Ravern:
Two iceblock machine I built during the lockdown


just built two locally made ice block machines during the lockdown and below is my experience.

The technician delivered the machine in 5 weeks instead of two weeks we agreed.
Our agreement was that each machine will produce minimum of 70 pcs of ice blocks within 24hours of steady light but that was not possible because it is difficult to have 24hour uninterrupted power supply and again when I fill the machine to capacity it becomes too difficult to harvest the ice block because water expands on freezing. So instead of putting 70 pcs, I normally put 54pcs multiply by two machines, that is about 108 pcs.
Also note what the market wants is not just ice blocks but "dry ice block".
What it means is that after the ice blocks freeze in the machine, you still need to leave it to harden almost turning white though during scarcity buyers may buy both dry and not dry ice blocks.

Another challenge I am having is that it is like the technician that built my own neglected to apply the principle of heat conduction and insulation while building the machine, the upper column of the machine and the door of the machine were not properly protected from heat loss hence the block from the top chamber and the blocks closer to the door of the machine do not freeze at the same rate as those inside the other chambers. I believe those ones at the top and near the door have heat passed to them via the metallic cover or there is a heat transfer from the block to the metals. So I also lose some ice blocks because of this.

Also attention was not not paid to the surface area of the pipe conducting the gas that freezes the water . If there is much gap in between the pipe in the machine, the machine will take longer time, also if the surface area of the pipe can be increase while in contact with the water, the block will freeze faster.

The horsepower and strength of the cooling air conditioner attached to the machine will either make or mar the production of the engine. For instance I withhold 25% of the cost of building the machine until I was sure the ac I agree with the technician worked as it supposed to work. Each of my machine is using 3hp ac and produces dry ice between 24 to 28hrs.

From what I learnt so far, I will build another machine based on my own design and specifications and I will do it when I have the chance to work side by side with the Technician.
The business is a little bit stressful because tying and loading the water is a time consuming process so also harvesting the block but it worth undertaking if one can employ helping hands, provide the alternative power supply as backup or have at least minimumof 16hrs power supply most times, and have the right market to sale.

Hi Raven,

It's been 2 years since this post. How is the business coming? Also, were you able to make another one as you said? If you did, how did it do compared to the first two?

I'm considering going into Ice block Making and I want to glean all the information I can.

Kindly respond, thank you.

These are specialized area. Very lovely you have chosen this path to making additional income. I am glad my articles and posts are opening the eyes of people. Bros, you are building your life with this. You go abroad and have good vacation. You will command respect at home too. Do you know that there is too much confidence which will be built in you that oil and gas boys dont have with what you want to do?

All the areas you have chosen are good, but it depends on you. It seems that snail and dogs breedings are the two areas which do not need too close monitoring. Unfortunately, I do not know the details of these two areas.

1. Broiler: You can easily sell your birds if you keep your cost of production down. It is straight forward. Dedicate 3 months to go on a pilot with 50 birds. I will not want to give you a budget. Find out the present cost of DOC which fluctuates seriously. Of course, find a good seller. I don't believe in buying from big brands. My gut tells me to find a trusted guy who works in any good hatchery. If I was to do it, i would want to attain an average weight of 3kg in 49 days, of course can be up to 3.9kg. And my plan is to keep my cost of production to N1,000 per bird. I may start with N1,500 per bird...of course, that is just to get the basis of doing it. My subsequent pilots, I start trying out many things until I optimize to N1,000 cost of production per bird or below. This is my life. This is how I operate. Therefore, find threads on broiler and start asking questions. You can do it yourself. But if you are a big boy, you can use 1,000 as a pilot. Every 7 weeks you get a new batch. You can even stop at 42 days which makes it shorter. 2kg is the standard accepted weight. Lets say you optimize and you make N650 - N1,500 per bird, you can structure your farm into batches. And you have continuous production where you supply 2 to 3 times per week the same buyer. The mistake most farmers make is that they produce huge numbers of birds at the same time. This is a very wrong approach. To do this, you need to consult someone who understands it very well. And a business structure like this is what I have developed for myself. Visit Emmachile threads. There is one other NL master that I know, he may not like it if I mention him, but trust me, this guy is good in both organic and inorganic. Then, look out for organicfoods too. He knows about broiler. Also, talk to Turk or Turks. He is always on Emmaachile's broiler and noiler threads.

2. Turkey:
This is a business for the biggest boys. I finished developing N480 - N816 million annual sales yesterday which can extend to N1.3 billion. I am still fine tunning it. What I love about this bird is that "Owambe" Lagos and Abuja parties orgsnizers can easily patronize one and use these birds instead of beef. Of course, most people will buy into it. And when you get the right breed which are called "Foreign Breeds" in Nigeria, you are in big money if you can learn how to take care of them. I know two breeds that are highly sorted after. And the chance of getting crossed breed is very high (this is the reason many are discouraged from doing it....mixed breeds which gives losses). If you have some serious cash, and you want to look into this, I can put you in the right direction. I do not buy into using local breeds. This is a business I am seriously considering to start anytime. But you must be financially ok. A day old poult is presently N1,400 to N1,800. Just imagine buying 1,000 poults. 99% of NL farmers will take off like Usain Bolt. Lol. But I am trying to build a business which supplies 1,000 6-months old turkey birds weekly. Of course, I can easily find Owambe parties, and supply per week. A bird goes for N16,000 - N25,000. I believe N15,000 to N17,000 is a wonderful price most caterers will rush. Just try to open a processing unit, and you are in a big boy's business. However, learn the act very well. This is a business I am working on presently.

3. Layers: If you can learn broiler, layers management becomes very easy. The choice you have to make is to buy day old chicks, or to buy point of lays. Do not let any consultant make any decision for you. Make deep research. But you get to make daily sales here. Remember that you can structure boilers to having 3 sales per week also. It depends on how you structure your business. And it is going to affect the way you manage your birds. Remember that most people are not deep thinkers who can structure it like this. So, most farmers usually make sales one time quarterly or bi-annually.

4. Snail:
Honestly, I cannot tell you the details. You should check Moboj on nairaland. She understands it. I have checked her threads.

5. Dog: Seriously, I do not know much, but I am planning on breeding farm dogs soonest. I will be here to read comments from masters.


My guy, the king you did not mention is Vegetables. Lol. And this is my specialty. I love fruits too. If you have 1 acre to 1 ha, and you want easy money with little or no work, start with papaya. Then, if you have time, and you want to make some serious money, you start thinking about cold loving plants. Practise, perfect them, and see yourself making serious income: cauliflower, brocolli, green peas, special cold loving cucumbers, sweet pepper, beetroots, etc. You can start with lettuce. 11 - 12 pieces is presently N500. And you can have 5,000 - 7,000 plants on 1 plot. You may even grow vertically. Calculate sales and see. You can have 25 - 35 days cycles. Cut off the period needed for nursery. So, you may divide one plot into 3 or 4 parts and choose 3 to 4 different veggies. Oga, it is called easy income if you can stay with it.


Above all, take your time to research these areas extensively before you commit yourself into one or two.

Note: Learn odorless poultry farming so you do not offend your neighbors. It is advisable you do veggie so you can easily move manure out of your pens, and use them if you choose poultry. Otherwise, you will make many enemies around you since you are likely to have neighbors.


Best of luck sir.

very broad response. Thank you!

Hello Definitive, has he checked Harvard's website?
I am in the process of applying for the Sept 2014 session (just hoping I'm still on time), I've checked and seen some infos there. I've also not written GMAT, in short ther are still many things I'm not clear about and I feel the need to talk to someone.

One thing I don't I don't have in excess is time.
I came here to see if I could get answers too, I'll keep checking and let you know when I get any info

seyionab: Akogun would be grateful if u cld give me a rough estimate for hw much I can get dis ride.

I have a ford wagon that looks exactly like this, I took delivery of it yesterday jun22, can we talk?

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. This carnival is just for Lagosians to unwind, I'd rather stay @ home and watch a bunch of movies though,
For those asking how it will put garri on your table, you can make it of economic value, if you go with 1 0 dozens of Fan Yogo, I promise you, you'll sell it all.
Bu

For some it's annoying, for some, it's soothing, it depends on where we are coming from. If it's the soothing one, you would usually see a big smile on my face

Nice edifices, I really wish we would start building churches in Nigeria and stop converting factories to places of worship, so that factories can do what they are supposed to be doing