Here is a lotion filler that we have designed for filling bottles or jars. 

It can be used for liquids up to yogurt consistency. 

The unit shown holds about 2 gallons of liquid.

It maybe used for thicker creams, but we have not tested it yet.

This is just the prototype, and the units made in production will alter slightly in appearance and hardware.

HOW IT WORKS

Fill the tank/container with your liquid.  It may work best to use a zipper or pastry bag (with the top tied shut) filled with the liquid, and cut one small corner out of it.  Place the cut opening of the bag into the deepest part of the tank. (this method is untested yet)

Screw the lid onto the top of the tank.  It helps to lube the threads with a bit of lotion to keep the seal tight.

Turn on the air compressor that is attached to the top of the tank.  It runs off of a small air compressor that pumps air into the top of the container.  The air pressure on top of the liquid or bag pushes the liquid out the bottom.

Place your bottle or jar onto the top of the hose at the bottom of the tank.  Make sure the tube is just off the bottom of your jar to avoid air bubbles.

Slowly turn the valve to start filling your jar.  The liquid comes out fast, and you will learn to regulate how much comes out at a time.

Turn the valve back when the jar is full.

Repeat until all the liquid is gone.

Pour hot soapy water into the tank to clean, and open the valve, filling a small pail or bucket with the waste water.

Turn the compressor off, remove the lid, remove the hose, and detach the tank from the wall.

You may again wash the tank and lid thoroughly, spritzing with alcohol to sterilize.

FAQ

1) What do you do about the atrocious noise the compressor makes?

The compressor that we have in mind is pretty small and does not run constantly since the lotion tank is a small container.  There is noise, but not too bad in my smallish backroom.  We are looking at a compressor that has about an 18" by 18" footprint, or even smaller, but that would be about the limits of it.  It is not a huige stand up compressor.  It only needs about 10psi for lotion. (see below for more compressor info)
 

2) Have you sourced a way to make it stainless steel as an optional upgrade for those of us that may want stainless steel and don't mind the investment?

Haven't gotten that far yet. But once we get past the first production run, we will look at that option.
 

3) What is the time it takes to fill your bottles if you have the unit completely full? Let's say you have an 8oz bottle.
 
It can fill an 8 oz bottle in about 3-4 seconds, depending on how you operate it.  The more open the valve is, the faster you fill, the less you open it, the slower it fills.  I usually overfill the bottle since it fills so fast.  I have to get used to it.
What used to take me thirty five minutes to fill by bag now takes five minutes. It really doesn't matter if the unit is full or almost empty, though the lotion does start to sputter toward the end when the unit is almost empty.  What I do to fix this is to let the lotoin settle for a minute, and gently tap on the sides to get all the lotion to settle into the bottom, and fill again.  It takes a bit of patience, but that is only at the very last 8 oz or so of the batch.

4) How difficult/cumbersome is the unit to clean?

It is a long-ish tube, so as long as you can reach inside, it is not too bad.  It is very helpful to have a laundry tub or large basin to clean it in, but not necessary.

5) What is the weight of unit you clean?

I would guess about two pounds since it is all PVC.

6) Your description talks about removing it from the wall? Is the unit attached to that large piece of circular wood?  If so - how is it attached?

As we have it now, the unit is strapped to a couple of brackets.  You can mount the brackets wherever you would like.  You simply unstrap the two cords, and it removes from the wall.  I usually fill the unit while it is in place.
I haven't tried it with mud, but I will.  I think it would work great. Considering that the contents have no wear to go except the hose outlet, increasing the air pressure a tiny bit would force the contents out sooner or later. It only takes 10psi to work with the lotion, and that seems to be overkill.

More Information

There are no small nooks or crannies where bacteria or mold can grow, but this unit is made out of PVC.  Some may frown at this not being stainless steel, but it is not a an affordable option, and this is no different than using a plastic pitcher to pour lotion or soap from.

Included in the price:

• Lotion tank
• Hardware to mount tank to wall
• Cleaning brush

At this point, we are estimating the price to be about $175 or so, without the compressor.  The price of the compressor is yet to be determined, or you can find an air compressor on your own. 

If you want to start looking around, look for a compressor that has a regulator on it if possible.  Also, you only need it ot go up to about 25 psi, nothing big.  We looked at a few at our local building store and they had a couple under a hundred dollars.    The salesperson plugged them in for us to hear so we could compare the noise.  One was really noisy, and the other was not so bad.

Shipping will be extra.

Please let us know if you are interested, and leave us your email to contact you when we go into production.  We will take deposits at that point and give you a reasonable time frame for delivery.

By leaving your email address, you are in no way committed to buying anything.  We will just keep you on the list to notify you when we start production.

CHECK BACK OFTEN AS I WILL UPDATE THIS WITH QUESTIONS AS YOU ASK THEM.  I WILL ALSO KEEP THIS PAGE UPDATED ON THE STATUS OF PRODUCTION.

Without you, we wouldn't be in business - thank you!!