Hey Strangebrewer...
#1
Posted 25 April 2011 - 08:33 PM
#2
Posted 26 April 2011 - 06:35 AM
Overall I'm very happy with it. As Guest mentioned I initially designed it for wine but it did really well pressing pears last year. If I were to do it again about the only thing I'd change is making the gap between the staves a little tighter so it could handle apples and pears more easily. The issue we ran into was once we really started to crank down the pressing cloth would push out between the staves in some places if it were loose. Pressing apples takes a LOT more force than pressing grapes. Thankfully I did build my press stout. The staves are 1x2" oak and the bands are cut and hammered from 1/8" plate steel. A ratchet style basket press with an ACME screw would be a sweet setup if you want to put the time and money into it. As for basket vs cheese style press. I think the basket press is more versatile for pressing fruit.DuncanDad's thread reminded me that HoPS is going to need another cider press this fall cause we're expanding the cider press event to other local clubs and will be doubling our apple order. If memory serves me right you built a bottle jack type press. What are your thoughts on it's overall performance? I'm on the fence between building a jack-style press, building a press with an acme screw, or splurging and getting a Happy Valley Ranch. Any thoughts on this? Also cheese-style vs. basket press? The cheese-style presses are supposed to get better extraction, but they seem to take longer per press.Thanks
#3
Posted 26 April 2011 - 07:07 AM
Edited by EWW, 26 April 2011 - 07:09 AM.
#4
Posted 27 April 2011 - 08:36 AM
#5
Posted 27 April 2011 - 09:09 AM
I think they'd be alright. The whiz bang people use HDPE for their rings, and those seem to work alright. That's a good thought though.Will those stand up to applied force?
#6
Posted 27 April 2011 - 12:28 PM
#7
Posted 27 April 2011 - 09:20 PM
#8
Posted 28 April 2011 - 10:31 AM
#9
Posted 28 April 2011 - 10:11 PM
Good thought, but grease is minimal. A shot of cooking spray should do it.Maybe grease? Probably could find some food safe stuff like the keg lube stuff.
#10
Posted 29 April 2011 - 06:02 AM
#11
Posted 30 April 2011 - 01:28 PM
#12
Posted 30 April 2011 - 01:43 PM
#13
Posted 30 April 2011 - 03:41 PM
Not sure about that, but I'll look into it. They use it for decking, so I imagine it's not too much of an issue. HDPE is appealing cause you can spray it down with a bleach water solution to clean and don't have to worry about decay and rot issues.Doesn't HDPE get brittle in the sun? How does it hold up to force?
#14
Posted 01 May 2011 - 09:13 AM
Looks like you're correct about standard hdpe and sunlight. There is an FDA approved marrine grade though that does not degrade in sunlight.If I can find some 5/4 or 6/4 oak at a reasonable price it won't be an issue. I should be able to rip the boards pretty easily for the staves on the barrel, but no one locally seems to carry it.Based on the bike rims' predrilled holes and my calculations I need 36 staves measurring 1.25" x .75" x 20-24" for the basket ... This should give me between a 1/8-1/4" gap between each stave.I'm thinking about a doubled up layer of oak plywood, trimmed with 4" solid oak for the base to catch the cider. The actual stand would be built with either a couple 4x4s or muliple layers of plywood (glued and cross bolted).I'm thinking about welding a steel plate to the farm jack so I can through bolt it to the wood cross beam. I'll probably also add some steel plate to the top of the cross beam for additional strength.I have a lead on a small stainless sink that I may be able to pick up cheaply. If this works out I'll build a dedicated stand for the sink and garbage disposal grinder. I figure that if I grind into 5 gallon buckets we can use it for the other presses as well.Any thoughts on my plan/ramblings are greatly appreciated.Not sure about that, but I'll look into it. They use it for decking, so I imagine it's not too much of an issue. HDPE is appealing cause you can spray it down with a bleach water solution to clean and don't have to worry about decay and rot issues.
Edited by EWW, 01 May 2011 - 09:18 AM.
#15
Posted 01 May 2011 - 11:37 AM
My design will be a bit different then strangebrewer's ... More likeI'm planning on a sealed wood catchment systemFor the cider catchment, strangebrewer uses a water heater pan with a drain cut out. He loosely lays the basket in the pan and let's the downward force hold it in place. Apparently that works great with grapes, but with the pear pomace, the basket would slide about the pan and was a major pita. If you do the same, but anchor the basket, it should work good for cider.I'm not claiming experience here, just offering ideas to your ramblings.
#16
Posted 01 May 2011 - 01:14 PM
LOL...it's a small scale opperation.What is this - a press for ants!?/Zoolander
#17
Posted 02 May 2011 - 06:29 AM
#18
Posted 02 May 2011 - 07:29 AM
thanks and no worries on the slower reply.I have a lead on some "country" hard maple (read darker color hard maple) and the price point is hard to beat ($150 for 40 bf). Unless anyone can give me some concrete reasons to avoid maple I think I'm going to snatch up this wood before someone else does.Sorry for the slow reply. It was one of those weeks and it kept up into the weekend.Your plan sounds good. A 1/4" to 1/8" gap between the staves would be ideal. You can still press grapes with it but it should be small enough to let you press apples and pears.The bottle jack is 8 ton I believe. Completely overkill but it's what I own. For grapes you never want to be using that much force but for apples it was nice to be able to crank it easily.Where the bottle jack meets the top frame I welded a 1" long piece of 2" diameter tube steel. It serves to give the piston of the bottle jack somewhere to rest and piece of mind that it's not going to kick out when pressing.I built the steel frame over the basket big, even when pressing the pears and using a lot of force there was no deflection in the steel frame. The next most important point though is the connection to the base. The base is 1/2" plywood on top of a 2x4 framing. It's heavy but again, burly and has never shown any signs of flexing under load.The catch pan is a hot water heater pan. It's definitely a piece that needs to be upgraded. As Guest mentioned it works just fine for grapes but apple and pear pommace is slippery which caused the basket to want to slide around in the pan when there was a lot of force pressing down. Resolving this issue is on my to do list . It will still be something metal though as I like the ability to easily clean the catchmentAs for material selection. The biggest thing that I'd be concerned with using HDPE is it's ability to handle the outward force as it gets further from the rings. Again apples take a LOT of force to press. I'd think that HDPE would start to flex out at the bottom when you really start to crank down. I like the idea with the bike rims. I'd take a little care to make sure the holes in the aluminum doesn't get wallowed out but otherwise that's a heck of a lot easier than what I did.The bottle jack works great but I can see the appeal to the farm jack. You just have to build your support frame around using it. For me the bottle jack was the simplest answer.If you think it would be of any use I can take pictures of particular parts of my press and post it. Just let me know.
Edited by EWW, 02 May 2011 - 07:31 AM.
#19
Posted 02 May 2011 - 08:33 AM
Thanks for the link. The darker/brown/country maple is the heartwood...kind of like this floor
#20
Posted 03 May 2011 - 04:22 PM
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