Picking up the nuts
We use a pecan harvester to pick the nuts up off the orchard floor, remove sticks and leaves and collect the nuts for transport to the barn.
Once at the barn, we move the pecans with elevators and use a pecan cleaner to remove the pecan shucks, remaining leaves and any small sticks. The nuts cross over an inspection table (conveyor) on the pecan cleaner for a final inspection by the operator before dropping into a second elevator that deposits the pecans in the drying bins.
Because we harvest just at shucksplit, the pecans still have high moisture content (they are still “green”) and have to be dried before sale. We use special drying bins that blow ambient air across the nuts for about 5-6 days to reduce the moisture content in the nuts to 4% – 5%. After quality and moisture testing (called “grading” the pecans), the nuts are dry and ready to be sacked and sold to be sized and quality sorted.
Once the nuts are dried down to a moisture content of 4% -5% or less, we move the nuts to the sizing and sorting part of our pecan processing plant. There, we use a drum sizer to segregate the nuts by size. In the pecan industry, nuts are called size “12s, 13s, 14s, on up to size 16”. Basically, 12s are 12/16” sized nuts, 13s are 13/16” sized nuts and so on up to size 16s which are 1” nuts. Once sized, we move the nuts to a quality sorting machine called an “aspirator”. In the aspirator, an elevator deposits the nuts into a vertical column with an air blower and several “catchments” positioned at different positions vertically in the column. The heaviest nuts (i.e., the best or # 1 nuts), drop out the bottom of the air column onto an inspection table, where we remove any cracked pecans before sacking them for retail sales. The # 2 and # 3 nuts are blown up to higher catchment trays, sacked and sold in the wholesale market. Empty nuts are blown out the top of the column and discarded.
After the initial shelling or cracking, our cleaner cleans pecans, walnuts and peanuts at over 100 pounds per. hour. Portable lightweight and easy to use. Low load height, variable blower speeds and variable speed feeder control. These features make our equipment the most versatile and user friendly on the market today.
Pecan Cleaner Demo
FAQ
How are pecans cleaned?
How do they commercially crack pecans?
How do pecan Crackers work?
The pecan cracker splits the nut by hitting each end simultaneously. A cracked pecan then moves from the cracker to the pecan sheller. This machine is normally a mechanical or electrical device that vibrates cracked pecans vigorously to separate the nuts from the shells. Is Amazon actually giving you a competitive price?
What are the benefits of eating pecans?
Pecans are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that play an important role in inflammation, mental health, depression, fatigue and anxiety. They are also rich in minerals, fiber and antioxidants that help fight and prevent disease.
How do pecan shellers work?
One particularly efficient type of consumer pecan sheller resembles a pair of pliers fitted with two rows of teeth. Placing a pecan in this device and applying pressure creates several vertical splits in the pecan’s hard shell. One also may use the sheller’s teeth to break each end of the pecan’s shell to remove the entire shell.
How much does a pecan cleaner clean?
After the initial shelling or cracking, our cleaner cleans pecans, walnuts and peanuts at over 100 pounds per. hour. Portable lightweight and easy to use. Low load height, variable blower speeds and variable speed feeder control. These features make our equipment the most versatile and user friendly on the market today. Great machine.