DIY Hay steamer

[spacefaer]

I'm hoping the hive mind will be able to help with advice on a DIY hay steamer build

specifically, those who have done this already, which steamer have you used?

From my research, it has to reach a temp of 100°+ to kill the bad things and I'm assuming that most run of the mill wallpaper steamer types won't be up to the job

 

[Tiddlypom]

It's not just the power of steamer that's the problem with diy hay steamers, it's the design of the container that holds the hay and how the steam is distributed within that.

The reason that haygain steamers work so efficiently is:
1. double walled insulated container
2. the 5 manifold spikes in the base of the container (each about 10cm tall) which penetrate the hay and allow the steam to permeate throughout the hay, not just localised in hot spots.

If you can replicate those points in a diy steamer, that will be grand. As far as I can recall, no one on HHO who has made a diy steamer (and quite a few have done so) has been able to do so.

I bit the bullet about 4 years ago and bought a haygain one (the smallest one). It's been grand.

 

[Cortez]

I made a wallpaper steamer hay steamer, it works very well. I have two steamers, one at each end of a plastic water reservoir tank, with the hay on a rack so the steam pipes run underneath and the steam rises up through. Stopped any coughing right away.

 

[Lintel]

Following with interest.... did folks not used to use a kettle of boiling water and a 80l bin? I recall reading of this somewhere at something and always wondered if it worked but never had to try it but this year shall be the year!

 

[Reacher]

Sorry, doesn’t answer your question but... There are cheaper hay steamers (eg around £300 mark) that have tested the temperature inside the bale and have some internet videos demonstrating this. I have toyed with getting one.

What has put me off any steamer (even haygain) - and I admit to over thinking things! - is how much chemicals get leached from the plastic by the steam - and end up in the hay?

There is one “haygain alternative “ that claims that their kit is the only hay steamer that uses food grade plastic. But when I asked for more detail, they completely refused to substantiate the claim , wouldn’t tell me what class of plastic theirs was made from , unless I bought one first!

Plus I’m not keen to add to my electric bills in the current climate...

 

[spacefaer]

@Lintel yes - a friend of mine used to use a big blue varrel cut horizontally with three kettles of boiling water poured over. Smelt fantastic and worked for her mare but she was only steaming three slices of small bales hay. I want to steam a much larger volume of hay so my kettle would be on fire!

@Cortez thank you - that's brilliant. All I want to do is drop the dust particle level down - the hay itself is lovely but one lad is super sensitive.

@Tiddlypom Sadly not a hope in Hades I'd get a haygain - they are unjustifiably expensive. I'm sure they work fantastically but they are also a triumph of marketing!

 

[spacefaer]

@Rowreach I wouldn't be considering one if it wasn't for the dust cough. If he gets 5 mins of his neighbour's unsoaked hay, he coughs. I'm dreading the winter when he'll be in a lot more.
It's a question of dealing with icy soaked hay (and the increase in water bill) vs the increase in the electricity
I haven't had to soak hay for years and I've never steamed it before

 

[Lintel]

Ah got you! I have seen haysteamer "kits" on ebay about the 100£ mark might be worth a look into?

 

[Tiddlypom]

I won't deny that Haygain has an effective marketing campaign, but it's backed up by their research. Their products do work. I'd be the first to say 'don't bother, I was had' if I had been less than totally impressed with my Haygain .

This is well worth reading, particularly experiment 11.

Methodology: Ten bales of hay were subjected to five different treatments; dry, soaked for 10 minutes in fresh tap water, steamed for 50 minutes in the HG 600 (Haygain) steamer, steamed for 50 minutes in a home steamer and steamed for 50 minutes by pouring a kettle of hot water over hay in a bag.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1144/4268/files/All_Research_papers.pdf?13150131510427622394

Do check what temperature is reached in the centre of the hay during steaming with a diy steamer with a suitable probe.

 

[spacefaer]

@Tiddlypom I'm not doubting that Haygain does what it says on the tin. But I'm not prepared to spend that amount of money on one

 

[Tiddlypom]

I hear you loud and clear, spacefaer . I am not in Haygain's pockets.

The link is to show you what info you ought to know when making a diy steamer. If you (or anyone else) can make one that can genuinely heat the centre of the steamed hay to the correct temperatures, please share how.

 

[Cortez]

I hear you loud and clear, spacefaer . I am not in Haygain's pockets.

The link is to show you what info you ought to know when making a diy steamer. If you (or anyone else) can make one that can genuinely heat the centre of the steamed hay to the correct temperatures, please share how.

See my post above. Didn't put a thermometer on it, but the dust sensitive horse stopped coughing immediately.

 

[PurBee]

I used a large food grade plastic barrel and a DIY-grade wallpaper steamer.
The head of the steamer was at the bottom - then i had a rack sitting above it so the haybags werent sitting directly on the head. half hour of steaming 3x 3kg bags of hay. Lid on the barrel.

When i used dry hay in bags and packed the barrel dense , i found the steam went around the outside Of the bags, so the inside hay remained dry and cool.
I took to dunking haybags in water, draining, then steaming. The whole lot was too hot to touch and hot all the way through - smelt great.

If you were to steam dense flakes with a diy steamer, you might find the steam wont penetrate fully into the flakes.

It takes some experimenting what works best for your hay. I just found opening flakes up, stuffing them randomly in bags and then steaming them worked best - even better if i damped-down the hay before steaming.

I burnt out the element in the steamer as the auto shut-off switch failed after the water was all used up. Bought another and the same happened. So best to have a plug timer on one if you do go down that route as manufacturing china quality just isnt what it used to be!

 

[spacefaer]

I will keep you posted as it's my autumn project for my OH!

 

[Reacher]

PS -not answering the OP sorry , but an interesting dr Kellon article about soaking versus steaming in case it is if interest to anyone

https://equisearch.com/articles/hay-steamers/

 

[littleshetland]

I used an old upright larder type freezer, drilled a hole in the top, used a wallpaper stripper and fed the steam outlet into the hole.
I'd put flaps of hay on the wire shelves and steam away. Old fridges and freezers work well as they are well sealed around the door. My horses did very well for years using this.

 

[Reacher]

I used an old upright larder type freezer, drilled a hole in the top, used a wallpaper stripper and fed the steam outlet into the hole.
I'd put flaps of hay on the wire shelves and steam away. Old fridges and freezers work well as they are well sealed around the door. My horses did very well for years using this.

That’s a clever idea!