VegetableoilsusedtobeoneofthoseitemsyoujustHADtobuy.

Nowhere'showtomakeyourown.

TheSunflowerSeedHullerandOil
Press
ByJeffCox
fromOrganicGardening,April1979,RodalePress
IN2,500SQUAREFEET,afamilyoffourcangroweachyearenoughsunflowerseedto
producethreegallonsofhomemadevegetableoilsuitableforsaladsorcookingand20
poundsofnutritious,dehulledseedwithenoughbrokenseedsleftovertofeedawinter's
worthofbirds.
Theproblem,heretofore,withsunflowerseedswasthedifficultyofdehullingthemathome,
andthelackofadeviceforexpressingoilfromtheseeds.Aboutsixmonthsago,wedecided
tochangeallthat.Thejobwastofindoutwhomakesasunflowerseeddehullerortodevise
oneifnoneweremanufactured.Andtoeitherlocateahomescaleoilseedpressordevise
one.Nomeantask.
OurresearchestookusfromNorthDakotahubofcommercialsunfloweractivityinthe
nationtoasearchofthefilesintheU.S.PatentOffice,withstopsinbetween.Weturned
upalotofbigmachinery,discoveredhowdifficultitistobuyreallypure,unrefined
vegetableoils,butfoundnosmallscaleequipmenttodehullsunflowersorpressouttheiroil.
Thekeytosuccess,however,wasonourdeskthewhole
time.Inspring1977,AugustKormierhadsubmittedafree
lancearticledescribinghowheusedaCoronagrainmillto
dehullhissunflowerseeds,andhisvacuumcleanerexhaust
hosetoblowthehullsoffthekernels.Asecondseparation
floatedofftheremaininghulls,leavingacleanproduct.We'd
triedit,butbecausesomekernelswerecrackedandthe
processinvolveddrying,wehadn'tbeensatisfied.Nowwe
feltthebestapproachwastobeginagainwithwhatwe
learnedfromMr.Kormierandrefineit.
StaffEditorDianaBranchandHomeWorkplaceEditorJim
Eldonworkedwithanumberofhandandelectricpowered
grainmills.WhiletheCoronadidapassablejob,theygotthe
bestresultswiththeC.S.Bell#60handmillandthe
MarathonUniMill,whichismotordriven."Icouldn't
Apoundofoilseedproducedjust
underthreeouncesofoil.
believemyeyesthefirsttimeItriedtheMarathon,"Diana
says."Iopenedthestonesto1/8thinch,andoutcameabinfullofwholekernelsandhulls
splitrightattheseams.Whatathrillthatwas!"
Shefoundthatbystartingatthewidestsetting,andgraduallynarrowingtheopening,almost

everyseedwasdehulled.Thestonescrackthehullsopen,thenrubthemtoencouragethe
seedawayfromthefibrouslining.TheBellhandmillworkedalmostaswell."Aslongasthe
stonesopenatleastaswideasthewidestunhulledseed,anymillwillwork,"shesays.
Becausetheseedslipsthroughthemillonitsflatside,gradingisanimportantsteptotake
beforedehulling.Wemadethreesizingboxes.Thefirstis1/4inchhardwarecloth[wire
screen].Thesecondistwolayersof1/4inchcloth,movedslightlyaparttonarrowthe
openinginonedirection,andthethirdistwolayersofscreenadjustedtomakeastillsmaller
opening.Sincethesmallestunhulledseedsareaboutthesizeofthelargesthulledkernels,the
gradingsteppreventstheseundersizedseedsfrompassingthroughunhulled.Processed
togetherataclosersetting,thesmallestseedshulledout.

Ahardwareclothgrader
sizesthekernelsforbetter
hulling.Twolayersofcloth,
spacedslightlyapart,
narrowtheholefora
secondgrading.Themore
grading,thebetterthe
hulling.

JimEldon'sworkshopislitteredwithstrangelookingpiecesofapparatus.Theyrepresent
initialattemptstobuildaworkablewinnowingbox,usingKormier'svacuumexhaustideafor
asourceofair.Jim,FredMatlackandDianafinallymadeaboxwithaPlexiglasfront,
throughwhichtheycouldobservewhatwashappening.
Theycutaholeinthebackoftheboxwithaslidingcovertoregulatetheairpressure,and
fiddledwithvariousarrangementsofbaffles.Theresultwasastreamofhullsexitingthrough
oneholewhilethekernelsfelltothebottomofthebox.Nowtheywerereadytotryafive
poundsampleofunhulledsunflowerseedstoseehowmuchtheycouldrecover.
Thefivepoundsweregradedanddehulled,thenwinnowed.Wegotaboutonehullforevery
tenkernelsinthefinal,winnowedproduct.Theseareeasilypickedout.Theyusuallycontain
kernelsstillheldbehindthefibrousstringsofthehull.Theirweightpreventsthemfrom
blowingoutwiththeemptyhulls.Wefoundthatbugeatenseedsdoblowawaywiththe
chaff,whichwasabonusforcleanlinessofthefinalproduct.Tossthehullstothebirds,who
willfindbrokenseedsamongthem.

Startingwith80ouncesofunhulledseed,weendedupwith411/4ouncesofediblewhole
seeds,1.8ouncesofdamagedseedssuitableforanimalfeed,and36.6ouncesofhulls.Ittook
usaboutanhour.Notbad.
Sunflowerseedsstoreperfectlyinthehulls,buttheydeterioratemorerapidlywhenshelled
out.Thegrainmilldehullerandwinnowingboxgivethegardenerawaytohavethefreshest
possibleseedsforeatingatalltimesoftheyear.Withtheconstructionofonemorepieceof
equipmenttheoilpresshecanhaveabsolutelyfresh,unrefined,polyunsaturated
sunfloweroilforsalads,mayonnaiseandcooking.
Mostlight,refinedvegetableoilshavebeenextracted
usinghexane,aformofnaphtha.Theoilisthen
heatedtoboiloffthehexane.Lyeisdumpedintoit.
It'swashedwithsteam,thenheatedtoremoveodors
andtastebeforebeinglacedwithpreservativesand
stabilizers.Itmayfeeloilyinthemouth,butyou
mightaswelltasteair.Nosowithfreshmade
sunfloweroilit'sdeliciouslyyetsubtlynuttyin
flavor,addingunsurpassedflavortosalads.
There'sgoodreasontobelievethatsunfloweroilmay
becomethe#1vegetableoilintheU.S.inafew
years.It'salready#1inhealthconsciousEurope.
Cornoilhasalreadycaughtonhereforhealth
reasons,andsunfloweroilissomuchbetter.
Sunfloweroil's70percentpolyunsaturateisjust
undersafflower,withcornoilbringinguptherear
with55percent.Andsunflowersyield40percentoil,
soybeansonly20percent.
Ouroilpressisrelativelysimple,butitmustbe
weldedtogether.Checktheconstructiondirections
Alittleheatandtheoilpoursoutofthe
pistonlikecylinder,thentobestrainedwith
fordetails.Thepressconsistsofaweldedtubular
apaintfilter.
framewhichacceptsathreetonhydraulicjack.You
mayalreadyhaveone.Ifnot,itcanbepurchasedatmostautoandhardwarestoresforabout
$16.Ametalcanisterwithholesdrilledinitssidesandoneendweldedshutholdsthe
mashedsunflowerseeds.Apistonisinsertedinthecanisterandtheninvertedandslipped
overapedestalontheframe.Thejackissetinplace,andthepressuregraduallyincreased
overhalfanhour.Theoildripsfromthesidesofthecanisterintoatraythebottomofa
plasticjugslippedoverthepedestalworksfinewhichemptiestheoilintoacup.Youcan
filtertheoilwithacoffeefiltertoremovepiecesofseedandotherfineparticlesthatwould
burniftheoilwereusedforcooking.Ifit'sforsaladsormayonnaise,there'snoneedtofilter
it.
Wefirsttriedusing"confectionary"sunflowerseedsfor
oil.Thesearetheregulareatingkernelswe'reusedto
seeing.Theygivelessthanhalfasmuchoilastheoilseed
typesofsunflower.Althoughyoucanuseconfectionary
typessuchasMAMMOTHRUSSIANforoil,don't
expecttogetmorethananounceandahalffromapound
ofseed.Oilseedproducesthreeormoreouncesofoil

fromapoundofseedandiswellworthplantingalong
withconfectionarytypeseeds.Oilseedhasanotherbig
advantagetoprepareit,youcanputthewhole,unhulled
seedintoablenderandwhizituntilitformsafinemeal,
whileconfectionaryseedsmustbedehulledfirst.The
entiresequenceofgrading,dehullingandwinnowingis
avoidedwithoilseed.
Twokindsofsunflowerseeds

Oiltypesproduceaboutatenthofapoundofseedper
oilseedsontheleft,confectionaryon
theright.
headincommercialproduction.Gardeners,withtheir
bettersoilandcare,invariablydobetterthanthat.Ourconservativeestimateisthat1,280
plantswillbeenoughforthreegallonsofoil.Spacedonefootapartinrowstwofeetapart,
1,280oilseedplantswilltakeaspace40by56feet,or80by28ifyouwantamore
rectangularpatchtofacesouth.
Weworkedinpoundbatches,sincethecanisterjustholdsonepoundofmash.After
blending,weheateditto170degreesF.(77degC)byplacingitina300degreeF.(149deg
C)ovenandstirringiteveryfiveminutesfor20minutes.Heatinggetstheoilflowingand
doublestheyieldofoil.Incaseyou'rewondering,"coldpressed"oilssoldcommerciallyare
alsoheated,andsomearesubjectedtotheentirechemicalprocess.Thetermhasnofirm
meaningwithintheindustry,accordingtotheliteraturewe'vesurveyed.
Heatingdoesnotchangethestructureoffats.Itwillnotturnpolyunsaturatedfatsinto
saturatedfats.Infact,Dr.DonaldR.Germanninhisbook,"TheAntiCancerDiet",saysthat
"...anunsaturatedfatmustbeheatedtohightemperaturesabove425degreesF.or200
degreesC.atleast8or10timesbeforeanyshifttowardsaturationoccurs..."DeanC.
Fletcher,Ph.D.,oftheAmericanMedicalAssociationDepartmentofFoodsandNutritionin
Chicago,says,"It'struethateitherhightemperatureorrepeatedheatingdoeschangethe
natureofsomeoftheunsaturatedoilmolecules.(But)theflavoroftheoilchangesasthese
chemicalchangesoccur,spoilingitstaste.Thiseffectisprobablymoreprofoundthananyof
thephysiologicalchangesthealteredoilmightproducewithinthebody."
From500gm.ofheatedmash,wepressed89gm.ofoil,89percentoftheentireamount
availableandtwiceasmuchaswecouldpressfromunheatedoil!Thedecisionisuptoyou
whetherornottoheatthemash,butthatextra50percentseemslikeanawfullot,especially
whenthewholetechniqueissolaborintensive.Theoilshouldbestoredintherefrigerator,
andit'sprobablybesttouseitwithinamonth,sinceithasnopreservatives.Mayonnaise
madewithsuchfreshoilsshouldbekeptrefrigeratedandusedwithintwoweeks.The
leftovercake,stillcontaining50percentofitsoil,isanutritiousadditiontoyourdishes,and
makesexcellentfeedforanimalsorwinterbirds.Storethepressedcakeinthefreezer.
We'retalkingthenaboutasunflowerpatchwithtwokindsofplantsconfectionarysuchas
MAMMOTHRUSSIANandoilseedsuchasPEREDOVIK.Theoilseedplantsshouldbe
grown12inchesapartinrowstwofeetapart.Fouraverageconfectionaryheadsyieldabouta
poundofunhulledseed.You'llneedabout35poundsofunhulledseed,or140plantsworth,
toyield20poundsofhulledkernels,aboutwhatafamilyoffourwilluseinayear.That
manyplantscanbegrowninanarea26by10feet.That's260squarefeet.Putthattogether
withthe2,240squarefeetfortheoilseedsunflowers,andyouneedapatchabout2,500
squarefeet25100footrowstokeepyourselfsuppliedyearroundwithsupernutrition
andunsurpassabletaste.

WinnowingMachineForSunflowerSeeds
Thewinnowingmachineoperatesontheageoldprincipleofblowingthechaffawayfrom
theheavygrainwithacontrolledcurrentofair.
Theunitusesahouseholdorshoptypevacuumcleanerforitsairsupply.Avacuumcleaner
wasusedasapowersourcebecauseitcansupplyalargevolumeofairoveranextended
periodoftime,andmosthomesandfarmshaveavacuumcleaner.
Aclothbaghasbeenattachedtothechaffchutetocatchthechaffasitisseparatedfromthe
seed.Thebagallowsthehullstobecollectedandgreatlyreducestheamountofwaste
materialnormallyblownintotheairbyconventionalsystems.
Theunithasbeenconstructedinsuchawaythattheclothbagandcleanerboxcanbeplaced
insidetheseedbox,makingacompactpackageforstorage.

ToolsRequired
1.TableSaw

2.DrillPress
3.BandSaw
4.SaberSaw

Procedure(cleanerbox)
I.Cutoutthetwosidesofthecleanerboxfrom1/4inchplywood.
2.Cutoutthesixinteriorpiecesofthecleanerboxfrom3/4x31/2inchselectpine.
3.Assemblethecleanerboxelementswithglueandnails.
4.Cutfour1/4inchsquarestripsofpinefourincheslong.
5.Gluethestripsaroundtheendofthechaffchute.
6.Sandallsurfacesandedges.
7.Finishwithclearlacquerfinish.

Procedure(seedbox)
1.Cuttwopiecesofpine/34"x5/12x15inchesforthesides.
2.Cuttwopiecesofpine3/4x51/2xinchesforthetopandbottom.
3.Plowa/14x1/4grooveforthefrontandbackpanelsinallfourpieces.
4.Ripthetopboardto5inchessothatthefrontpanelcanslideintothegroovesintheside
boards.
5.Rabbetbothendsofeach15inchsidepiecetoacceptthetopandbottomboards.
6.Drillaholeintheleftsideboard21/2inchesfromthetop.Thesizeoftheholeis
determinedbythevacuumcleanerhosefitting.
7.Cuta31/4x4inchholeinthetop1/2inchfromtherightend.Thisholewillacceptthe
cleanerbox.
8.Cuttwopiecesofpineforthebaffle.
9.Drilltwo1inchholesinthebottomofthebafflebox.
10.Cutapieceof1/4x81/2x14inchplywoodforthebackpanel.
11.Cuta3inchhole,centered17/8inchesfromthetopandleftsidesoftheplywoodback.
12.Assemblethesides,baffles,top,bottom,andbackpanelwithglueandnails.
13.Cutan87/16x153/4inchpieceofPlexiglasforthefront.

14.Cutaoneinchradiusonthetopcornersofthefront.andsandtheedges.
15.Drillaoneinchthumbholecentered7/8inchfromthetopedge.
16.Cuta31/2inchdiskof1/4inchplywoodfortheventcover.
17.Drilla3/16inchhole3/8inchfromtheedgeofthedisk.
18.Mountthediskovertheventwitha#10x1inchscrew.
19.Sandallsurfacesandedgesofthe,box.
20.Finishwithclearlacquerfinish.

Materials
CleanerBox
273/4x71/2x3/4"plywood(sides)
63/4x31/2x24"forallmembers(baffles)
41/4x1/4x4"pine(chutecleats)
221"x18ga.headednails
Whitevinylglue
Clearlacquerfinish

SeedBox
23/4'x51/2x15"selectpine(sides)
23/4x51/2x81/2"selectpine(topandbottom)
13/4x31/2x41/2"selectpine(baffle)
13/4x41/2x41/2"selectpine(baffle)
11/4x81/2x14"plywood(back)
11/4x31/2"dia.plywood(controlvalve)
11/4'x87/16x151/4"Plexiglas(front)
1#10x1"flatheadscrew
184dfinishnails
Whitevinylglue
Clearlacquerfinish
117x31"clothlaundrybag

SunflowerSeedOilPress
Thepresswasdesignedsothathomesteaderscanproduce
sunfloweroilfromtheirownseeds.Theoilcanbepressed
asisorheatedto170degreesF.,whichdoublesoilyield.
Bothmethodsrequiretheseedtobegroundtofinepowder.

Ifyouarepressingtheoilseedvariety,ameatgrinderor
electricblenderwilldoanexcellentjobofgrindingthe
seed.Theconfectionarytypeofseedwillrequiretheseedto
behulledandwinnowedbeforeitisground.Afoodmill
withthestonessetatthecoarsesettingcanbeusedto
accomplishthisstep.
Thegroundkernelsareplacedinthecylinderwiththe
pistonclosingthebottomportionofthecylinder.
Thecylinderismountedinthepressframeandathreeton
hydraulicjackisusedtosupplythepressure.
Becauseofthegreatpressurescreatedbythehydraulic
jack,itisimportantthattheframebeproperlyconstructed
andfirmlymountedtotheworksurfacebeforethepressing
operationbegins.Thefollowinginstructionscanbegivento
awelder.

ToolsRequired
1.PowerHacksaw
2.MetalBandSaw
3.MetalLathe
4.DrillPress
5.BeltorDiskGrinder
6.ArcWelder
7.HandClamps

Aweldedframeoffersthenecessary
supportforpressingwitha3tonhydraulic
jack.

Procedure(Frame)
1.Cuttwopiecesof13/4"O.D.x13/8"I.D.x241/2inch
longtubingfortheuprights.
2.Cutonepieceof13/4"O.D.x13/8"I.D.x61/2inch
longtubingforthecentertube.
3.Cutone3/4"x23/4x51/2inchsteelbarforthetopcross
member.
4.Cuttwopiecesof13/4x13/4x8inchangleironforthe
basemembers.
5.Drilltwo9/32inchholesineachbasemember1/2inch
fromtheouteredges.
6.Weldthebasemembers,tubesandcrossmembertogether
asperthedrawing.
7.Grindalledgestoremoveanyburrs.

8.Painttheframe.
9.Ifamountingboardisdesired,cutapieceofpine11/4x
61/2x12incheslong.
10.Centertheframeontheboardandmarkthelocationof
thefourmountingholes.
11.Drillfour7/8inchholes1/4inchdeeptoaccepttheT
nuts.
12.Drillfour5/16inchholesthroughthemountingboard
usingthesamecenterscreatedbythe7/8inchholes.
13.Roundtheedgesofthebaseandsandallsurfaces.
14.Installfour1/420Tnuts.
15.Finishthebasewithclearlacquerfinish.
16.Assemblethebasetotheframeusingfour1/420x11/4
inchroundheadbolts.

Procedure(Cylinder)
1.Cutapieceof31/2"O.D.x3
1/4"I.D.tubing53/8incheslong.

Secureweldsonallpartsare
neededbecauseofthehigh
pressuresexertedtosqueezethe
oilfromtheseeds.

2.Facebothendsonthelathe.
3.Cutouta31/2inchrounddisk
from1/4inchplatesteel.
4.Weldthedisktooneendofthe
tube.
5.Drillaseriesof3/32inchholes
aroundthesideofthetubeon1/2inchcenters.
6.Removeallburrsontheinsideandoutsideofthetube.

Procedure(Piston)
1.Cutouta33/8inchdiskof1/4inchplatesteel.
2.Cuta13/8"O.D.x11/8"I.D.pieceoftubing11/8incheslong.
3.Facebothendsofthetube.

4.Weldthetubeinthecenterofthe33/8inchdisk.Allweldsshouldbemadeontheinside
ofthetube.
5.Mountthepistoninthelatheandturnthedisktofittheinsidediameterofthecylinder.
Thiswillbeabout315/64inchesindiameter.
6.Removeanysharpedges.

Procedure(CollectorRing)
1.Cutthebottomoutofaonegallonplasticbottle.Thecutline
shouldbeapproximately11/2inchesfromthebottomofthebottle.
2.Makea1/8x1inchslotatoneedgeofthebottomoutsidering.
Thiswillallowtheoiltopourintoareceivingcup.
3.Cuta13/4inchholeinthecenterofthebottom,sothattheunitwillfitoverthecenter
tubeintheframe.

Materials
Frame
213/4O.D.x13/8I.D.x241/2"longH.R.S.(frametubes)
113/4O.D.x13/8I.D.x61/2inchlongH.R.S.(centertube)
13/4x23/4x51/2"flatbarH.R.S.(topcrossmember)
213/4x13/4x8"angleironH.R.S.(basemembers)
111/4x61/2x12"#2whitepine(woodbase)
41/420x11/4R.H.mountingbolts
41/420Tnuts
Blackenamelforframe(finishingmaterial)
Clearlacquerfinishforwoodbase
31/8"dia.weldingrods

Cylinder
11/4x31/2"dia.C.R.S.disk(top)
131/2O.D.x31/4I.D.C.R.S.tube(cylinder)
11/8dia.weldingrod

Piston
11/4x33/8D.A.C.R.S.disk(pistontop)
111/4O.D.x1I.D.x1"longH.R.S.(pistontube)
11/8dia.weldingrod

CollectorRing

1Bottomfromaonegallonplasticbottle(oilcollectorring)
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