Weston Apple and Fruit Crusher (05-0201), Cast Iron Construction, Stainless Steel Chute & Crushing Blades

I bought this grinder to use with the Weston fruit press which I also purchased. (see copy of review below...) It worked really well. My apples are not large, so I didn't have the problem of the apples needing to be cut to feed through. Easy to use and easy to clean with a garden hose. I got just over a gallon of cider for every five gallons of whole apples. It only took about five minutes (or less) to grind each five gallon bucket. I made 25 gallons of cider in six or seven hours...From my review of the Weston press: "After reading the positive and negative reviews, I decided to go ahead and buy the Weston press and grinder from Amazon this fall to juice apples from our trees. I found it worked very well, and in fact can't wait until next year to do it all again! Many of the issues in the negative reviews are not that big of a deal. In fact many of the complaints are simply not well founded. Yes, the ratchet only advances a quarter inch per pull, but this means you're getting that much more torque as well. Yes, the wood blocks tend to move a little, especially when starting a new press batch, but a little steadying as the ratchet decends keeps them in line until the pressure is sufficient to hold them in place. I found that when pressing our ground apples (I also used the Weston grinder), I got the best results by only loading the press to about 50% capacity. This is the equivalent of about a five gallon bucket of whole apples before grinding. By only loading it to 50%, the pressure per square inch on the fruit is increased by at least double when compared to the pressure on a full press. I got about 20% more juice per press by only loading it to half. I did not press the fruit twice as per the directions, simply due to time constraints as I wanted to get through all of our apples.I was worried that I would need to make some pressing bags, but did not find that necessary for apples. The design of the press keeps the apple flesh in place during compaction, and I used a simple kitchen strainer as I poured the juice into the jugs for freezing to remove any larger pieces. A friend came by to juice some pears, and I wished I had lined the inside of the wooden pess barrel with a flour sack, or made some simple bags to retain the pear flesh, as it was kind of a mess. I haven't tried grapes or any other soft fruits, as we can't grow them where I live. I would imagine based on the experience with the pears that you would want to use something.It seems to me that those who had negative experiences expected too much and weren't willing to put forth a little extra elbow grease and patience to make it successful. It's not rocket science, and there is no "on/off" switch. It's a well-built and sturdy version of technology that is thousands of years old. My only criticism is that I wish the mouth of the spout dropped a little lower. Sometimes the juice did not pour cleanly off the spout, but tracked back on the bottom of the pan before dripping. No big deal, but seems like a simple design fix.I would highly recommend the press and grinder. I got more than 25 gallons of fresh juice/cider in about six or seven hours of work. We'll enjoy it all winter now!"

This crusher works well for apples - we crushed over 10 bushels last fall for cider in batches of 1-2 bushels. Other than the small inconvenience of having the cut up the apples beforehand, the crusher works very well. It's easy to turn and easy to clear if it gets clogged - usually you can clear a clog simply by reversing the direction you spin the handle. If you have a big jam, you can reach inside and pull out the apples - just make sure you tell the person who is turning the crank to stop first!If you were doing a lot of apples, you would want a bigger, more industrial crusher. For small batches, though, this crusher is solidly made and works very well.Clean up is pretty simple - I usually would crush outside so it was simply a matter of taking the garden hose and spraying down the crusher, then leaving it to dry in the sun. It would be more difficult to clean if you couldn't wash it outside - maybe you could wash it in a big basin sink or your bath tub?

I haven't used this yet, so this is just initial impressions. I'll try to update with a comment about how well it works after I crush some apples. It's solid, and the crank turns smoothly. There are no obvious defects, except a tiny chip inside, on a cast iron part (which I can touch up easily). The reason for touch up is that apples will react with exposed metal, which brings me to the hardware they include for mounting the chute. The chute is stainless steel, but the hardware looks like galvanized, which would react. I can't say for sure, but it is simple enough to pick up a couple stainless bolts at the hardware store. I consider that a minor issue, considering the low price. Of more concern is the wood used to make the drum inside. Looks like poplar, which tends to be pretty soft, which means that anything hard (stems, seeds) could make indentations. The problem with that is that little indentations in the finish create places for bacteria (namely acetobacter) to grow. A very hard wood, like maple, would have been better, because a hard wood creates a firmer substrate for whatever finish coating is applied, and, if the substrate doesn't dent, the finish coating is less likely to be compromised. Which brings me to the finish itself. It looks as if there is a very thin finish, only enough to raise the grain a bit and give a rough texture, again a problem in terms of cleaning. Having said all this, I had fairly low expectations for a grinder that is a fraction of the cost of others on the market. I would have been disappointed if the mechanism didn't operate smoothly, but, as is, I believe I got a good value. Frankly, even if I took the whole thing apart and carefully applied more finish, there would still be nooks and crannys for acetobacter, so I will probably not attempt to improve the finish and, instead, direct my efforts toward very thorough cleaning.

Bought this for making apple cider. It worked really well. Seems sturdy and I am expecting it to last a long time. Just clamped it to the table using the c-clamps provided and it was ready to go. I did not buy the extended hopper and did not find that we needed it. Initially we were quartering the apples, but with some experimentation we found that with our apples at least which were maybe medium to small sized that it actually did a better job of crushing the apples when we put them in whole, which of course saved a lot of time cutting apples. Cleaned up pretty easily by just spraying it off with the hose and then letting it dry. Used it for two pressings at this point.

We tried other apple crushers, but this one shreds them up very quickly and with a lot less arm effort than others. Have gone through two crates already and have yet to have a single apple get stuck. Works great, was mostly assembled for table top use right out of the box, but you have to take it off the wooden base to install the slide. Once that was figured out, it went back together and was ready to shed. High quality materials including cast iron. Very impressed. Cleans up with a hose.

works very well, we make great apple juice and vine, easy to clean

Looks great. Should work better than a juicer. We will add an electric motor and pully & counter weight. Ask again after next years harvest.

good quality for the good price

Shipping was perfect And quickProduct was exactly what I wanted

Received in perfect order:+++++