H.A.M.,
If I were you, I would take another look at Carter's press.
His 8" model (will hold up to an 8" diameter mold which will easily do a 5 gallon batch), is very very compact and will not take up much space at all.
The press itself takes up an approx. 10" squared space and as for the air tank.....well it comes with 15 feet of air hose so it can simply sit on the floor with plenty of hose to spare.
For that matter, the entire setup could sit on the floor, completely clearing up your counter space. It really is a very compact unit.
As for the air usage and need for refilling......
If you rig your tank up correctly I'd bet you could make close to 10 wheels of cheese before even thinking about needing to recharge.
I never dreamed that this press would be so thrifty concerning it's air usage but even on a 24 hour press I will only see the pressure in the tank drop a pound or two.
I honestly can't say enough about how well this press performs.
With a spring style press you constantly have to readjust the spring to keep the same amount of pressure on the wheel. As the curd compresses the spring is not putting out the same amount of force, and a screw type press would be exactly the same.
With Carter's design, the cylinder is constantly "re-adjusting" itself to keep the exact same amount of force on the mold. By re-adjusting I simply mean that if the curd compresses the air cylinder continues to lower the ram which presses on the follower.
Also, a dutch style of press is going to take up MUCH more room than Carter's press and not be nearly as stable. This truly is a press that you can set up and walk away, from.
I'm sure that by now everyone is convinced that I'm working on a commission program from Carter's site, but the truth of the matter is that The Master Series Cheese Press is the best thing that I've seen for the home cheese maker, hands down.
I don't have a thing in this other than wanting to see others experience just how well this design works.
P.S......Carter, that's another $50.00 you owe me.
Dave