I have a large American Hydraulic cider press and I am using 36" racks. When I bought it from the second owner, he gave me some large cloths that were heavy, but they stunk to high heaven. They seemed like canvas or something similar, just way too old to use. Anyone have any recommendations for press cloths for a press this size?
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They have them on e-bay and amazon. I need some myself. The good ones can be washed and re-used.
Oesco sells polypropylene pressing cloth in many sizes but they are expensive
I’ve used untreated burlap in the past, but long term, it stretches. What material were they using 100 years ago? Gotta be some kind of canvas…
We have a smaller press than you but it is still a stacked cheese type setup with hydraulic generated pressure. We have experimented with a number of different options over the years. Cotton canvas or duck works but we have found that it won’t hold the pressure or wears out quickly in lighter weight than 12oz. Also, depending on the exact fabric and the sizing, finishing, and weave, it can be quite resistant to permeation by liquid which is of course what you need it to do. I have bought the same SKU from the same supplier a few years apart and had it work fine one time and not work the next.
Recently we tried out purpose made press cloths from this place:
They work very well - highly permeable, strong, and easy to handle and wash. I would definitely recommend trying them out. They are more costly than using canvas but they are much better for pressing. The main downside of not using cotton cloth is that I am deprived of a source of cider dyed and softened cloth to make clothes with once the cloth is retired from press duty.
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Here’s what I use: 90% UV shade cloth.
Coolaroo 302245 6X15 90% Uv Wheat Shade, 6’ x 15’
It comes in various sizes, cut to suit (the 6ft let me cut into two 3ft sections. I made 10 cloths from this amount.
It cleans up extremely well. Doesn’t get funky… and allows juice to flow without squeeze through.
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Ive been using synthetic curtains from walmart, they are fairly thick/strong, go in the washing machine easily and dont wear out. If you arent using a lot of pressure, synthetic sheets might work also…
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