Fabric for cider pressing

[Dean Holland]

Hi guys,

Learnt a lot in my first year of proper pressing.

I have a home made basket type press that holds approx 20 litres. To increase yield instead of filling it in one go I made several 'cheeses' from fine straining bags from my local home brew store. These are alternated with thick circular discs of plywood as the 'rack'. All of which sit inside a removeable slatted cylindrical barrel ontop a metal base.

I am not sure if they burst under pressure or if they tore on my equipment but either way one by one they failed, only just got through the session.

Where can I buy fabric cheaply to use for making these cheeses. I need about half a dozen or so.

I should also mention that I pulp my apples through an Insinkerator waste disposal unit and so the pulp it produces is quite fine.

Dean.

[Ray Blockley]

The clue may be in the fact you used "fine" straining bags...? Plus putting too much pressure on a relatively weak material will cause it to burst. Net curtaining is as good as any - look for strength and mesh size of around 2 - 3 mm; or you can spend lots of money buying pukka polyester press cloth.

 

Depends how much you want to spend?

 

Ray

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[Dean Holland]

Hi Ray,

I used fine bags as I was not sure if the coarse bags would allow the pulp through - which would have been equally as bad!

I want to spend very little ideally but am prepared to pay a little more if it will last many years. I don't want to have them failing again mid session -  it takes long enough as it is!

The other thing I cant work out is whether I should have my dear mama make bags or whether to just use sheets? I need each one to comfortably hold one regular builders bucket of pulp and press evenly.

Will try to enclose some photos below to illustrate my set up...

Dean.

[Dean Holland]

Seems you need to click "show quoted text" above to view the photos.

Dean.

[Ray Blockley]

Hi Dean,

 

Nice looking press. With such fine slits in the sides you may have got away with not using any bag in the press but running the juice through a coarse or medium straining bag *after* pressing...? Maybe worth a try.

I wouldn't panic about some pulp getting through - it will settle out and form a nice deposit to rack off.

 

Whatever, I think I'd avoid fine straining bags. I used plain net curtain (terylene / polyester) for many years in my home-made pack press as others have done too; I used 4, 6 and finally 10 tonne jacks and the net cloths never ripped or burst.

 

We went to our local market and hunted through the fabrics until we found some that looked good and strong with the mesh size we were after.

 

Ray

[will rollason]

HI dean, i use net curtains from IKEA, fairly robust and cheap last a couple of seasons. I use a 20 ton shop press with rack and cloth .

[Max Nowell]

Hi Dean, I use a big cotton dust-sheet cut into squares in my pack press, but I have done the same as yourself with my basket press, just by filling the basket with pulp a layer at a time with a folded sheet zig-zagging between the layers, and it greatly improved extraction.  The dust sheet makes nice floppy hairs, which kind of grip well when they're folded over so the cheese is easy to keep square and tidy. I don't use racks at all.

[Dean Holland]

Thanks guys.

Looks like I am going to sand and hand paint the press to remove ant sharp edges and then use regular net curtain fabric.

The press worked well enough even though it seemed to not press the pomace totally dry. More patience next year and more/bigger cheeses.

What paint should I use for the press, basket and base? Also what about the thick ply racks/discs?

Thanks,

Dean.

[AndyinDevon]

Hi Dean

I use pure tung oil on my oak press parts to seal it. Pure tung oil is derived from a nut and is used for food safe applications. It is also provides a very very durable finish indeed and stacks up well against solvent based products. It generally takes a little while longer to cure in comparison to solvent based products but I've been very happy with the performance of it on my equipment. It also enhances the grain quite nicely! 

I would second the advice for curtain nets as press cloths. I've been using cotton net curtain fabric this year and last year and it takes the strains and stresses of pressing incredibly well. In my opinion you really don't need to buy anything specialist to use as a pressing cloth. The only thing I did (not based on anything scientific) was to boil and rinse the fabric a few times to wash out any manufacturing residues.

Pressing plate wise I use 10mm HDPE discs and opt for multiple thin cheeses rather than a small number/single fat cheese as is the temptation with the basket press.

Good luck.

[DaveK]

On Thursday, November 21, 2013 3:13:43 PM UTC, Dean Holland wrote:

Hi guys,

Learnt a lot in my first year of proper pressing.

I have a home made basket type press that holds approx 20 litres. To increase yield instead of filling it in one go I made several 'cheeses' from fine straining bags from my local home brew store. These are alternated with thick circular discs of plywood as the 'rack'. All of which sit inside a removeable slatted cylindrical barrel ontop a metal base.

I am not sure if they burst under pressure or if they tore on my equipment but either way one by one they failed, only just got through the session.

Where can I buy fabric cheaply to use for making these cheeses. I need about half a dozen or so.

Check out englishseadog in Weymouth, on Ebay.  Someone else on here mentioned him.  This is his standard polyester mesh http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CIDER-MAKING-MESH-NET-FILTER-STRAIN-FRUIT-JUICE-SCRUMPY-/380745225889?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Food_SM&hash=item58a62f16a1 

 

It is polyester (= terylene).

 

We wanted some heavier polyester to ensure survival in a large hydraulic press, and he found some in his warehouse, he's very helpful.  The material seems to be for bags for sails, but with an approx 2mm x 1mm hole size it's just right for cider pressing, and it's good value.  We had a sample of the standard stuff as well, it would be fine for a basket press.

 

Watch the washing temperature though.  40 degrees is plenty

[Mirko88]

Hi! I'm sorry if 5 years have passed! Please can you tell me which ikea curtain did you used?
I would like to make a bag but I don't know which ikea curtain to buy :Lill or Teresia.
The first is a sheer net curtain, the second a sheer curtain.
Lill has a wider net than Teresia.
Which one did u used?
Thank you!

[Torborg]

I use  'ALVINE SPETS' curtins or Sunrid fabric both from Ikea. They work very vell both of them. Just dont use 'Lill'.

[Mirko88]

Just bought teresia curtain from ikea this mornin...

[Torborg]

Tell how us how teresia work. I was planing to test them, but didn't find them last time I was at Ikea. I really like the two types I use now. Strong enough and not too elastic.

[Tim Bowman]

how did that fabric work Mirko?