Ice

[sumpnz]

So, just planning ahead for meat chicken slaughter day.  Not until mid-June, but OCD needs to be scratched.  I'll need ice for that day.  A lot of ice.  Like 400lbs just to get started.  Probably will go through 600-800lbs that day.  Mostly for an ice water bath to quick chill the carcasses.  We're getting 100 broilers and plan to use a 140gal stock tank for the chilling.  Figure on using 100gal of that capacity, and wanting 50% ice means 50gal ice, times 8lb/gal is 400lbs.  Additional ice to recharge the chill tank throughout the day, and provide some for helpers taking chickens home in a cooler.

My question is if my calculations on the cost of making said ice is correct.  Based on the specific heat of water, heat of fusion, and specific heat of ice I've calculated 414KJ/kg to go from 50F (10C) to 0F (-18C).  That works out to 0.115kWhr/kg.  I'm assuming 10% effeciency between the deep freezer's effeciency and any losses in transferring heat from the water to the refrigerant.  So 1.15kWhr/kg.  At local rates of around $0.11/kWhr that's $0.1265/kg or about 6cents per pound.  

Does that seem reasonably close?  Trying to figure out if it's cheaper to make my own ice or buy it.

[230RN]

....

[Ron]

... ice baby

[Nick1911]

You were good through the calculation that of 0.115kWhr/kg.

You really lost me on the 10% bit.  Refrigeration equipment moves substansially more heat then the amount of input energy.  A coefficent of preformance of roundabouts three isn't uncommon for residential comfort cooling.  I haven't mathed it on a domestic fridge, but I'll poke at it and let you know.

[zxcvbob]

If you could let Mother Nature make the ice and then you just store it somewhere, you could save a *lot* of energy.  Less than a month ago, you could have frozen 500 lbs of water for free very easily here.  It's a little late now; cold enough at night but it warms up in the day.

[charby]

How many chickens are you killing? Also what did the sod house prairie people do?

I've been a part of slaughtering a lot of big animals on different summer days without more than 20 lbs of ice on hand. I'm still alive.

[sumpnz]

How many chickens are you killing? Also what did the sod house prairie people do?

I've been a part of slaughtering a lot of big animals on different summer days without more than 20 lbs of ice on hand. I'm still alive.

100, assuming minimal mortality.  Maybe a few turkeys too, if they're the right size that day.

Sod house prairie people would kill them one at a time and eat it that day because they lacked refrigeration.  They'd also wipe their ass with their fingers.

[charby]

100, assuming minimal mortality.  Maybe a few turkeys too, if they're the right size that day.

Sod house prairie people would kill them one at a time and eat it that day because they lacked refrigeration.  They'd also wipe their ass with their fingers.

How about stage your chicks so you have a fall/winter slaughter, or have eggs all summer with a fall/winter kill?

[Fly320s]

It will be cheaper to make your own ice, but do you have a place to store 400 pounds of ice?  How long will it take you to make 400 pounds of ice?

You’re probably better off just buying it the day before or the day of if you can.

[French G.]

I'd like to see video of the process. Still haven't jumped on meat birds. More fun to spend hundreds on yet more wood to house yet more stinging insects.

[K Frame]

Well, why not go with an inexpensive ice maker? Something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/Vremi-Countertop-Ice-Maker-Stainless/dp/B07H7SGQ52?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_2399939011_0&pf_rd_p=3c9a9c33-1804-563f-9fca-fd3ea8462a81&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=2399939011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=VR1ZC62M1T85H98ZRPQY&pf_rd_r=VR1ZC62M1T85H98ZRPQY&pf_rd_p=3c9a9c33-1804-563f-9fca-fd3ea8462a81


Of course you'd need to bag it and transfer it to a deep freeze to hold it, but in a month you could make more ice than you need.

You might also keep an eye out for a restaurant that's going out of business, or see if there's a second-hand restaurant goods store near by and get a larger dedicated ice machine. You'd have to have some place to store it, of course, but I'd think you could get one for a couple hundred dollars that would make more ice than you'd ever need.

Hey, this one is less than $400 and will make 100 pounds of ice a day...

https://www.amazon.com/Yescom-Commercial-Countertop-Freestanding-Restaurant/dp/B07M5NZVD3?ref_=Oct_NReleaseC_2399939011_3&pf_rd_r=VR1ZC62M1T85H98ZRPQY&pf_rd_p=3c9a9c33-1804-563f-9fca-fd3ea8462a81&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=2399939011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[dogmush]

100, assuming minimal mortality.  Maybe a few turkeys too, if they're the right size that day.

I'm not really into this side of animal husbandry, but shouldn't you assume pretty high mortality while slaughtering chickens?

[K Frame]

I'm not really into this side of animal husbandry, but shouldn't you assume pretty high mortality while slaughtering chickens?

The chickens dying a natural death is one thing.

What Sumpnz is talking about is murder, pure and simple.

CHICKEN LIVES MATTER!

[MechAg94]

I'm not really into this side of animal husbandry, but shouldn't you assume pretty high mortality while slaughtering chickens?

Yeah, 'cause unlike some people, chickens generally don't survive long without a brain attached.

[Nick1911]

Few things I've read put the COP at around 3.  https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/be3f/41fb31ba3fa4ad397a4ea0ca1f20c4fe11a8.pdf

 0.115kWhr/kg * [1/3] * [ 0.11 $/kWhr] * [kg/ 2.2 lb] = 0.00972 $/lb

Less then a cent per pound.

This seems low, so I figured I'd look at how well commercial ice machines do.  The specs for a Hoshizaki KM-230BAJ state it consumes 7.78 kWh per 100 lbs.  Thats 0.0778 KWh/lb.  Times our stated electric rate of $0.11 per KWhr = 0.008558 $/lb.  Less then one cent per pound.

I agree with the other posters in saying that the logistics of making and holding that much ice might be a bit challanging.

[sumpnz]

I have 2 fridge/freezers and 2 deep freezers (one upright, one chest).  As long as they're somewhat empty I could make a lot of ice.  Goal would be to have all but the chest freezer empty (since that is the slowest at freezing from experience) and use the rest to make ice.  Then I'd have plenty of space for the chicken after it's all over.

[Brad Johnson]

Do you have a local ice supplier? Bulk ice can be pretty cheap.

Brad

[charby]

I checked the locker where I got my last pig processed. They would kill, pluck, process, package, & freeze chickens for $2.50 each if you brought at least 50 chickens to them. I'd be going that route if I had that many birds to butcher.

[JonnyB]

Mrs. B. and I just chilled our chickens in cold well water. No ice needed.

JB

[p12]

Could you gat an old deep freeze and remove the guts and make a drop in cooling coils?

Would be easier to store.

Don’t know. Just popped into my head.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sumpnz]

I checked the locker where I got my last pig processed. They would kill, pluck, process, package, & freeze chickens for $2.50 each if you brought at least 50 chickens to them. I'd be going that route if I had that many birds to butcher.

Nope.  If I wanted to do that I'd just do that.  I prefer to do it myself, even at that price.

[sumpnz]

Could you gat an old deep freeze and remove the guts and make a drop in cooling coils?

Would be easier to store.

Don’t know. Just popped into my head.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is a good idea.  Might see about building that for next year.

[charby]

Nope.  If I wanted to do that I'd just do that.  I prefer to do it myself, even at that price.

I just look at the cost of the butchering/packing tools for dealing with 100 chickens in a decent amount of time. Hell a decent feather plucker that will last year to year is close to $2k. Then you need a big enough scalding pot (for multiple carcasses  at a time) and burner,  a commercial vacuum sealer is over a $1K,  then all the sanitary prep surfaces for that many carcasses, and finally you need to dispose of all the feathers and unwanted parts.

Need commercial grade equipment so it doesn't crap the bed during the middle of butchering. I've had too many consumer grade vacuum sealers and a couple cheap mest grinders give up the ghost while just butchering one deer.

[sumpnz]

I can rent the processing equipment for $27.12 ($25+tax) for 48 hours.  That a big scalder, plucker, and kill cones.  I could rent a chamber vacuum packer too but done.  Heat shrink bags for 35 cents each work great.

Offal we don't save to eat will go to the dog (just put a deposit on a puppy).  Feathers go on compost.  Blood gets diluted and use to water veggies.