DIY grape press from a washing machine

After harvesting a bountiful grape crop, it's time to process the ripe fruit into juice or delicious wine. Specialized equipment can be purchased for this purpose, but not everyone is willing to incur the significant additional costs. You can build a grape press yourself with minimal investment. Let's explore how to turn a used washing machine into a grape press.

Preparing the material

One of the key components of a future grape press is a deep bowl to hold the berries. Besides its impressive size, the container must have other requirements: it must have openings through which the berry juice can drain. The container must also be made of an inert material. A washing machine drum made of stainless steel will serve perfectly as a bowl for grapes. There are already holes of the appropriate diameter on its surface.

If necessary, existing holes can be enlarged using a metal drill.

If you've decided to build a homemade press, first prepare the drum:

• remove the rib punches from it (plastic elements will interfere with pressing the berries);
• Using a grinder, remove the metal protrusions intended for attaching the rib piercers;
• Use a grinder to cut off the part of the drum located near the hatch door;
• If there are any bulges on the surface of the drum, take a hammer and turn them into concavities.

The bowl of the future wine press is now prepared. You can begin assembling the structure. For this, you'll need a 1 x 1 meter metal sheet, a metal angle, a heavy cast iron or steel circle sized to match the drum diameter, a threaded rod approximately 0.8 meters long, and a smooth metal rod.

Assembling the press

Making your own grape juice extractor isn't as difficult as it might seem at first glance. The steps are quite simple, but it does require patience, diligence, and even a little ingenuity.

• Take a corner and form it into a U-shaped frame to which the chassis will be attached.
• Drill a hole in the metal frame to attach the cast iron circle to it later.
• Make a tray to collect the juice from a meter-long sheet of metal. Bend the ends upward, and create a gutter along one edge to allow the grape juice to drain.
• Attach the U-shaped "horizontal bar" to the pallet. It's important to securely attach the frame, as it is essentially the main component of the grape press.
• Place the drum from the washing machine under the crossbar.
• Insert a threaded stud into the hole drilled in the frame and weld a smooth metal rod to its upper end, which will act as the press handle.
• Weld a cast iron or steel circle to the bottom of the threaded rod.
• Check the operation of the pressing mechanism.
• Adjust the position of the drum so that the heavy pancake fits into the bowl without obstruction.
• Weld the tank to the pan.

The grape press is now assembled. All that's left to do is place it on the work surface at a slight angle to allow the pressed liquid to drain smoothly, and place a container under the groove to collect the finished juice.

As you can see, making your own berry juice press is quick and inexpensive. After installing the mechanism, you should test the device to ensure it's working properly. To do this, fill the drum with ripe berries and begin moving the press handle. This activates the working surface designed for crushing the berries. The resulting juice will flow out of the holes and into the prepared container. The container for collecting grape juice must be made of inert material. It is acceptable to use wooden, enameled bowls or stainless steel containers.

   

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