Pre-filter cleaning???

[red maples]

I know to boil new filters. DO you need to do the same for pre-filters too?

[maplwrks]

Just rinse them in hot water. The idea of boiling the felts is to shrink the fabric, making it "tighter"

[afretired]

I don't want to steel Red Maple's thread but I want to add another question to it. Last night I filtered and bottled, had 5 pre-filters inside the wool filter. One of the pre filters stopped up and I removed it and finished bottleing. Now, I understand to clean the wool filter, but what about the remaining 4 pre-filters?

David

[whalems]

I rinse mine out w/ hot water.

[Father & Son]

Yes, I did boil my pre filters before the first use (Rinse, Boil, Rinse). The one year I didn't I had an off flavor in my first draw.

Jim

[red maples]

I dip new ones in boiling water then rinse very good. I do reuse pre-filters just rinse them out in hot water. and let 'em dry or put them in a bag and stick them into the freezer.
But I only re-use them a few times afraid of any off flavors getting imbeded in the fabric.

I switched from the cone to flat this year!!! I could never get the cones filtered syrup to get crystal clear, I made a nice pan out a hotel pan and had a spiggot welded to the side, and use clips to hold the filters in place. after I used it to refilter some syrup I will never go back to cones!!! Easier to clean, more surface area for syrup to go through easier to change prefilters.

Thanks!!!

[maplwrks]

Alfretired---rinse your cone prefilters out in you flue pan if you don't have any nitre on them. Otherwise, just rinse in hot water.

[thenewguy]

boiling new filters r rinsing them before you use them? really? never done that before...thanks for the tip

[Maple Ridge]

I would like to add a question about rinsing filters. Do you filter through a wet filter, or dry? I have always boiled them before filtering and let the drip. I would run my finished product thought them wet. I have been told by a producer to use them dry. Any comments on what is the right way?

[whalems]

Ihave had better luck leaving them wet. Seems to go thru faster and my syrup comes out clear.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

filter through a wet filter or you will be filtering all night!

[maple marc]

Red Maples,

I like your idea of using the hotel pan as a flat filter holder. Could you please provide more details of how you rigged the pan to hold the flat filters? Is there a chance the syrup could leak around the sides of the filters? Could be a big improvement over my cone setup.

Thanks,
Marc