Fruit / wine / cider press

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Fruit / wine / cider press

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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 3:41 pm Post subject: Fruit / wine / cider press
Has anyone had any experience with a cider / fruit / wine press? Is so, do you have any recommendations or comments? I'm thinking of getting one for next year. It would be good to be able to press 5 gallons of juice in a couple of hours. I mean something like:

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 3:46 pm Post subject:
I remember seeing one going cheap £45 I think at a car boot sale a month or three back, I hesitated and lost it jema

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 3:53 pm Post subject:
I bet you could have kicked yourself.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 4:02 pm Post subject:
He was pressed for time. I like the idea of getting a small one, if all goes well and I use it then I may think about making one.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 4:10 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

He was pressed for time.

I like the idea of getting a small one, if all goes well and I use it then I may think about making one.

Pressed for brains more like. £45 is above the money range I am usually looking at, at car boot sales, and this I think warped my thinking.

jema

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 6:51 pm Post subject:

Seems a lot for a boot sale, I would agree.
You could make your own (I have some plans somewhere if you would like a copy); otherwise, could you borrow/hire one - no storage problems, then. Vigo in Devon do a nice neat smaller sized one, as well as larger sizes. In a shop in Hereford I wnet into there was a very nice on for about 60.00, which seemed good value, it was a nice piece of equipment.
The other avenue, if you have patience, is to put the word about as much as possible, and one may fall into your lap. This is what happened to me, and I have my own now. Mr L, though, has forgotten where he stored the rather vital uprights, so I've had to borrow one from a friend this year..................

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 7:03 pm Post subject:

Lowlander wrote:

The other avenue, if you have patience, is to put the word about as much as possible, and one may fall into your lap. This is what happened to me, and I have my own now.

This is one thing I really love about forums, amazing the number of times I have mentioned a need, only to get an almost instant PM from someone

I have also myself sent no end of stuff I have had lying about to people for free

jema

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 10:28 pm Post subject:
there's www.vigoltd.com but you are looking at rather more than 45 quid (sadly) maybe you can borrow one, or use of one. Is there a local cider society or similar? I bet they'd know a man who could.

mrutty

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1578

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 04 11:42 pm Post subject:

Lowlander wrote:

I have some plans somewhere if you would like a copy

Yes please

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Nov 14, 04 7:46 am Post subject:

Lowlander wrote:

I have some plans somewhere if you would like a copy

Yes please again, I'll have some time off soon and it could be ready for next year's apple crop

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Nov 14, 04 8:01 am Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

there's www.vigoltd.com

Yes, I've looked at them. I like the idea of the small s/steel press for about £100. https://www.vigoltd.com/products3.asp?p_id=35

If I get on with that one then I could make my own.

I also like the idea of a pot still, but that's another thread.

I love their description 'attractive, ornamental, working miniature Copper Pot Still'. For £185 who would buy it to be an ornament? I also like their comments about checking with the relevant govenement departments before purchasing.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Nov 14, 04 8:34 am Post subject:
Arkwrights have a range: presses jema

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 10:06 am Post subject:
You should get commission from them!!

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 10:20 am Post subject:
I get a discount but yes I do post links when appropriate, all new web sites like this one for example need other poeple to link to them, to avoid being invisible. jema

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 04 2:32 pm Post subject:

I've got a Vigo one just like the press in your picture. It works, but it's not very efficient. You really need to chop the fruit pretty well before putting it in the press (a clean spade in a wooden box is the best way - tried the food processor and nearly knackered it), and each drum-load takes a while to press. Then you've got to knock out the compressed pulp, which can be pretty heavy going!
To make four gallons of cider last year took an age and got me (and the kitchen floor) very sticky indeed. It's a pretty enough gadget and decorative in its way, but if you've got access to any reasonable amount of windfalls, I'd recommend getting a bigger press or making your own. If you've got access to welding gear, the frame can be put together from angle-iron, and the pressure is best exerted with a hydraulic bottle-jack - costing about £15 from any place that specialises in garage tools (try www.machinemart.co.uk - they're about the cheapest).
The trickiest part is the cage support - you need at least two good steel hoops to hold the staves, as the pressures can be pretty high. Rivetted 4mm steel should be OK - ask around for a local metalworker with a set of ring-rollers to knock a pair up for you. S/he should't charge more than £20. Then drill (precisely) around the rings for the staves, and hold them in place with galvanised bolts countersunk below the level of the wood against flat washers, so the 'plunger' can pass down the barrel smoothly.

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