the Henry milker with 2 teat cups, valve stops and looks easier to sterilize???


----------



## Barnes19 (Sep 8, 2013)

How many goats are you going to be milking with it?

Obviously 2 teat cups is quicker for large numbers, and if its easier to sterilize thats quicker too, cleaning time can be a big downside of a milking machine for small numbers.

But to be honest dansha farms doesn't look much different for cleaning than the henry to me. In fact I'd say the double teat model would be more cleaning.

I'd also comment that the hand pump on the dansha looks to be better quality to me than that plastic thing the henry uses.

There is another thing: these type of 'milking machines' are VERY basic, made out of common household stuff most of the time.

Take a good look at the picture before you buy one. They're perfectly possible to make yourself ... just get the separate pieces and put them all together. You don't have to be a handy man to do it.

Take a good look at the "Teat Cups" ... do they look suspiciously like common syringe cases with the plunger removed to anyone else??? You can actually see the measures on the syringe still!

The parts list:
1 or 2 Syringe cases ... choose your size and be sure to get ones with nice rounded lip at the top.
I'd like to see a silicon insert around that top edge to be honest, its not very comfortable looking! But neither of these machines uses one, so you can easily supply the same as they do.

Some lengths of clear tubing.

Mason Jar and lid ... drill and insert 2 little plug-on nibs of some sort ... with seals. Not hard.

Hand vacuum pump. Can be bought from auto stores, I beleive they're the ones used for brake lines or some such thing but check that out ... much cheaper than either of these milkers.

Vacuum gauge ... buy as well.

The valve/s as well.

Hook it all together ... just take a look at how these two are set up its pretty simple.
Particularly take a look at how the 2-cup henry milker is set up. Single pump: divided to 2 mason jars by a T join: continue to teat as normal.

I am going to make my own ... but I'm wanting to incorporate a pulse unit, so I'm in the process of designing one that I can make from scratch.

I'll be making my own vacuum too ... possibly even using an electric air compressor backwards to vacuum a steel air tank, and use that stored vacuum ... just have to regulate it.

Take a look at this page: http://www.diymilkingmachine.com/
I don't suggest you buy that booklet, its really not necessary, don't get caught in that hype its just an infomercial. But it shows you what is actually in these things.

Whethe you buy one of these or build your own, do be careful on 2 things: 
a), remember to stop and releive the pressure often. Its not good for the teats, and its uncomfortable for the goat, to keep them going constantly. If you see them turning purple its past time to give it a rest! Thats why I'm designing a pulser for mine.

b) Check to be sure that all the milk is out when you've finished. A lot of people say that the vacuum on these units is not sufficient to get the last little bit, and they hand milk the last half cup or so ... if you keep missing that she'll dry back all the time.


----------



## flatmountain (Aug 14, 2010)

I definitely agree about the hand pump.


----------



## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

We have the Henry milker and I just bought a dansha. The Henry takes a lot of pumping to keep it up where it can be used. The Dansha is so much easier and actually holds a charge pretty well. We only use the 1 teat because if you empty out one side faster than the other, you have to break suction and then restart the suction and it's just easier to do one at a time. Yes, the teat cups for both are syringes. The Dansha was cheaper thru Amazon than the henry milker was. We don't really use the pressure gauge....just keep the suction where it needs to be for milk to flow. We use coconut oil to lube the teat so that we get a seal for the suction to work. And, the udder needs to be fairly hair free or you won't get a seal.


----------



## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

I made my own that looks a lot like the Dansha. It cost less, was super easy to build and is customizable, like I use 2 different size teat cups for my big goat vs my ND. The all-metal hand pump is wayyy better quality than the plastic ones you see on a Henry milker. It is called an "actron vacuum pump" and costs about $40. I have accidentally sucked milk up into that thing more times than I can count and I just let it dry, oil it up and it's good as new. It's awesome!


----------

