Hop Pickin' Video
This video has been a long time coming. When we first ran our hop harvester in August, we wanted to share our video with everybody. And believe me I tried, but we had rotated the camera to get a better shot and the file was huge. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the frames and everytime I tried to upload the file, my computer hung up. Doesn't say much for a person that makes her living as a computer technologist, does it? Well, I was determined to get this video posted by the New Year, so I've been poking around in Movie Maker and I found what I needed to both rotate the video and compress the file. So here it is!
We have been planning this harvester for several years. Larry and Jerry went to Pedersen Farms and took photos of their harvester. Kim, Larry and I spent hours online collecting old patents for hop harvesting equipment. Then Jerry came again to analyze the patent drawings and the photos. He filled a notebook with sketches, including one with a hand-crank labeled "Kate". Ha Ha. Then to the shop with cutting torches, welders, jigs and more than a few beers. Late in the 2007 harvest , we had a machine that actually picked hops. That machine was in a horizontal configuration and there were problems with the hops flying everywhere and the vines breaking as they went through. But it was a start and we were encouraged. So back to the drawing board in the winter of 2007-2008. More research, more sketches, and more beer. Back to the shop to build new jigs and lots of picking fingers, strip down the frame, redesign the system in a vertical configuration, find conveyor track, design trolley clamps, and build, build, build. Thanks Scott. Finally, with all the guys and Kim around we decided to give her a run. I was so excited when I watched the hop laden vines go into the machine and stripped vines and hop cones come out the other end. There were lots of "tweaks" (seems a very small word for some very big efforts) during the next few weeks - adjust the width of the throat where the hops enter the picker, build chutes to hold the hops on the conveyor, improvements to the trolley system, enclose the machine so the hops stayed inside. She works! We picked over 500 pounds of hops with her this fall. Quite an improvement since in any prior year we had picked no more the 50 pounds by hand.
So here is the video from August 2008. The guys are all back in the shop working on improvements this winter. We'll be sure to keep you informed of our progress.
Hop Harvester Maiden Run August 2008
Happy New Year and Congratulations Mom and Dad! Can't wait to fire up the picker again this fall. 2009 will be the biggest and best year yet for FHH! Love ya! ~ Grace
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Looks great but a little dangerous... I guess that's ok for a prototype. Does it damage the flowers at all? Are you left separating a lot of leaf from the flowers? Is there a significant percentage of hops not removed from the vine by this machine?
Great idea... thanks for the video.
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This was the first run with everything open so we could see and show what was happening. We have enclosed the picker. 98% of hops were removed individually from the bines. No damage to flowers. Separation is another step - we made a hand operated dribbler last year and will be refining and motorizing that this spring. Keep checking in.
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I love it! You're doing it! Making it real is 50# up to 500#,,,I'm jealous! Our last years harvest of 62# handpicked was not so fun after a while,,,,I'm sure you know. A trellis,,a picker,,,dribble belts,,,looks like your in it now! Great job! Todd
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Your website is great! My wife and I are in the baby stages of starting a hops farm - ie we haven't found the farmland yet - we grow them at home for now. We are looking in the foothills here in NC. Found your site late at night searching for answers and maybe the right questions. I think your harvestor is fantastic. I am a Mech Eng. by trade and have been developing and improving equipment and processes for automotive companies for years. Now we want to try and do it for ourselves. I don't know much about how Blogs work - but if you guys get this I will keep checking back to see if you have any advice. I grew up on a family farm in VA and couldn't wait to get out. We have friends in Austria who have an organic farm and we have been visting for years and this year we felt the call and finally made the decision to get out of the rat race and make a go of it. Glad to see you folks have made your dream a reality. Good luck in the coming year. Signed friends not yet met.
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Looks great and congratulations! my memories of working on a Bruff machine when a student in the UK was the separation was mainly done on the principle of the hop being able to roll and the leaves wouldnt, so the conveyors ran at an angle- it still needed hand work but did a pretty good job -hope this helps . Peter
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