Deposit on crusher rollers

[orto]

I picked up a crusher destemmer off of craigslist. The aluminum rollers have some kind of a deposit or build up on them. It looks like mineral salts or something like that. What is it, and what removes it? Thanks Dave

 

[ibglowin]

Could you post a pic. That would help ID it perhaps.

 

[orto]

Ok, Its at work, so I'll post it in the morning.

 

[orto]

ok here are some pics. The one pic makes it look almost brown, it isn't, in person it's beige.
Thanks

 

[ibglowin]

I have the exact same crusher with the exact same issue only not as much as yours. I think the rollers were spray coated with something that the acid in the grape juice is wearing it off little by little over time. You might see if if your can get it off with a bristle brush (not steel) I don't think it will hurt the grapes or must. Hose it down good wipe it down good and let it go. At some point you may wish to pull them out and clean them up and repaint. The contact with the rollers is at best for a few seconds.

 

[orto]

Ok, I didn't realize they were painted, I thought they came as just aluminum. I might just leave them be for the time being. If I repaint them it will just wear off as well.

Thanks

 

[ibglowin]

I think it's a clear coat of sorts that is wearing off.

 

[orto]

It's probably food grade coating (I hope), if I spray it with sanitizer it will probably be ok as it is. I don't want to take it apart if I don't have to. I wont be using it until next fall or maybe spring anyway. It was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up though. It's way bigger than I need. The guy who sold it to me told me I'll be done crushing in minutes, and the cleanup will take way more time than crushing.

 

[ibglowin]

You can spray KMETA just make sure to hose it all off good when you put it away and wipe it down with a towel and yes. Setup and cleanup takes 2-3X more time than crushing!

 

[BlueStimulator]

Still looking for one of these to fix up, hand destemming is for the birds