Unbelievable !!!

[drunkensailor68]

So Im too excited for much detail, but Im sure all will understand. Its a long story but Ill try to make it quick.
Im new to distilling and the thing that got my fire burning( so to speak) is, what am I going to do with these 15-20 apple trees, peach fig etc. I just spent 2 weeks pruning these trees last winter and the first thing that came to mind was APPLE BRANDY!!.
So I have the still, I have the apple trees and have done a lot of research on the subject and my research points to the hardest part, how am I going to press them for fermentation without spending a fortune?
Well the house I live in is 140 years old and the apple trees were planted about 1940, so I talked to the "old man" that has lived here since then and said I wanted to make some cider but didn't think I could afford the scrabbler/press. He said he thought there was a press in the back of the barn
Well I looked around and low and behold, I found something that might work!! Just needs a little cleaning. What do ya think....

[ga flatwoods]

I think you are lucky and should go buy a lottery ticket!
Ga Flatwoods

[corene1]

That looks absolutely fantastic! I am thinking a little cleanup and you will be set. Can't imagine how old it must be. Might want to have it looked at by a collector to see what kind of value it may have. It looks like it was originally set up to be run by a belt that was powered from those old tractors with a flywheel on the side. I can remember my uncles neighbor had a tractor that ran a belt for his big wood saw.

[Rastus]

Man that is nice..

i think put a handle on the fly wheel, and i can send a couple of monkeys from my house to help crank it

good luck with that.... as jealousy sets in...

[Halfbaked]

Excellent find. Growing up my grandfather had the exact same one. It set in the barn every since I can remember. Never got used. I tried to get it from my dad with no avail.

[NZChris]

Unbelievable, is right.

I love the two baskets, that will be a real time saver.

[ranger_ric]

Awesome find... Get her cleaned up and do a youtube video while your runnin it...

[cranky]

Great find! just what you need for all those apples you will be picking.

[S-Cackalacky]

Saw one of those sitting on the porch of an apple processing shed/gift shop a while back, but the guy wouldn't even think about selling it. He said it was a family heirloom and wouldn't put a price on it. You are very lucky to have found that.

I was thinking about one of these - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sun-Joe-14-Amp- ... 1389536959" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow and an Ass Press (as discussed in another thread).

[Bushman]

That is really a beauty, although I made the one that SC is talking about I would love to own one of those original presses.
PS: I would be really excited as well

[goose eye]

What the teeth look like. Apple gonna wanna jump out. Look more like grape. Get you some burlap an put in baskets before you put plummins. Loading make sure you pack it level. Youllfind out why. Add extension to Hopper. Ole boy got there ma sewing machine took the old metal wheel an hooked a foot pedal from sewing machine an used the belt.it was good on grapes but not apples. There ma caught em takein sewing machine apart onto time before they could put it back. She had a come to Jesus meeting with em.


So Im tole

[Bushman]

Goose eye has a great eye and made some nice suggestions. I would add that the value as an antique is probably high so if you follow his suggestion especially on the hopper, try to do it without ruining or changing the original as it will drop it's resale value. If the hopper can be removed and saved without damaging and a new one put on for production purposes that would even be better.

[cranky]

I believe that press is a Happy Valley Ranch American Harvester. http://www.happyvalleyranch.com/America ... r_p_8.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow I could be wrong but the HR logo is currently being used by them. This would make it not all that old, potentially as old as 1983. That doesn't mean it doesn't have value because they do model their presses after presses from the early 1900s. I believe it is probably worth more as a functioning press that as a beat up old antique. Just my personal opinion though and it's still a good press.

[Danespirit]

Well, clean it up...and you're fine.
A lucky coinsidence...you should really buy that lottery ticket..lol

[NgrainD]

You're right Drunkensailor68. I can't believe it. That is awesome. New, old, doesn't matter, that thing is really cool. Sure beats the heck out of building one from scratch. I bet it will work just fine, especially with Goose's advice. Good luck with those apples. Keep us updated on how well it works. You should put this on "Anybody got any good deals lately? " No better deal than finding something you already have laying around, that is taylor made for your needs.

[S-Cackalacky]

You were talking about expanding the size of the feed hopper - that website Cranky linked to had one down near the bottom of the page as an add-on.

[fyfo]

Beautiful engineering, there's something so intriguing about old/antique gear like that. you'll have lots of fun using it for pressing your fruit

[DAD300]

A lot of barn tools ran off a multi motor...

multi motor 1937.jpg (9.63 KiB) Viewed 3086 times

Grand parents had one for metal grinder, flour mill and could even run the washing machine.

You step on the lever on the right as a starter and try to keep the leather belt centered.

[just sayin]

DS68,
You lucky Son-of-a.....Gun. Just found that rig in the barn! I am looking forward to hearing about your on going progress. Apple brandy can be tasty stuff! Time to find some quality oak.
Thanks for posting the photos or your find!
Just Sayin'

[cranky]

A lot of barn tools ran off a multi motor...

multi motor 1937.jpg

Grand parents had one for metal grinder, flour mill and could even run the washing machine.

You step on the lever on the right as a starter and try to keep the leather belt centered.

I have one of those Been thinking about using it for an apple grinder too but bought an electric motor a few months ago.

[drunkensailor68]

The stamp on the grinder HR so Happy Valley Ranch seems to fit. Im a little scared to do any mods to it even if its not really old. Although the case for the grinder appears to be made of bronze, the teeth are made of flat, square, and quite sharp stainless teeth.

[goose eye]

Yup you want to crush instead of cut apples to squeeze.

So I'm tole

[cranky]

The stamp on the grinder HR so Happy Valley Ranch seems to fit. Im a little scared to do any mods to it even if its not really old. Although the case for the grinder appears to be made of bronze, the teeth are made of flat, square, and quite sharp stainless teeth.

Here is what they say about the grinder on their website.

The "Apple Eater" grinding unit on the American Harvester reduces apples to a "pulp like" consistency which allows a more efficient "press".
In short, the American Harvester will produce the most cider from the least amount of apples in the shortest amount of time... better than any hand operated unit on the market!"

Personally I'm not afraid to mod anything if I plan on only ever using it for myself. On their website they have lots of parts, pieces and mods including a motor kit.

[drunkensailor68]

Does any one know if this type of unit will work with peaches also? I only have 2 peach trees but they ripen before the apples do. I haven't looked into the peach brandy/shine process yet, but, since they will come in first maybe it will be worth trying??
I do like the idea of making a bigger hopper for the apples, wont change the original config just by making a new hopper

[rager]

Does any one know if this type of unit will work with peaches also? I only have 2 peach trees but they ripen before the apples do. I haven't looked into the peach brandy/shine process yet, \

personally I would make a nice light AG then do a spirit run with the peach puree in a thumper . ive had some peach shine that was incredible from Virginia I believe was done this way.