Apple Cider press

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Hi! Does anyone have or know where I could find plans on how to build an apple cider press? I would be very appreciative of any help or insights.

Bernice

-- Bernice Raymond (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 03, 2000

Answers

Bernice, for a press try the book Build it Better Yourself by the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming. Editor William H. Hylton. ISBN 0-87857-133-7. There are intstructions for a small and large juice press in the book.

There have also been plans for a press and a grinder in an old Mother Earth News, but can't think which one. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), March 03, 2000.


I just bought one myself, from Happy Valley Ranch. (www.happyvalleyranch.com) It is an impressive piece of equipment, expensive, but of high enough quality that it is likely my grandkids will be passing it down to their grandkids. If you are good at woodworking, they also sell kits, both with and without the wood, saving you the hassle of trying to come up with the gears, grinders, and such.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 03, 2000.

I've been thinking about building a cider press, and have done lots of checking out presses, reading, and research over the last few years. My conclusions are to make a wooden tub like the traditional presses, weld or bolt up a sturdy steel framework to hold a long-cylinder hydraulic jack for the pressing force instead of a screw, and to use a new garbage disposal to grind the apples, as this will work better and give better yield of cider than the traditional style of grinder (or the new versions of grinder) for much less money. Only drawback of using a garbage disposal is that then the pulp is fine enough to need fabric bags to hold it inside the tub of the press.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), March 06, 2000.

Bernice, in case you haven't found it already, one of the most authoritative sources of cider information on the Net is the Wittenham site by Andrew Lea. Loads of info. He's added plans for constructing your own press at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andrew_lea/frameset.htm

Good luck.

-- Rog Flanders (flanders@probe.net), March 19, 2000.


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