If you are a happy owner of your own garden, and you have a good harvest of apples or other fruits, do not rush to distribute them to your neighbors so as not to spoil. You can assemble an apple press with your own hands from a washing machine and other improvised means. With the help of such a homemade juicer, you can prepare 20 liters of juice in an hour, an electric juicer cannot cope with this task.
A manual press will also be useful for winemakers, as it does not require additional costs for expensive equipment. The press copes with large volumes and retains all the beneficial properties of the juice.
General information
Such home-made juicers were made back in Soviet times from old washing machines, but in our 21st century, you can use a failed modern washing machine. For yourself, you can make a convenient compartment for loading apples, more spacious than purchased devices, for great productivity.
Note: when using a homemade press, fruits and vegetables must be thoroughly washed and chopped.
Attention: Use a fabric filter to squeeze the juice if you want the juice to be pulp-free and clear. Let the drink stand.
Washing machines use tanks made of stainless metal, which does not oxidize and does not react with juice, and is ideal for working with tartaric acids.
Important: the press differs from the juicer in that it does not require the use of electricity, while it does not heat up and retains the original taste of fruits and berries. This is especially important for winemakers!
To understand the assembly process, you will need a visual drawing.
Details
What do you need to get started?
1) Handle
2) press main screw
3) frame
4) metal disc
5) washing machine drum
6) outer case
7) pallet
As can be seen in the drawing, this design does not use a motor, that is, a press, unlike a juicer, can be used without electricity.
So, let's look at the press assembly step by step
1) You will need to remove the drum from your washing machine, clean it of lime and process it well. Lime is well cleaned with citric acid and boiling water.
2) Weld a frame from a metal corner and make a hole for a nut with a screw in the upper part. The nut must be welded into this hole.
3) Make a pallet out of a metal sheet, bending it at the edges to drain the juice.
4) According to the diameter of the tank, select or cut a metal circle and weld it to the screw.
5) Weld the handle horizontally to the screw in the upper part.
The press works as follows: you turn the screw, the metal circle falls and crushes the fruit. The juice passes through the holes in the tank and pours into the tray, and from the tray flows into the substituted container.
A more time-consuming process is an independent alteration of an electric juicer from an old washing machine.
Unlike a press, the performance of such a juicer is much greater, you do not need to constantly be near the machine. In addition, apples or other fruits and vegetables need only be washed, without additional chopping.
Remove the tank from the old washing machine and wash it thoroughly, remove scale. It is better to use citric acid. Remove all unnecessary parts, including the heating element.- All holes in the tank should be welded using tin sheets, leaving only the holes to which the drain for the finished juice will be attached.
- Make a grater from a round sheet of iron; it should be fifteen to twenty centimeters smaller than the diameter of the bottom. Drill holes of five mm and make them convex, as in a conventional grater. Put a metal circle on the rubber gasket to reinforce the structure.
- Screw a homemade grater, circle and rubber gasket to the bottom of the centrifuge with bolts. Stretch the nuts well from the outside, vibration is created during rotation, make sure that they do not unwind.
- Attach the drive with a belt and attach an engine with a power of at least 1500 rpm.
- The openings of the centrifuge are slightly larger than required and a lot of pulp will fall into the juice. In order to avoid this, you need to additionally install a fine mesh along the circumference of the tank. Or use a dampened cloth as a filter, also placing it on the inside of the drum.
- A pipe for loading apples should be fixed above the grater. The height from the grater is 4 cm, the diameter is 10-15 cm. It should be placed closer to the edge, for more convenient extraction of apple residues.
- All this apparatus must be installed on a metal structure welded from corners, for stability.
- To drain the juice to the tank, you need to attach a tube.
Please note: a homemade juicer is well suited for hard varieties of fruits and vegetables: apples, pears, carrots, pumpkins. For soft berries, including grapes, it is better to use a press.
Washing machines, after failure, can be converted into many useful household appliances: crushers, squeezers, mixers. It just takes a little ingenuity and patience!
