-- Pressing ur own juice --

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bmd2k1

bmd2k1

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Curious about those that press their own juice...the type of press, grinder etc you use...and any feedback/tips etc on said equipment & the process. Pics of your gear would be great too!

Been scanning Amazon & EBay looking at various options...

Cheers! [emoji111]
 
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You might see from my post a few days ago that I was asking a similar question. So, I certainly don't have all the answers but here is what I have learned during my recent crushing and pressing.

I had (and still have) the idea of making a folding bench that can be put away when not needed. The idea is to mount a crusher and press so that I can take the setup anywhere without needing power to operate stuff.

Santa bought me a second hand basket press a while ago so I went searching for a grinder on ebay. Some pics are attached. The grinder was only about $100 or so, is well made of SS and plastic, and looked like a great idea for relatively small batches of a few gallons (I have seen pics of similar units on other cider websites and in books).

The grinder works O.K., taking only a minute or so to grind a couple of pounds of apples but the resulting pommace is too big... about 1/4-1/2 inch, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to modify the equipment to change this as the gearing determines the spacing of the grinding mechanism.

Pressing this size pommace only yields about 25-30% juice, with a second pressing (i.e. fluff it up and press again) upping this to 40%. This is probably O.K. if you don't mind the extra work and there is a surplus of apples, but I understand that with pommace of around 1/8 inch, the yield should be in the order of 60%.

One option is to try the "English" method of pounding the big pommace in a bucket with a log (a bit like a mortar and pestle) but I haven't tried this yet.

Up to now, I have juiced using a heavy duty domestic juicer. This yields 50% but has these downsides. It produces a cloudy juice (full of fine particles that eventually do settle out in primary with pectinase). It also produces lots of foam that needs to settle into juice ( and gets everywhere). The filter and disposal chute need to be de-gunked frequently. There is a big mess to be cleaned up if you don't empty the container before it overfills. SWMBO freaks out if I want to do it all in the kitchen!

A friend uses a domestic food processor but has the problem that you end up with mush if you run it for too long.

There you have it... the adventure continues.
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No expert but I think what you might need is what is called a scratter or apple mill. The scratter breaks the apples into manageable sized pieces that you can then more easily press to extract the juice. There are plenty of videos that explain what is involved and so how to design and make a scratter.
That said, to me , unless I am planning on making barrels of cider - and I amn't, then pressing my own apples for juice is simply too much work.
 
I have a big one, with the scratter mounted. They have smaller versions, but you do need the crusher/scratter AND the press part. The tabletop versions don't seem to have the scratter on them.
I've seen people make them out of garbage disposals and hydraulic jacks, and all sorts of things. Mine was made from a kit, probably 50 years ago.
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bmd2k1 said:
Curious about those that press their own juice...the type of press, grinder etc you use...and any feedback/tips etc on said equipment & the process. Pics of your gear would be great too!

Been scanning Amazon & EBay looking at various options...

Cheers! [emoji111]
Click to expand...
Cider pressing has been a family tradition for us for many years. My step-father has an old press which has been rebuilt several times. I've been looking for my own for years. Correll out of Springfield OR has some fantastic presses but they are expensive. I always thought that someday I might get one. Last fall I was doing my normal "check Craiglist for cider press" routine and BINGO! There was the exact press I had been dreaming of. Not getting too excited because the ad was 3 days old and I had lost out LOTS of time in the past, I called to ask if the press was still for sale. It was!! This press is the Jumbo Heirloom which Correll sells for $1800 plus shipping. The ad was asking $1200. When I told the seller I was definitely interested, he told me he would lower the price to $900. I met him after work and this press was 10 years old, had been kept covered in his garage and had NEVER been used. Two weeks later, we did our first press after gathering apples (Thompson's King, Chehalis and Liberty) in our neighborhood. I will be passing this down to my kids and we look forward to many family pressings in the future.
 

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ChipWaState said:
Cider pressing has been a family tradition for us for many years. My step-father has an old press which has been rebuilt several times. I've been looking for my own for years. Correll out of Springfield OR has some fantastic presses but they are expensive. I always thought that someday I might get one. Last fall I was doing my normal "check Craiglist for cider press" routine and BINGO! There was the exact press I had been dreaming of. Not getting too excited because the ad was 3 days old and I had lost out LOTS of time in the past, I called to ask if the press was still for sale. It was!! This press is the Jumbo Heirloom which Correll sells for $1800 plus shipping. The ad was asking $1200. When I told the seller I was definitely interested, he told me he would lower the price to $900. I met him after work and this press was 10 years old, had been kept covered in his garage and had NEVER been used. Two weeks later, we did our first press after gathering apples (Thompson's King, Chehalis and Liberty) in our neighborhood. I will be passing this down to my kids and we look forward to many family pressings in the future.
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Very cool! Thanks for sharing [emoji111]
 
I'm not quite done with this scratter but as a small hobbyist I'm hoping it will vaporize one apple after another into a bin which will then be loaded into my 20 ton flat "cheese" press. Hoping for mega-harvest come September (and later) 2018.
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I have a version of Reverend Nats original Apple press. Here are some YouTube links, let me know if you have any questions.

This one uses a compressor but mine just has a handle like a car jack.

Same guy.

My version has two presses back to back which means I can prepare one stack while pressing the other and I didn’t have to build a frame to support the tray.

I had a local steel fabricator make my stainless steel tray and guide and the presses are about $350 each. I get about 65% yield without working it too hard. My tray has a 1/4” female drain that I connect a plastic tap to.
 
I use an 80L hydropress. They're easy to use and clean. The cost is mainly for the Stainless, and the bladder. they will last forever and have become popular with small wineries, if you have 2 going you can get through a lot of fruit.
 
gregbathurst said:
I use an 80L hydropress. They're easy to use and clean. The cost is mainly for the Stainless, and the bladder. they will last forever and have become popular with small wineries, if you have 2 going you can get through a lot of fruit.
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What brand? Are there any key features that might differ between models/brands?
 
bmd2k1 said:
What brand? Are there any key features that might differ between models/brands?
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Mine is a lancman press, very well built. Basically the same as the one previously mentioned. The press cloth looks a bit different.
For better efficiency you can pre-inflate the bladder a bit before filling with fruit. That way you have a smaller bed of pulp to press against.
 

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You fill it full of pulp, screw on the lid, attach a hose, turn on the tap to recommended pressure, then bleed the bladder of air through the nut on top of the lid and when water comes out of the top release the bleeding nut and the bladder will fill with water and press the pulp against the bag and the stainless steel screen.
 
Happyhammer said:
This is the type I used on a cider making course in the UK although I think it was a bit bigger than 10 Gal, maybe 15. I tried to upload a video of it in action but the file is too large. Here’s a photo and also the crusher or scratcher we used.
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Very cool! So after you've shredded the apples...how long does it take to press a full batch? If its a 15gal unit...how much juice do you get out of a single press?

Cheers!
 
bmd2k1 said:
Very cool! So after you've shredded the apples...how long does it take to press a full batch? If its a 15gal unit...how much juice do you get out of a single press?

Cheers!
Click to expand...
It only took a few minutes maybe 5 max. You get about 60% yield. So if you start with 20kgs (44lbs) of apples you’ll get about 12 litres (3.2 gal) of juice.
 
I picked up a garbage disposal and old oak coffee table at the thrift store. Cleaned out the garbage disposal unit, cut a hole in the table and mounted the garbage disposal into it. Total cost $30.

It operates well. I drop apples into the top and pulp comes out into a pail in the bottom. It's not a continuous operation disposal unit, and so I need to give it time to cool down but it gets the job done.

I then made a press out of 3, 5 gallon stacking pails. The first pail has holes drilled down the sides to let the juice out, and has cable ties banding it to reinforce the plastic. The second has the bottom cut out and I use the bottom half as a former for making the pulp "cheese". The upper half I cut down to use as a spacing collar which lifts the inner pail up so that the juice can flow down into the bottom of the outer pail. Without the spacer, the pails would be too close together, and when pressure is applied when pressing, the pails would jam together and you'll never get them apart again.

Finally, the last pail is the outer pail which is used to collect the juice as there is an air gap, or sump, into which the juice collects. I have a spigot mounted in the bottom to let the juice drain out, and I also have a wooden spacer that supports the inner pail so that it doesn't split while pressing.

Finally, I have a 1 ton bottle jack and a wooden frame into which the stacked pails fit.

This setup is an adaptation on the typical plastic pail cider presses you see on the internet. My setup totally encloses the pressing operation and reduces the amount of air, dirt, and bugs that the juice gets exposed to. It all means I have a lower margin for spills and mess.

Total cost of the press was $15 for the jack and $12 for the pails. So about $30 since I recycled the wood and bolts etc.
 
Good looking units there. That grinder you can adapt with an electric motor - hand turning is work! Good Luck and please report back!
 
If you are at all handy a home built unit is very reasonably achieved . Even the grinders aren't that bad to make. Your local library more than likely has plans. The home built one I pictured earlier in the thread uses the bumper jack from my 79 malibu for pressing power.
 
I've been using a small basket type wine press for wine and cider for years, and am ready for an upgrade. Basically I'd like a bigger unit and one that doesn't have the metal screw going down the center. Will probably go with a used bladder press if I can find one. I sometimes press wine grapes, so being able to do both is a plus for me.
I thought about making a rack and cloth press, but building the stack of apple "cakes" and then cleaning all the pressing cloths just looks too time consuming for me. I can get local apples really cheap and have a bunch of trees of my own, so I'm not really worried about yield, I want to get it done with as little hassle as possible.
My grinder is a slightly modified electric wood chipper/shredder meant for small tree limbs and other garden debris. Harbor freight sells a similar machine for $135:

https://www.harborfreight.com/14-amp-1-12-in-capacity-chipper-shredder-69293.html

It works ok and makes a pretty good pulp.
I'd like to get the German apple grinder that costs $1,000, (on sale for $850 right now), but can't justify the cost:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/speidel-motorized-apple-pear-crusher.html

If I was just starting out with cider, I'd go with the garbage disposer apple crusher and 5 gallon bucket with holes/ car jack press. Start off cheap, see if you like it and keep your eyes open for a used wine press.
One things that helps juice extraction for me is to grind up the apples, put the pulp in 5 gallon buckets, snap the lid on and press 24 hours later. Cleaning up all the cider making gear is somewhat of a chore, so I like to grind and clean up all that mess one afternoon then press the next day after work.
Another trick is after the first run, put the pulp back in the buckets and add 1 gallon of water, put the lid on and let it sit overnight. I usually get another 2.5 gallons of 1.050 cider out from the second run but it has less color and flavor than the first run. I use the second run cider to brew an apple ale or Graff or add honey to bring the gravity up to 1.070-1.080 and it makes a pretty good Ciser, or I've freeze concentrated it , fermented with raisins and add Jack Daniels wood Chips.
 
There are lots of different ways to go. For max juice you can't beat a pack press with bottle jack, boards and cheeses. If you work a pack press for a few hours you can get a lot of juice, I have done it. The easiest way to build one is with long threaded rods for the uprights, and steel beams for cross pieces. Don't make it too tall or it will be hard to stop slipping sideways. I use a hydropress now because it is easier and the juice yield is ok. Basket presses are easy to use and cheap but the press bed is so deep you lose most of the pressure, you don't get as much juice.
 
The first year using the garbage disposal we had an old basket wine press. It was a little undersized, and possibly worn out because it was a total pain in the ass and messy. We used mesh bags but still it was a frustrating exercise.

Since the garbage disposal needs time to cool down between runs, a time consuming exercise like forming the cheeses isn't so bad. And I'd rather spend more time doing a task that is easy, than less time doing a job that is frustrating :)

I was wondering how that garbage disposal method might work with grapes. Anyone tried it?

Oh and great idea on a second pressing for apple ale. I think I'll try that this fall!
 

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