What is the best filtering and bottling system for a 50 gallon per season operation.

[Indiana-Jones]

Hi everyone. I'm looking to upgrade my filtering and bottling part of my operation. Last year we made 15 gallons of syrup and filtered into cone filters into a 100 cup coffee urn. This worked, but filtering was slow and temperature control was tough. So, I'm thinking that fixing this part of the operation will be the best use of the money made selling syrup at the local farmers market.

50 gallons per year will be about the max that I can make with the bush that I have, so I'm asking for suggestions relevant to an operations of that size.

Thanks

[jmayerl]

For that amount I would look for a water jacketed coffee maker. They can be bought for 100-800 bucks. Use flat filters and filter aid. This has worked good for me for a few years. We usually have batches between 5-10 gallons. A press wouldn't be out of the question but will cost twice as much.

[Indiana-Jones]

jmayerl, are you talking about two separate items, a coffee urn and a filter box? Or making a rack in the top of the urn for flat filters.

Thanks for the reply.

[FDA]

Here is a new filter press for 800.00 http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=49&title=5-26quot-3b-hand-filter-press&cat=9

Here is a new flat filter bottler for 270.00 http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=204&title=15-x-15-x-10-finisher-2fbottler&cat=9

[jmayerl]

Nope you use the coffee filter rack to hold the flat filters. I will post a pic tomorrow. I have bought 2 and seen another for 150 bucks in the last few months.

[Indiana-Jones]

Nope you use the coffee filter rack to hold the flat filters. I will post a pic tomorrow. I have bought 2 and seen another for 150 bucks in the last few months.I searched "coffee Urn" on ebay and there is a lot that comes up. Do you have a model number so that I can narrow the search?

Thanks for the reply's

[jmayerl]

360340944276

This is a eBay item number of what you should be looking for. If you keep your eyes open, they can be found on Craigslist, used restaurant supply stores or auctions for really cheap. American metalware, and Curtis are 2 of the makers I know of. Mine will hold about 7 gallons.

[RustyBuckets]

If I want to make coffee I would buy a coffee pot now if I wanted to make syrup I would by a water jacket bottler with a flat filter rack on top. Its designed for syrup, will hold its value forever and wont cost you a years production to pay for. A 6 gallon one should fit you nice.

[FDA]

Thats a lot of cash to spend on a used coffee maker. If i were you would go this route. http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=209&title=16-26quot-3bx16-26quot-3b-finishing-pan&cat=9
http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=211&title=steam-pan-for-finishing-pan&cat=9
This Yooper has a pretty cool setup for 500.00, plenty big enough for 50 gallons per year with room to grow. Set it up on a turkey fryer, fill the steam pan with water and bottle away.

[Indiana-Jones]

Well, I guess my question has boiled down to flat filter box or small filter press. I'm going to a need the double boiler bottler regardless.

Is a filter press worth the money over flat filters??

[RileySugarbush]

I went from cone filters to a small filter press last year. I really liked it a lot, much faster and perfectly clear. Troublesome syrup near the end of the year clogged it up, but it would have been even worse with a gravity filter.

I got mine from Daryl Sheets. Great guy and a nice press

[Indiana-Jones]

I went from cone filters to a small filter press last year. I really liked it a lot, much faster and perfectly clear. Troublesome syrup near the end of the year clogged it up, but it would have been even worse with a gravity filter.

I got mine from Daryl Sheets. Great guy and a nice press

John, on that press that you have, how is the hand pump to clean and how much syrup do you think you lose using your press.

[Father & Son]

I-J,
I also have a hand pump press from Daryl.
The press is very easy to clean with no syrup loss.
At the end of each night I take about a gallon of hot sap from the flue pan and pump it through the press. I dump this back in the evaporator and no sugar is lost.
Then I break the press down and clean with hot water.

Jim

[Indiana-Jones]

I-J,
I also have a hand pump press from Daryl.
The press is very easy to clean with no syrup loss.
At the end of each night I take about a gallon of hot sap from the flue pan and pump it through the press. I dump this back in the evaporator and no sugar is lost.
Then I break the press down and clean with hot water.

Jim

AHHH, I see, said the blind man.

Thanks for the help.

[nymapleguy607]

I guess I'm the odd one out for 50 gallons I would go with the cone filters. I have a filter stand to hang them on right next to the evaporator and draw the syrup right off the evaporator through them and into my pails that later go in my canner. The key to using them I have found is to stack the prefilters inside and when one plugs switch to the next. I haven't had any problems with getting cloudy syrup when I pack in glass. If money isn't a problem then by all means a filter press would be nicer, but for 50 gals it seems like a lot of waste because each time you boil you might get 2-3 gals of syrup to filter through it. Last thing is I use the wool filter rather than the Orlon. The wool I like better because there is no seam to try and get clean after filtering.

[Gary R]

My suggestion is first determine how easily your syrup filters. Light syrup filters easier than dark. A trader north of me does 150+ gal. per year using cones. Most of his syrup is light. I tap mostly reds with close to 1% sugar content. My syrup is dark and "B" and filters very hard. I struggled for a few years using cones and 10 or so gallons. I grew and tried the hand press and it didn't work well for me. I finally bought a 7" short bank electric and I am happy, just turn the switch on. We're only doing 40 gal.+ a year. If anyone was with me last season, it was no fun not being able to filter the syrup.

[RileySugarbush]

I agree Gary. Late last year was crazy. To get the syrup through the press we charged the papers with hot water and DE instead of putting the DE right into the syrup. Also kept the filter and syrup very hot. Still had problems though, and I heard of many others that did too. If we were still using cone filters we wouldn't have gotten any through.

[spencer11]

dont mean to hijack but i should be able to make 40-50 gallons next year and about 150 in a couple years, money is a problem for me so i cant go spend tons on stuff for filtering but should i go with cone or flat filters for next season? if i go with flat i will need a real canner with filter rack, if i go with cones i shouldnt need one, but cones also dont work as well...

[adk1]

I do the same as nymapleguy607..Filter right off the evap into 3 prefilters and one cone filter..when the filtering slows, just remove one of the pre filters..Also, to help aid in the process, I always moisten my pre filters and filters. It helps allot.

IT is amazing how much gunk comes out of that syrup when you filter!

[Indiana-Jones]

Well guys, I decided to go with a new bottler from Smokey Lake Maple. Ordered the a 16"X16" with the steam tray double bottom and set up to use flat filters. We will see how we do this season and maybe opt for a filter press in the future. I guess I got to take each step and not miss one.

I will have filtered first year through cheese cloth, second year cones into coffee urn and for the third year flat filters.

We have to spend money this year on sap storage and a tubing experiment, so a press is on hold for a bit.

[Starting Small]

Does anyone have a link to the hand press pump? I may be interested, thanks,

[spencer11]

is this the one?

http://www.sugarbush.info/forsale/showproduct.php?product=49&title=5-26quot-3b-hand-filter-press&cat=26

[adk1]

Anyone know what the cost of a hand press is

[spencer11]

$825 for the one i poster

[adk1]

Yeah even for me with making 30 gallons that seems like allot of $ to put into filtering compared to the gravity setup I have right now. I guess if I was making more than 2 to 3 gallons at a rip I would be singing a different tune