How much syrup is lost?

[3fires]

...in a flat filter?

I use 4 pre's and a flat inside a mesh basket that fits snug in a 5 gallon bucket. The flat seems pretty heavy when I pull it out after filtering and i'm curious just how much syrup is left in there that's going down the drain.

Thanks!

[John c]

When I filter a gallon of finished syrup I lose just about 4 ounces in the filter every time!

[BryanEx]

You can always rinse your filters in sap to reclaim the sugar before doing a heavy wash.

[maple flats]

When I used such filters I used to hang the filter several hours and catch the drippings. By then they had given up most but not all of the sugar. I did not rinse and save to boil but that would be good too.

[Gary in NH]

I finished off and filtered my last gallon and a half the other night. I had brought it to within 2% of being syrup and temporarily stored it in large mason jars while I waited for a glass bottle order to arrive. Once finished I use a hanging synthetic cone filter and several synthetic pre-filters inside and remove one at a time as flow slows. I run it through as soon as it's syrup so it's going through hot and the filters are pre-wetted. I don't usually wait to finish and bottle so I took to opportunity this time to quantify before and after filtration. I lost 9.3% volume to filtering this way in the last batch. It is crystal clear and looks great but as a small producer losing 9.3% hurts.:o

[3fires]

Wow, 9.3% is alot.

I'm curious if rinsing the used filters back into the sap to reclaim sugar would be putting the sugar sand back in as well?

I know i lost 10-20% in the filters among other things, it definitely adds up especially if you're doing small 1 to 2 gallon batches.

[GramaCindy]

Gary, just curious, did you do your measurements on both batches of hot, or was the almost ready to go syrup cold? If they weren't both hot, would the same thing that happens to syrup in a bottle, (reduction after cooling) apply? I would really hate to believe that we are loosing that much product in filtering...:mad:

[Gary in NH]

Wow, 9.3% is alot.

I'm curious if rinsing the used filters back into the sap to reclaim sugar would be putting the sugar sand back in as well?



I don't think rinsing back the filters into the pan is an option for me. I start with 8% to 11% concentrate from my RO on SS restaurant pans over propane for an evaporator so when I'm done everything gets completely cleaned up.

[Gary in NH]

Gary, just curious, did you do your measurements on both batches of hot, or was the almost ready to go syrup cold? If they weren't both hot, would the same thing that happens to syrup in a bottle, (reduction after cooling) apply? I would really hate to believe that we are loosing that much product in filtering...:mad:

Measurements were room temp to start then into glass bottles while hot. I filled each type of container with a pre-measured amount of water to get a fill level so the numbers are pretty accurate. My actual calculations were 10% but I took of .7% for volume difference between cold and hot fill. I always knew I was losing volume to filtering, just never had a real number. I think it's easier for small producers to see the loss because we are finishing in pots with known volumes versus an larger evaporator pan. For instance my 8qt. stainless steel pot is half full on my stove when I'm @ 66% then I bottle and I'm quite short of a gallon of syrup.

[happy thoughts]

Measurements were room temp to start then into glass bottles while hot. I filled each type of container with a pre-measured amount of water to get a fill level so the numbers are pretty accurate. My actual calculations were 10% but I took of .7% for volume difference between cold and hot fill. I always knew I was losing volume to filtering, just never had a real number. I think it's easier for small producers to see the loss because we are finishing in pots with known volumes versus an larger evaporator pan. For instance my 8qt. stainless steel pot is half full on my stove when I'm @ 66% then I bottle and I'm quite short of a gallon of syrup.

Are you sure your pot is actually 8 qts? Also, a half full 8 qt pot of hot syrup is not 4 qts of syrup because on cooling it's volume would decrease. Could that difference account for some of the loss you're seeing?

[Gary in NH]

Are you sure your pot is actually 8 qts? Also, a half full 8 qt pot of hot syrup is not 4 qts of syrup because on cooling it's volume would decrease. Could that difference account for some of the loss you're seeing?

The only REAL numbers I have are the ones mentioned earlier in this post for the 9.3% loss. Others are estimates but you definitely lose volume when filtering. What would you estimate the difference in volume to be between the boiling point and room temperature?

[happy thoughts]

What would you estimate the difference in volume to be between the boiling point and room temperature?

I wouldn't even hazard a guess. I usually start bottling my small batches when the syrup cools to 185 and even at that lower temp volume loss is definitely noticeable on cooling especially in a traditional narrow neck syrup bottle.

It seems to me that one way you can get a good guestimate of filtering loss is to use a digital cooking scale, weigh the dry filter and then weigh it again after use. Subtract the weight of the dry filter. The weight of a gallon of 66 brix syrup is 178.2 oz. That makes a cup of syrup a hair over 11 ozs.