How to Make a Hydraulic Fruit Press

An essential element for anyone making cider from free windfall apples, this press makes making the beverage extremely straightforward without spending loads of money buying equipment.

A strong frame can withstand an incredible amount of force; nail and screw connections won't break under strain!

Frame

A hydraulic fruit press's frame is of paramount importance. To be able to press crushed apples effectively and make juice out of them, its frame needs to withstand considerable force without becoming damaged itself. For optimal use it should also be slightly longer than your bucket/tray; otherwise its jack will become stuck and unusable.

Building the frame should be made of pieces of wood found laying around your garage/shed/garden. You'll also require an open plastic storage crate suitable for drilling holes into.

Once you have assembled both frames and crates, sanitize both with a diluted iodine solution for disinfection. Next, mill four filler pieces to the required sizes using finger joints inside looking out before glueing and clamping them together.

Finally, cut a 1" wide and 1/2" deep rabbet at one end of each filler piece; this will serve as the location for your piston once assembled. Furthermore, mark and pre-drill screw holes into both your round press board and filler top so they do not interfere with any existing holes on the crate.

After assembly, everything is powder coated for protection from wear and tear. On top of the frame is a special stop for centering the jack; rings on its piston allow easy removal. Furthermore, plastic legs at its base make transport simpler while protecting its coating.

Basket

The basket is the most complex part of a press, consisting of a circular wooden structure designed to hold fruit while still allowing juice to drain out. You can create one using plywood and 2x4s, or start from scratch following a plan. When creating this structure, take time and care when crafting its cleats; they must perfectly align or else the net won't stay put when placing fruit into it. To do this, cut two identical circles from 1x6 wood using a bench grinder before attaching them using 1-1/8" screws onto trough beams.

Hydraulic presses use pumps to apply pressure directly to pomace, making them much faster than traditional ratchet-style baskets and ideal for pressing larger quantities of fruit such as pears or other types. Depending on its model, one hydraulic press may extract up to 18 liters of juice an hour.

This type of hydraulic press is ideal for large cidery operations and other commercial producers. It can easily be combined with a mash tun and fermentation tanks for complete production lines. The basic model includes a two ton hydraulic jack, basket, drain pan for juice collection and piston as well as stainless steel filter to reduce sediment in juice production. Powder coating covers these parts which come into contact with juice production while all food grade stainless steel (AISI 304) parts provide easy cleanability with minimal maintenance requirements required to operate efficiently. Furthermore, its hydraulic ram allows adjustments for greater or lesser pressure applied directly on pomace material.

Piston

Hydraulic fruit presses require considerable force in order to function, so an easy way to harness that force is by attaching a car jack directly to the machine frame and pumping the car jack up until exerting five tons of pressure onto its basket - this time-saving device can extract juice from crushed apples or berries quickly and efficiently, saving hours in processing time.

To maximize the effectiveness of this press, apples must be properly prepared. They must be smashed into a dry pulp so as to not clog up the hole at the bottom of your bucket; additionally it's wise to cover them in cloth to ensure it doesn't squidge out when pressure is applied.

Hydraulic Fruit Presses can be used to create various products, including juice, cider and wine. One cycle can yield 13-18 liters of juice production. They're suitable for pressing hard fruits and vegetables like apple pears pineapple grapes rhubarb ginger as well as other juicy berries and herbs such as apple.

It includes a stainless steel basket, pressing plate and hydraulic jack for easier squeezing of juice from fruit. Furthermore, there is an included sanitary jar which can hold your freshly squeezed fruit juices.

The Siemens Simatic S7-300 PLC controls this machine through an intuitive 15 inch touch screen interface and makes use of user-friendly configuration options, making monitoring all processes easy while controlling individual components as required. A unique user can be assigned for every function to ensure production safety by restricting unauthorised users from gaining entry to sensitive areas.

Drain Pan

Importantly, any trough you use to place the fruits must be lined with something that allows the juices from them to drain freely - this could be anything from plastic wrap or fabric store purchased muslin cloth (an old green bed sheet works just as well!).

Make a simple drain pan that will sit under your vat and catch any juice that dribbles out as you press. This will keep fruit drippings out of the way as you work, as well as prevent apple pulp from blocking up its escape hole and stopping juice flow.

To create this solution, construct a frame from 4 x 4s the same length as the base board for your vat. Make sure it is wide enough for the bucket's height, yet high enough to give a firm foothold when working with it. In addition, lower horizontal 4x4 should be set about 3/4" lower than one at the front so you can slide basket and bucket without touching base board surface when installing them onto it.

To drive a hydraulic press you will require a garden hose with normal water pressure. When turned on, water expands, forcing hydraulic piston to push basket against it - pressure and pressing time can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing tap. Set includes metal frame with wooden platform, juice collection drain pan, basket, piston and 2T hydraulic jack.

Hose

The hose connects to a spigot at the base of your machine, transporting juice out for use outside its confines. As this line must remain free from leakage or burst under pressure, its integrity must remain undamaged to continue operation of your press. If any fluid or air is leaking through its connectors, make sure they're securely tightened; then turn off power to hydraulic equipment, lower it and release pressure before disconnecting the hose and carefully removing it from its unit.

If your hydraulic hose is old and worn out, consider purchasing a new one from a hydraulic hose supplier. Crimping fittings to the end may work too, though you'd probably require special tools at home for that task. If crimping fittings is your preferred route, make sure your supplier uses abrasion sleeves; these protect the hose against damage while keeping juice tainting from happening again!

To prepare the hose for attachment to a fruit press, cut it to length and crimp a new fitting onto its end. Hydraulic hose suppliers offer abrasion sleeves which should protect from abrasion when attaching it. When attaching it to the machine, place something under its reservoir spout to catch juice that might squirt out as soon as you turn on your machine; this helps stop apple pulp clogging the juice escape hole - a bucket or other container can work great, while plastic bags from haberdashers may offer better solutions - also called fabric shops (fabric shops).