Electricity and Fun!

This post is specifically directed at my brother-in-law, sister, and father. Anyone else who has a comment is welcomed to post... but I would appreciate hearing from any of the aforementioned people. :)

I've got a small problem. CHF International, is setting up some very small cheese factories to increase local employment. USAID, our donor, has required them to not use any chemicals (or scrub the chemicals) to clean the factory. The piece of equipment they require to scrub the chemicals is far beyond the purchasing power of our entrepreneurs.

There are a total of 3 factories involved, but they are very small. The factories are VERY small - two to three rooms apiece, approximately 250 – 300 square feet total. The material needing to be cleaned would be: brine tanks (2m x 3m x 2m) and various pieces of the whey process. Some stainless steal surfaces (flat, convex, and concave), concrete surfaces(both vertical and horizontal), and some concrete flooring. The application would be for both surface cleanliness and basic sanitization, so hot steam is definitely required. There would be daily usage for about 4 square meters, and biweekly usage for about 200.

We’ve got 220v, 50Hz power and diesel fuel available. The villages are cut off during the winter (2 – 3 meters of snow), so reliability is a concern.

Here's my issue: All of the machines in our price range from the US run off 220 or 110 (no problem) but need 60 hertz, not 50. There's the issue!

Is there an economical way to step the hertz down to 50 from 60? I realize that the damage to the motors required to run the pressure systems is going to be substantial if I just change the voltage and leave the hz alone. Any ideas on stepping the hertz down, or properly changing the voltage levels?

From my limited research (curse you, Akhaltsikhe, and your frequent power and internet outages!), it seems that going from 50 to 60 is generally not as big a problem as going from 60 to 50. The increased load seems to cause a lot more problems.

Anyone got any ideas? I'm trying to source the cleaners from Britain now, simply because I can read the info... but I'd prefer to spend the money back in the states (as would USAID).

brenden