Tomato Strainer question once again

13 years ago

Hello all,

Ok - I am a little fed up and need some opinions on how to spend my $ wisely. Some background: I have been canning (tomatos +) for 25 years. I started with an old Victorio strainer, recommended then by Countryside Small Stock Journal during my homesteading life. I loved it and it worked great. Over the years and moves, it broke, lost parts, etc. and I must have looked for the parts when Victorio/Vittorio disappeared for awhile, so I ended up buying a new Victorio.

I am kinda disappointed with this ones performance compared to my old one. It leaks from the handle, the rubber gasket broke and Monday night we had a nightmare just trying to finish processing. It wouldn't pull through, for lack of better terms. We stopped, cleaned it all - same problem. Thinking it had something to do with physics - lol , tried creating air bubbles, letting it 'cool' down - ever notice how hot the plastic gets? nothing worked. Finally removed the now pulverized pulp and strained it through cheesecloth! Too late and my brain was fried.

We were processing a fairly large load - 40 lbs of pastes, so I can understand the strain. I am wondering now if the screw is worn.

So tired of plastic parts. I also have an old KA mixer with the assessories, but we prefer the hand crank. Can be far quicker sometimes and my KA motor isn't what it used to be. It's fine for what I use it for, so I don't need a new one of those.

I am thinking of investing in a good stainless steel one. We process enough to justify this expense, I think.

Has anyone used the Squeezo? I like that's it is made in the USA, not China. I notice it doesn't have a shield, but I usually make one out of heavy foil, even for the Victorio. Any other brands out there I should look into?

Thanks for any suggestions. We still have alot to process...

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
13 years ago
It leaks from the handle,

Is the lock washer that fits up against the teflon ring inside missing?

Never seen the rubber gasket "break" except when inserted incorrectly. They are easy to replace however.

Good luck finding a stainless steel one unless you backup to one of the Foley-type models. Squeezo has been around even longer than Victorio but even they have problems/limitations and their new ones have many plastic parts.

lol , tried creating air bubbles, letting it 'cool' down - ever notice how hot the plastic gets?

Never found that my plastic spiral gets hot. My best guess based on my experience with my Victorio is that something isn't assembled correctly - which is easy to do - rather than the mill itself. Or that you just aren't cleaning out the spiral often enough (about every 10 lbs. IME). ESPECIALLY necessary if you are milling them fresh rather than cooked first.

If you routinely do 50+ lbs. loads then you may want to consider investing in one of the commercial models and the motorized attachment. Big bucks but maybe worth it to you in the long run.

Dave
forestwench
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your help. I will check for the lock washer, it might be it never had it. This particular machine has leaked from the beginning. I always just lived with it because I was in the middle of processing. Should have addressed it ages ago.

The gasket indeed did break, not dry rot with age, or breakdown. I am unsure as to when and how, but it did. I know I can replace it.

Not argueing, but I do know how to assemble this machine, been doing it for years. Something is wrong though, because it does get hot from the friction, even processing slow and steady. The spiral never quite fit as well as I remember my old machine did.

We do empty it out frequently and at the time I had problems it was newly cleaned - mesh had been scrubbed clean. I thought at first I missed a stem and that got jammed, but not the case.
I will go over the parts again to make sure all are there.

Anyway - still looking at a stainless option. Just wanted to see if anyone had any opinions or owned one that are offered on the web.
....We do have an old Foley - why didn't I think of that when we were stuck the other night?? too tired.

Thanks again - I do appreciate it.
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About the only way to tell is to look at the crank shaft. If the shaft has a metal E ring and a rubber O ring on the inside to seal the shaft from leaking liquids when cranking. The shaft (with its hole) is usually nearly flush with the outside of the cast aluminium housing and has a hole that is round with two grooved notches in it for the hand crank. Victorio was the original model 200, but becaase most of these are all very similar, they do call them all #200. One more way to tell is if they have twist on strainer screens, that once twisted on, are held in place with a small thumbscrew. The motor unit is the same used on many pasta rolling machines, as is the hand crank. The motor unit wasn't really designed for the Villware, but with the included metal bracket and some odd pieces, and a long screw that just 'sort of' holds the motor in place it works just fine. I only use the moto when I have a lot of tomatoes to run through it. The output from the strainer fills up very fast due to the continous motor running, copared to the stop and start of the hand crank. The motor unit I have is a single speed forward and reverse, but the link below offers a two speed model. You can barely see teh metal holding bracket for the motor in the link below. The photo also shows a different shaped base, that looks more like a suction cup, but mine has a screw clamp base. Roma is the newr name for this food strainer, and it also goes under the name squeezo, Villaware, and Back To Basics. The later versions are the ones that have the twist on strainers, whereas the older ones used two wing nuts to hold the strainers onto the cast aluminium housing. With the older models, I don't know if the moto would work, as the cranking shaft moved in and out with the amount of material in the spiral auger. On the newer ones, the shaft is fixed and will not move in or out due to it making a nice tight liquid blocking seal at the rubber O ring. Both types do have the heavy spring inside though, and that spring is what is supposed to apply continous pressure on the red plastic auger. Here is a link that might be useful: Newest Motor unit for Villaware/Roma
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rocketjeremy
13 years ago
I have a pretty old Squeezo that I have from my parents that I've used for tomatoes and apples in the past year. I'm very happy with it. It cleans up well and works great at least on those items I've tried. Sturdy, and I like that I can still get parts for it. I got a different screen for it not long ago and everything still fit great. I'll probably firing it up in the next week or two here to do apple sauce and then later for tomato sauce. Just my $.02

Tomato Strainer question once again

Comments (3)

digdirt2

forestwench
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Tomato Strainer question once again

Comments (3)

digdirt2

forestwenchOriginal Author

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rocketjeremy

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forestwench
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