Clogging Filters

[danno]

I guess we're officially in mid season here in CNY. Sap the last two days came in pretty cloudy with lots of scum. As a result, I was clogging pre filters pretty frequently. With my set up, I can see this being a real problem as we move into late season.

I'm a one tank operation. Releaser sits atop of my 1000 gallons tank. That same tank feeds the RO from a bottom valve, therefore I can't pump the good sap from the top, and dump the dregs. Anybody have any ideas on how to reduce the scum before it hits that 5 micron filter? When I'm drawing those last 50 gallons in the tank, I can clog a new filter in 10 gallons.

My 200 gph RO only has a single, standard household filter, not the longer ones you see on bigger machines. I'm sure a bigger one would help, but not solve the problem. How about putting a 50 micron filter before the 5 micron?

[Brent]

I suppose the big question is whether its coming into the tank with the scum or growing in the tank. We lost a lot of sap last year because our tanks got a film inside them. We had to dump everything, clean and start fresh. It was a sugarmaker's nightmare

[mapleack]

Possibly rig up a sap filter bag for the releaser to dump into. Sounds like junk from the tubing is plugging you up. Also the filter housings for 20" filters are only 35 bucks, possible upgrade for next year.

[danno]

Brent - keeping the tanks washed after each run. Scum is coming into the tank with the sap. Happens every year and gets worse as the season progresses.

Andy, I have one of those filter bags from when I used to boil without an RO. I think I'll try that short term.

[Brent]

Sounds like a change for end of season is due.

I take fresh water to the bush in tanks and pump it up through the pipeline with a little Honda gas pump. Take each adaptor off and let it run a few seconds, then cap it. Let it sit with the system full for a day, then drain. Virtually no stuff in the lines next season.

The bags on the releaser sound like a solution, but from the sounds of it you'll need several bags and someone sitting there to change and rinse them every few mintues.
Bummer.

[danno]

Brent, I don't think the sludge is from last year's dirty lines, I think the trees expell it with the sap later in the season. I wash lines off season and my early season sap this year was crystal clear.

I think everybody who makes late season/commercial syrup experiences this? I think I got it this past run because we had not had a freeze up for 5 days preceeding but were still getting lots of sap on good vacuum.

[Gary in NH]

A 50-micron before the 5-micron should help. If it doesn't go to a 25-micron before the 5-micron. If you have an Ametek/Pentek brand filter housing the 10" and 20" sumps are interchangeable so you could change to the 20" filters without doing any plumbing, just swap the sumps if there is room. Going to 20" housings will double the filter capacity and cut pressure loss through a new filter by 50% since you have twice as much surface area.

[green4310]

I have a set up like yours only my releaser sits atop a 560gal bulk tank and I use no prefilter at all from the releaser.
I hose the tank out after each boil. I have been lucky so far at timing the rinse out between releases.
My ro takes down 360gph and I went to two 4x20 filters this year because I was having a similar problem to yours.
I ran a 10 micron followed by a 5 micron with absolutely no restriction to the RO input.
I say I ran because, the last 1500 or so gallons I took down, I used only the 4x20 (5micron single filter housing).
Still works great. Next week we are expecting a warm up and then I will go back to the 10micron in front.
Based on my experience the 4x20 should put you where you need to be. I get my filters on eBay for around $10.

good luck

[Snow Hill Farm]

I'm finding my new RO set up to be causing a similar problem, lots of scum in the bottom of the tanks (two connected together) that feed the RO, feed line is 8" off the floor and releaser sits on top of a tank. Is there any type of shorter pre-filter that I could put in line where the line is 8" off the floor? I have had to change the filter out after 1000-2000 gallons of sap and I'm using a sock over it as well. My concern is the season is far from over and what will it be like later? Is there any type of pre filter that sits under the releaser and catches the dump into the tank? It would have to be large because the releaser dumps 20 gallons at a time...