Bladder Press Air vs Water

[mainshipfred]

Commercial bladder presses use air instead of water to fill their bladders. I was thinking of doing the same. My thoughts are I can regulate a set pressure without having to constantly monitor the pressure and adding more water once the skins relax. I realize if not careful the air pressure could rupture the bladder. Does anyone see a problem with this or could it just be everyone has access to water but not everyone have access to an air compressor.

 

[Johnd]

Commercial bladder presses use air instead of water to fill their bladders. I was thinking of doing the same. My thoughts are I can regulate a set pressure without having to constantly monitor the pressure and adding more water once the skins relax. I realize if not careful the air pressure could rupture the bladder. Does anyone see a problem with this or could it just be everyone has access to water but not everyone have access to an air compressor.

Water pressure is different in a bladder press than air. Think about the water pressure at the bottom of the bladder /water column vs the top. Air doesn’t do that, the pressure is equal all over, as it has almost no mass. That said, I have no idea if it would work, or blow up your bladder. Give it a shot!

 

[mainshipfred]

Water pressure is different in a bladder press than air. Think about the water pressure at the bottom of the bladder /water column vs the top. Air doesn’t do that, the pressure is equal all over, as it has almost no mass. That said, I have no idea if it would work, or blow up your bladder. Give it a shot!

I also considered the even pressure which I thought would be a plus. When bladder pressing with water the juice starts being pressed from the bottom and works it's way up. The bladder press has a pressure relief valve which I would think works the same with air but not sure.

 

[AaronSC]

I'm really interested in this too, since where I am water is scarce. I have a nice air compressor, and a Speidel bladder press designed for water.

BTW, I'm looking for a larger press, I have the 90 liter now and I'm looking for something in the 300 liter range. Anyone know of any air bladder presses in that range? Not sure why there aren't any smaller size air bladder presses...

Thanks,
-Aaron

 

[balatonwine]

Does anyone see a problem with this

Water is not compressible. Air is.

When a vessel under hydrostatic pressure fails, it is annoying.

When a vessel under air pressure fails, it is explosive.

And I would assume that commercial tools are of a higher quality than consumer grade retail products, and also require regular testing and evaluation to confirm their integrity, which few if any consumers would/could/do on a retail product.

Quite frankly, for consumer grade tools, I would not switch the methods of pressure unless approved by the manufacturer.