How to build a cider press

[Bujapat]

Thanks Aidas, I've got some apple trees in the garden...

For those who intend to build a press, I found this :

[Bujapat]

Here is the result :

[markx]

We have a similar contraption for pressing apple juice, but I replaced the threaded bar with a hydraulic jack. Works so much better with a fraction of the effort that was neccesary to make the threaded press work.

[stoker]

looks nice
does it work propperly?
how much can it hold?
and how fast is it?

[Husker]

We have frends from church who have a small orchard, and they have an antique press that is very very similar to this one.

To run it, simply chip up the apples. Put a mesh bag into the "bucket". This bag should be about 10 inches "taller" than the bucket, and be roughly shaped like the bucket. Fill this bag up with the chipped apples (they also have a "grinder" with metal fingers to chip up apples). When full, twist the excess bag so that it will not "leak" apples, put the plunger down on over this, and then run the press. Takes about a minute, to run the press down (have to squeeze it down pretty hard, but not "too" hard), then run it up, and dump the "spent" apple chips.

The day I was out there, we made about 20 gallons in an hour or so, but a lot of that time was spent "chipping" the apples. The press itself went pretty quick. Also, the people owning the orchard, are pretty old, and move at their own pace (at least their blinker was not turned on )

H.

[Bujapat]

I didnt build this press but a friend of mine did it.

He's very satisfied with it. Capacity is about 30 liters. It takes about 15 minutes to press one loading. You've to use a perforated bag (nylon) inside the press to hold crushed apples.

Personnaly, I bought one very similar to this, works well, but more expensive!

[muckanic]

The other handy thing to build is something to munch up the fruit pre-pressing. Think along the lines of an old-style hand clothes-wringer, but with spikes inserted into the rollers. Or, I guess it's like an enlarged version of a grain mill.

[Rachiu]

What do you say about this?

I freeze the apples and then thaw them. They become soft and easy to squeeze. I break them into two parts for easier squeeze.

[Digital_Plasma]

What do you say about this?

I freeze the apples and then thaw them. They become soft and easy to squeeze. I break them into two parts for easier squeeze.

Interesting... Thats a pretty easy way to do it. Good tip about freezing the appels first. Freezing them might also release more sugar for the fermentation. I've been looking for this type of idea for some time now. To think it could be so simple. Thanks!

[Rachiu]

I made 40 liters apple cider with 10% alcohol and carbonation. The apples were for pie, about 16-17g sugar/100ml juice. I don't know if the apples were very sugary or the sugar percent increased due to freezing but the juice was sweet like honey.

The yield is about 7 liters of very clear juice from 10 kg apples. Other methods given less yield and a lot of pulp.

[Digital_Plasma]

I made 40 liters apple cider with 10% alcohol and carbonation. The apples were for pie, about 16-17g sugar/100ml juice. I don't know if the apples were very sugary or the sugar percent increased due to freezing but the juice was sweet like honey.

The yield is about 7 liters of very clear juice from 10 kg apples. Other methods given less yield and a lot of pulp.

Sounds like the plan for me! Easy to come by, easy to make, easy to use.... Whats not to like?

[conkers]

I've recently built a cider press from plans I got here: http://www.whizbangcider.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow I bought the book to save the hassle & have all the info in one place.
I haven't actually used it yet but will be in the coming weeks as it is harvest time in the orchards around here now .
Probably the most effective piece of equipment is the apple grinder made from an insinkerator kitchen waste disposal unit, I bought a new SS one thru ebay, it spits the apples out like apple sauce. The force is supplied by a car bottle jack, as I said I haven't used it yet but will post here with results after.
I can post some pics if anyone is interested?
conk

[Rachiu]

Why are you asking? Post some pics !

[vinper]

Hey why not hydraulic press , if this guy could build this pneumatic http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... V3Xfe4lvGk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[vinper]

just convert your log splitter

[carnica]

I have an old cast iron and olive wood Portuguese olive press that I am going to use for pressing apples, but I have been looking for years for a manual crusher of this type: http://www.vigopresses.co.uk/Catalogue/ ... er-A-91101" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I know that crushers of this kind are made in Italy and Hungary (and China...), and they would probably be only half price in those places. Language problems have been an obstacle for me in searching for a crusher from Hungary or Italy.

Any fellow distiller on this forum who could help me with links?

[Devonhomebrew]

I know these plans all to well they are from Cider making ona small scale book or something similar named hhahaha

[tazuk]

here is press etc and scratter my press is based on a cornish cider press mine is 5 foot high and 30 inch wide only made 181 ltr of cider this year
like this all made out of 5x2 my press holds about 36 ltr of pulp i think
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here is where i went up north to help m8 he wanted to see scratter in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyqtnKhZnu4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

ps hay there devon found you at last lol

[Halfbaked]

Holy cow that scratter and set up is amazing. Great video!!!!!!!

[Bushman]

Very nice, well built press and scatter, I am about to build my second set-up!

[tazuk]

i have made some of these 18 inch square i have got 5 made so far so got to make bigger press for this year

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h47 ... lats-2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Represto]

That scratter is serious business! Who makes it?

[Jimbo]

Here's some shots of the scratter and press I built. Works great. Have chewed through over 3000lbs of apples so far with it.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 8#p7018787

A few changes I made since the pics. I beefed up the top and bottom supports and moved up to an 8Ton press from a 4Ton. And that plastic bucket finally blew apart after 1200 lbs or so of apples so I made a similar one out of an old 5g stainless stockpot. Some day Ill like to switch to press plates and large squares of cheesecloth like the cider mills do.

[phillmystill]

What do you say about this?

I freeze the apples and then thaw them. They become soft and easy to squeeze. I break them into two parts for easier squeeze.

I chop and clean the apples (and pears), load them into polythene bags, freeze them for a couple of days, defrost them, freeze them again and repeat a couple of times.

At the end they go really spongy and you could probably squeeze most of the juice out with your hands or as I did before I made a press by using a stainless steel colander loaded with the apple pieces and placing a similar sized stainless steel bowl inside it, pressing hard on the bowl to force the juice out of the holes in the colander. A method ok for small scale juicing.

You could probably use some mechanical means to apply pressure to the stainless steel bowl to speed things along a little.

[steve2md]

Freezing prior to pressing helps to damage the cell walls in the fruit, and can also help to cut down the haze associated with pectins. When the water in the fruit freezes, the ice crystals that form are jagged and razor sharp, on a microscopic level. That's why freezing helps so much for efficiency

[frodo]

I was reading this and started thinking


can a sausage grinder be used?, just attach a bucket for larger loading

this is for grinding deer/ wild pig

cost of grinder..$40.00
pillow blocks/pullys $40.00
motor from a dryer free
$80.00 total
add a 1 or 2 gallon bucket to the top and get after it

[Wooday]

I was reading this and started thinking


can a sausage grinder be used?, just attach a bucket for larger loading

DSCN3127.JPG

this is for grinding deer/ wild pig

cost of grinder..$40.00
pillow blocks/pullys $40.00
motor from a dryer free
$80.00 total
add a 1 or 2 gallon bucket to the top and get after it

I tried it and failed. The crushed apple doesn't push through the plate well and the juice backed up and splashed everywhere.

[frodo]

I was reading this and started thinking


can a sausage grinder be used?, just attach a bucket for larger loading

DSCN3127.JPG

this is for grinding deer/ wild pig

cost of grinder..$40.00
pillow blocks/pullys $40.00
motor from a dryer free
$80.00 total
add a 1 or 2 gallon bucket to the top and get after it

I tried it and failed. The crushed apple doesn't push through the plate well and the juice backed up and splashed everywhere.

LOL....that dont sound good.

I had the same trouble with hog meat. i followed the manufactures suggested RPM
for the grinder. meat was backing up..hellofa mess
I jumped that bad boy up from 50 rpm to around 350 rpm
YOOOH HOOOOO!!!! she grinding now !!!


sounds like you need a garbage disposal

[wtfdskin]

I use a meat grinder with a large plate for grinding lard. Works great. Grinds faster than I can press. Ground 60+ bushel in about 2 hours. My apples are frozen then thawed so they go in soft. I do have an apple grinder but haven't had time to motorize it yet.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

[flying cowman]

I make around 1200 litres (320 Us gallons) of "hard" cider a year. I use an old wood chipper as a scratter and a press I made from H section steel with a wooden bed and 20 tonne hydraulic jack to press. Over the years I've tried all sorts of self designed scratters and presses but think I've now found the best for my way of doing things without going out and buying professional stuff. I was bought up on a farm making "scrumpy" in Devon in the 70's as a kid, but have refined what I learned to make a "cleaner" cider more to my taste.

I make half my cider using traditional straw cheeses and half using cloth. I use a variety of apples and blend at the scratting stage and as the ripening season progresses (here in Norfolk UK it's early September to late November). Again, about half my cider is fermented using the natural yeasts on the skins and half by killing the natural yeast and using cultured. I ferment in ex hypochlorite tubs (205 litres blue bongo's) and age in ex whisky oak barrels. As and when required, I take the cider from the 220 litre oak and divide into 25 litre glass Carboys before bottling. About 25% of the cider I make is turned into vinegar to sell. I'd sell the cider but never really wanted the hassle. Most goes to family, friends and my tummy. Last year I started to experiment by making the surplus into Calvados - and very nice it is too! I'm looking to create a micro distillery so watch this space.

If interested I'm happy to post pics of my press ect, but as this is a distillery forum I'm not sure if that's wanted.

Happy to share my little bit of experience if anyone wants it. I know how to make cider, but I'm very much a novice when it comes to distilling. So I'm here to give and take

FC