Cider Pressing 2013

[Crastney]

If I can upload my cider photos, then this thread will have images, otherwise it's just me saying that I've scratted and pressed 2 large bags of cooking apples so far, with one bag to go, using a press that I built two years ago, and a scratter which I re-built and modified this year (no cider making last year as very few apples around).
This happened in two pressings - the first using a scissor jack that I got from a car mechanic for a fiver, which started bending when under pressure, the second pressing using a brand new 2 ton bottle jack that I purchased from Halfords on Tuesday lunchtime - because I'd scratted the apples on Sunday afternoon, but the shops were already closed when I realised that my jack was knackered, so I had to put the pulp into a container and leave it for two days before pressing, and I guess I got more juice, because of the better jack, and macerated fruit.

so here's one bag of cooking apples - I had two bags like this - some of them are very large

here's my scratter

This is some apples cut up, and in the scratter hop ready for pulping - the metal stick is the handle end of a steak mallet that I was using as a persuader. This year a modification to the scratter is to have both sides nearer to the cylinder with screws in to get a finer mash, however one side is slightly further away so the pulp that does mash is finer than last time, but you do get big bits of skin with little apple on going the other side where the gap is wider. Last time all the screws were further out, and they actually gripped the apples more as I turned the handle, so the scratting was easier, as it didn't need the persuader that I was forced to use this time.... so adjustments for next time.

two pics of the press being made up - notice the car jack bottom left in the second pic.

and this sideways one is the loaded press under pressure with a collecting bucket. I'm not certain that it's ok as I think it's aluminium, but I haven't noticed any metal taint to the cider so I guess it's ok.
You can see the width of the slats in my racks in this one.

I didn't take as many photos as I thought, and I don't have any from the second pressing with the new bottle jack but I still have apples left so this weekend I'll do another pressing and take more pics.

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

I'm pretty sure the jam pan is aluminium as it looks almost identical to my other's jam pan. The cider will be fine, but it's best not to store the juice in the pan overnight - get it into the FV ASAP.

How many litres did you make?

 

[Crastney]

so far about 2.5 gallons - it's about a half full FV, and yes the liquid was only in the jam pan for a short while, then straigt into the FV. suprisingly, I pressed it to a point where it was difficult to press any further, and the juice was flowing, and then walked away, ended up watching TV in the other room listening to the flow, then drip of the liquid, and when it stopped dripping I went back in, and I found I could put more pressure on the jack, so did the same again. So some of the juice might have been in the jam pan for an hour, but not much longer.