Just ordered a hydro-press

[Lee Smeaton]

Hi all,

I have not been on here for a while.

I have just ordered a Speidel Hydro press - I have seen some good reviews. As I will be working single handed I have stuck with the 40litre version. The 90 litre was tempting but I was worried about the extra manual handling required.

Does anyone run a 90litre version and how do they get on? my orchard is up to 100 trees now but fairly immature - I expect in 4 or 5 years time the 40litre will suddenly seem too small.

I have placed my old custom built rack press on ebay in the hope of offsetting the outlay for the hydropress . 

In the future I will have the option, 2 x 40 litre hydros or 1 x 90 litre hydro. Of those 2 options what would you guys and girls go for (I will be recirculating the water with a pump and storage IBC)

thanks guys

:ee

[Alan stone]

Still use our 90 litre for small batches - it is fine for one man operation

Sent from my iPhone

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[Peter C. Ross - Incy Wincy Cyder (Aust.)]

Love my two Speidel Hydros, 40 and 90.

the 90 is fine single handed once you work out your technique for emptying the spent pomace. I have an Apple Bin on a step below, lined with a large plastic liner, and a box to stand on next to the press. there's also a trick about lining up the split in the seam of the liner bag to clear the centre spindle as you lift, then straight across and into the waiting box below.

It works a treat once you get the method down pat

[Patrick Mann]

Given the choice between a 90 and 2x40 I'd go for the latter: one 40 can be draining while the other is being emptied and refilled. 

[bob....@thecidermakers.com]

Hi

Thanks for the info.  I think the Speidel Hydro press 90 sounds interesting.  On average, how much juice do you get from a single pressing and how much time does it take to complete? 

 

I was planning to upgrade my manual hydraulic jack rack & cloth press with air compressor-powered hydraulics.  Off the shelf they're not cheap, but I can find what I need used on eBay for under $1000.  Currently I am getting 8 gal/hr crush & press, but the lion's share of the time is in building the 4 cheeses and pressing.  The hydraulics might cut my time by 10-15 minutes, both by being faster and by not having to stop and re-shim the press. 

 

If the Speidel's production is appreciably better than that it would be worth the extra cash.

 

/bob

 

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[Matt Eldridge]

 We have a 40L hydropress which we use in conjunction with a speidel mill. Provided you have 3bar mains pressure you can get around 70% yield and a 300kg (660lb) box of apples takes two of us just under two hours to process. Hope that helps you make the decision.

Matt

Battle Organic Cider

[Dave Nelson]

Hi Lee

I have 90L Speidel press and have just finished my first vintage with it. I found 60% efficiency is closer to the mark sometimes less depending on the fruit. For me having a second person to help empty the press is useful as we can dump the pulp into a wheelbarrow together without much fuss or mess. By myself it is a more laborious task to empty. I reckon I can get through a bin (about 350 kg) in four hours with the extra hands. I am getting 200 - 250 L per bin. Some of the fruit I am juicing does not yeild as much juice, at least not as quickly. If you allow more time you can get the required juice amount. Best results with culinary pears in 30 mins. worst results for me was with cooking apples in minimum 1 hour pressing time.

Apparently if you don't deflate the bladder fully and therefore underflll the press you get a slightly higher efficiency...I think that is true... you have to weigh up how much time you can afford to spend. I think I am getting about 45 L from a load of about 80 kg.

Dave

On Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 4:07:37 PM UTC+10, Lee Smeaton wrote:

[CiderSupply.com]

Just on a side note if you use a decent pectinase and let it macerate with the pulp overnight you're going to increase your yield no matter what machine you use anywhere from 15 to 25% plus you get better clarification of juice later.

I know this because have got a 90 Lanceman Bladder press with the tilting cage and the difference is night and day on yield.

Best regards
Chris Rylands

[Lee Smeaton]

Hi Guys, so far I have pressed around 40 gallons and have to say I am really impressed with the press. I am going to have to rig a pump and collect / recirc the water though because its a little wasteful otherwise. I also found that a second pressing releases a surprising amount of extra juice - maybe up to half a gallon per pressing of what I considered to be dry pomace. I also have a large amount of grapes this year and am going to see how it handles them in a week or two. All in all I think I picked the right size for my scale of operation and as previously mentioned, running two side by side would suit me better than running one bigger one.

regards

Lee