Threshing Machines
Paul asked him about rice threshing and since then they have been working closely together to design a threshing machine which would meet the needs of Malawi farmers.
Traditionally, farmers thresh their rice on the field, simply taking bundles of rice and hitting them against a log or stone. It is very laborious and wasteful as there is a lot of spillage.
Paul and Howard started by trialling a pedal-driven machine based on a 19th Orcadian model. Over the last three years, this has morphed into a much lighter machine build out of box steel.
This is powered by a 24 volt dc motor sourced from a mobility scooter axle, two 12 volt batteries from commercial vehicles being charged by solar panels.
This power source should give one days threshing from two fully charged large batteries. Field testing of the electric motor-powered thresher begins in November 2018.
