What's the Best Filter Machine for 100 Taps?

[DonMcJr]

I have looked at all the sites that sell them and there's not alot of info on how they all work and such. So, could everyone give me some direction on the best filter/bottling setup for around 100 taps?

Thanks. (lets try this again ;) )

[psparr]

Was worried I wouldn't get anymore rabbit swimming videos! Welcome back.

[FDA]

A small hand press like this one would give you the best syrup quality. http://mapletrader.com/traderclassifieds/showproduct.php?product=1274&title=5-26quot-3b-hand-filter-press&cat=9

[Bruce L]

Don,why would you be looking at a filter press for 100 taps?We run about 1200 taps with a square filter tank,roughly 18"x18" with a flat filter and prefilter on it,and bottle the syrup right out of the bottom from a tap.
Bruce

[DonMcJr]

Bruce thats the kind of advice I am looking for...this is only my 2nd year and I currently use a hobby filter kit which is a ss pot, a wire strainer and 4 layers of filters the use a funnel to pour it from the pot to the bottles and I would like something easier and faster and am willing to pay more for something that doubles the easy and faster part.

[TerryEspo]

Mamma Mia....$825 for a filter for our small amounts !!

Not saying that is not a wrong price,,,,lol.

Don Mc J...hire a student to filter each year and save $750-$800 annually !!

I will work on a good filter style for us small guys and post it...hopefully this season.

Terry

[DonMcJr]

Its kinda like extracting honey from my beehives Terry...I coulda spent $300 for an extractor that did 2 frames at one time and have it take me 8 hours or I could do what I did and spend $700 for one that does 9 frames at a time and get it done in 3 hours.

My current hobby kit works great and filters the syrup great. I just want an easier and quicker way because as you saw last year from my 20 hour boils on my turkey fryer I dont like to stop til im done and I go right into filtering and bottling and something easier and quicker is worth the extra money to me especially if I am gonna make the decision to have 100 taps next year on gravity...:cool:

[heus]

Don for 100 taps just go with a flat filter and a 15x15 or 16x16 filter tank with screen. Thats all I use even when I made 127 gallons 2 years ago. I use one to filter and one as a bottler.

[Russell Lampron]

The hand pump filter press works the best for packing in glass. The syrup is crystal clear. Before I got a press I used a 16" x 16" canner made by Leader with a filter rack. It works good for a small producer but you will see some sediment in the bottom of a glass bottle after it sits for a while.

[BoarsNest]

I've used a cone filter since I started and it works good, but this year we bought a used 7" short bank filter press for $800. We wanted to reduce our time since our shack is an hour away. I was happy with the cone filter but it is a slower process.

[maple flats]

Don, just try your current filter kit and add some Filter Aid (FA). (FA comes in a 40 or 50# bag, try to buy a gal container full from a larger producer). Several rather large producers do so, filtering for thousands of taps. To do this just mix the FA into the hot syrup and pour the syrup into your filter. The use of FA will make your syrup even clearer and at the same time make the filtering go much faster.
For example, to filter 1 gal of hot syrup, mix in 1 cup of FA and pour the mix into the filter. The FA will keep the filter flowing faster because the surface does not clog as fast, but rather, the FA will be trapped on the filter and will form a filter cake as it does the job. A filter cake is a thickness that builds with the sugar sand imbedded. It flows faster because the sugar sand is spread out over a much thicker area. I will just caution, if your current filter kit is not a maple filter, get the real thing along with several pre filters because a filter not made for maple might not trap the FA. If buying, a flat filter method works lots faster than a cone filter since the cone filter gets loaded more at the bottom of the filter as the syrup runs low rather than filter over a larger portion of the filter. If you are not ready to get a filter tank, you can make one. Just devise a food safe screen with a flat bottom to place in a SS pot, lay a syrup filter in with 3-4 pre filters on top. Add syrup as described above after mixing in the FA. A manufactured filter tank has a SS tray, about 2-2.5" deep, SS sides and the bottom is about 1/4" mesh SS hardware cloth. The filter will be several inches larger than the tray so the filters hang over the sides a little. With you ingenuity you can make one, but buying a small canner (12x12?) will give you a handy way to heat, maintain temperature and dispense your syrup for bottling, but is not required. Look for used, as larger producers expand they are likely to sell the smaller canner.
Good luck
Dave

[500592]

A wine press see two threads down.

[325abn]

What is filter aide made from and how does it not add "stuff" to the syrup?

[wkies]

I use a cone filter and it works great. I think for 100 taps you could go that route and be happy.

[DonMcJr]

What is filter aide made from and how does it not add "stuff" to the syrup?

I'm also curious about this...

[DrTimPerkins]

What is filter aide made from and how does it not add "stuff" to the syrup?

"Filter aid" is diatomaceous earth (DE), or fossil diatoms (small ocean creatures). Their shells are made of silica, which is inert (so it doesn't add anything chemically or physically to the finished syrup). With a pressure press (plate or cannister), you have papers in the filter, but it is the DE that provides the filtering surface. The DE builds up on the paper, and requires the syrup to pass through the layer of DE and through the paper. Such pressure filtering is used widely in the liquid food and beverage industries.

[bnbmaplesyrup]

IS it possible to use the F.A. in a flat filter? I thought you had to have pressure to push the syrup thru the papers.

[CBOYER]

for the amount of taps, batches to filter will be around 1 gallon at a time.
you will loss a lot of syrup by using a Filter press, (you can wash with hot water and return to boil), i think the best is a cone filter.
Myself i filter two times, i pour the nearby syrup from the evaporator in a polyester cone filter (synthetic), and put the SSpot on a propane stove to achieve the perfect density (5-10min of boiling). after i used an orlon filter to get the sparkling clean syrup ready to be bottled. i never, never ad any settling in my syrup.

You could rince the outside of your orlon cone filters in the boiling sap, to dissolve remaining syrup, no loss.

[Spolcik]

Don you can get a finisher/Bottler with filter rack for $165 on ebay plus 30 for shipping 15x15x10 from wegner metal works.

Nice to see you posting again! Enjoy your posts and videos!

Steve

[Ed R]

Don Did you have any sediment issues with your syrup from last year ? If not either a cone filter set up or flat filter set up will work. Nice to see you back.

[Zamkev]

Don you can get a finisher/Bottler with filter rack for $165 on ebay plus 30 for shipping 15x15x10 from wegner metal works.

Nice to see you posting again! Enjoy your posts and videos!

Steve

The $165 price does not include the lid, filter rack or thermometer fitting. Add a thermometer and valve to these extras and you are quickly upwards of $400 - not including shipping.

[DonMcJr]

Thanks for all the good information. What about the Propane Ones, Like This? http://mapleguys.com/index.php?item=206&ret=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mapleguys.com%2Findex.php%3Fp age%3D1%26category%3D5

[Zamkev]

Thanks for all the good information. What about the Propane Ones, Like This? http://mapleguys.com/index.php?item=206&ret=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mapleguys.com%2Findex.php%3Fp age%3D1%26category%3D5

The filter/finisher mentioned below is essentially the pan that you see on top of this propane burner and stand. So for an extra $350 you get the stand and the burner.

[DonMcJr]

Ok so that pan is a Cone Filter on a bottling stand and propane to heat it?

[Zamkev]

no - it's a flat filter rack sitting in a 16X16 pan.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

for the amount of taps, batches to filter will be around 1 gallon at a time.
you will loss a lot of syrup by using a Filter press, (you can wash with hot water and return to boil), i think the best is a cone filter.
Myself i filter two times, i pour the nearby syrup from the evaporator in a polyester cone filter (synthetic), and put the SSpot on a propane stove to achieve the perfect density (5-10min of boiling). after i used an orlon filter to get the sparkling clean syrup ready to be bottled. i never, never ad any settling in my syrup.

You could rince the outside of your orlon cone filters in the boiling sap, to dissolve remaining syrup, no loss.

Just wondering how you figure that you "loose "syrup with a press ? I use a 10in. and don't loose any syrup at all. However before the press I used a 16by16 flat filter rack and canner combo. Filtered alot of syrup with it and think it is a good route to go for a smaller sized outifit.

[CBOYER]

ok, i'm french speaking, sometimes it is hard for me to explain: there is an apreciable amount of syrup that is needed to fill the filter press, and when you finish to filter, you need to dilute it to wash the press system. this amount is not so big for a 1000 taps operation, but is priceless for a 100 taps one. this water/syrup mix need to make the evaporating process again, on a half pint, it is a non required additional step. as you said cone or flat filter is the best way to go.

[heus]

Don you can get a finisher/Bottler with filter rack for $165 on ebay plus 30 for shipping 15x15x10 from wegner metal works.

Nice to see you posting again! Enjoy your posts and videos!
Steve
I have two of Andy Wegner's finish pans with filter racks. They do a nice job. One is used for finishing and the other for filtering/bottling.

[DonMcJr]

Hmm...im starting to like the flat filter/bottler setup. I'll have to take a trip to the supply house one of these days and do some looking and shopping!

[bnbmaplesyrup]

We took a stainless steam table pan and welded 3/8 fitting into it with ball valve . We then bent some 1/4 inch stainless mesh to fit down into the pan. We lay the filters in and have out flat filter. This year we have another pan that we have cut the corners on so the filter pan will fit into it. We will use this as a water bath. It should help in having even heat under the pan and developing sugar sand as we are bottling

[Springfield Acer]

It seems like the majority of opinions are that if you're not big enough for a press, that a flat filter works better than the cone?
I have never looked at a flat filter set up.

It would seem to me that the standing height of syrup in the cone would have a better chance of forcing its way through the filter. I always pictured the flat filter being limited to an inch or two of depth above.

How deep does the flat set up allow you to pour syrup onto?
Or maybe better stated, how many gallons will it hold above the filter; 5 or so, or just a gallon or two that requires you to slow feed onto it?

[spencer11]

i go one of andy filter units this year, and it looks awesome, put a dripless valve and a thermo on it and its ready to go, its an awesome looking pan, i didnt get the lid to save some $$ as you dont really need it, but ill have one next year

[Bruce L]

Don,I'll try to get a picture of our tank on soon.As far as quantity of syrup on the flat filter,depends on how far down the rack is from the top.Ours is down maybe 2" on an 18"x18" tank,I can pour 2 gallons easily onto it,syrup is poured on every 15-20 minutes,I can go from 15-22 gallons before I need to carefully move the paper prefilter on top or change it,never had an issue with either being stuck not being able to filter,or sediment or cloudiness in the bottles so long as you don't move or jiggle the filter while filtering.I first started out with the cone filters,and would NEVER do that again.The only true area you have for filtering is in the base of the cone,as everything including the sediment and syrup seeps to the bottom.
Bruce

[Cake O' Maple]

We then bent some 1/4 inch stainless mesh to fit down into the pan. We lay the filters in and have out flat filter.

I tried something last year on a lower scale than that, using a cooling rack and various s-hooks and threaded s- and eye-hooks and u-bolts, and mini bread pans prop up the filter around the rigging when necessary. Placed the contraption in the oven to help hold the heat, and bought foil steam pan covers to help hold in the heat. It helped but not enough. Have been planning to improve it for this year.

I love the SS mesh layer idea!! I could have my cooling rack back for the season.

I have a little experience working with metal--cut sheet metal, bent the top edge down 1/4", shaped various cookie cutters and soldered the seam. So, knowing my "experience," how difficult is it to bend 1/4" stainless mesh? Are you bending over the edge of a vice, table, or what? Need a ball-peen hammer for the bending?

And I can't visualize what's holding the mesh layer up in the steam pan...is it bent in an "Z" to travel up the sides and over the top on 2 sides of the pan??

Oh, and what is needed to trim the SS mesh? I assume something stronger than tin snips.

TIA!

Hope this isn't too off-topic--it related to filtering for [in the neighborhood of] 100 taps...:mrgreen:

[bnbmaplesyrup]

We just used the edge of the shop table to bend- tapped it with the hammer - we left a small lip on the edger to hold on the edge of the pan. We had power snips that we used to cut it - The mesh was 1/4" holes it is fairly light gauge- When we filter we have a cookie sheet that we put on the top that holds the heat in longer- It is pretty easy to make - Good Luck

[sugarmangraham]

Hey Don, I started out the same way with the same filter kit from SBS when I had about 15-20 taps. It worked ok. When I put in more taps I eventually got a coffee urn that I put a cone filter in and bottled from that. It made things a little easier. I now have a cone filter tank from Smoky Lake Maple that will replace the coffee urn. I might have to try the filter aid trick cuz for some reason last year I had a couple of batches that did not filter to well. The filter kept getting clogged up. I didnt have that problem the year before that I can remember. I use several pre filters before the main filter but its a pain in the butt to keep having to remove them.

[Cake O' Maple]

Thank you bnb!!

[trevor]

i use a restraunt ss insulated container from the drive inn my grandparents used to own. it is very similair to a coffee ern. you can make a ring out of aluminum rod to hold a cone filter from falling in. i use synthetic. inside this i use multiple pre filters 5-6? and remove as they plug up.

[Homestead Maple]

Bruce thats the kind of advice I am looking for...this is only my 2nd year and I currently use a hobby filter kit which is a ss pot, a wire strainer and 4 layers of filters the use a funnel to pour it from the pot to the bottles and I would like something easier and faster and am willing to pay more for something that doubles the easy and faster part.
I don't remember what the tread name is but within the last week, or so, someone had a thread about a small filter that is used for wine making that they were using to filter syrup. They were having good results.

[Saltlick]

I have about 150 taps,, and for years all I do is prefilter, prefilter , prefilter,,then through cone filter,, The pre filters set on top of cone filter in a calendar,, and as they plug up, I just pull out the plugged up prefilter..I use clothes pins to hold them in place.. But the syrup must be hot , hot , hot....Good luck... BJS

[trevor]

i have an extra rig like the one i use. like i said, it is insulated, stainless steel, holds at least 3 gallons, has a tapered bottom inside, and has a threaded outlet to put a ball valve to. make offer if interested.

[maple marc]

Don, thanks for starting this post. I enjoy the syrup making, but admit to angst when it comes to filtering and bottling. I’m in that range of 100 taps and 40-50 gallons of syrup. I usually handle 8-10 batches of 5 gallons of syrup. We bottle into glass jars, so clear syrup is critical. Our shack is a breezy converted corn crib, not good for bottling, so I filter and bottle in the kitchen. I originally filtered directly off the evaporator into a cone, but it’s awkward for small draws. If the syrup was still cloudy after re-heating, I would filter again in the kitchen. My dealer convinced me to omit the filtering at the evaporator. Just one filtering in the kitchen would create sort of a cake of niter in the cone and act like Filter Aid to create clear syrup. This removed a lot of the hassle in the shack, but I still am getting some cloudiness during my reheating. I’m considering some kind of water jacket bottler to help with this.

I tried the flat filtering as an alternative to a cone. I cut a piece of SS ¼” mesh to fit inside a buffet steam pan. I suspended it about 2” above the bottom of the pan using 5 SS bolts, washers and nuts. The filtering was good and fast, but it created another problem. Even with handles bolted onto the pan, it was awkward, even dangerous, to move the pan full of hot syrup around and pour it into a canner, in my case a stock pot fitted with a valve. I thought about fitting the steam pan with a valve, but there is just too much flat surface area for good drainage. Give it a try—it might work for you—it won’t cost much. I went back to cones, but I need a better system. Juggling stock pots full of hot syrup in to the kitchen, pouring through a cone—how long can I go before dropping one?

Please keep the ideas coming. Perhaps a press would work for me—no cones and pumping though hoses instead of pouring hot syrup. Some people report there is a lot of syrup spilled or lost in the process with small batches. I wish I could watch someone do it—nothing around here. Thanks to all for more ideas.

Marc

[Bruce L]

70417042Hi Don,hope I am posting the pictures okay.The tank holds about 18 gallons of syrup,by the way this is my second rack on top,first one was 1/4' stainless mesh,too tight sugar gradually built up across the mesh,now I am using 1/2" stainless mesh,no problems with the tank,it has had literally 1000's of gallons through it

[Zamkev]

Bruce - is this a pan that you are selling?

[DonMcJr]

That's pretty neat Bruce and there are alot of good ideas on this thread...Thanks! Decisions, decisions...

[Bruce L]

Hi Zamkev,no this is just a picture of my filter tank,will hopefully have hundreds of gallons passing through it over the next 6 weeks or more.

[DonMcJr]

Gotta check if someone at work can weld Stainless Steel. What do I have to tell them to do to make sure it's food grade?

[maple marc]

One thing I have noticed about cone filters: it seems that if I pour in a large amount of hot syrup all at once (it's a two gallon cone) I get some cloudiness in the syrup going through. This is with a new Orlon cone and three pre-filters. If I pour slowly, the syrup comes out more clear. Perhaps the pressure is forcing sediment through the Orlon. Perhaps my syrup is prone to sediment--we have a lot of limestone in the soil here. My syrup also clouds up with just the slightest heat from the bottom of a stock pot while re-heating. I am heading in the direction of a filter press and a water jacket canner.

Who has a small press in stock right now?

Marc

[Springfield Acer]

Try May Hill Maple in Orwell Oh. They had one last week yet.

[spencer11]

Gotta check if someone at work can weld Stainless Steel. What do I have to tell them to do to make sure it's food grade?
Pretty sure you just need 304 stainless and, you should have it tig welded cause its easier and stronger with thinner material, and as long as they use stainless wire you should be fine. I gonna weld some stainless stuff up this summer with my mig, I just need stainless wire and a different gas

[lafite]

I am still of the opinion that a filter press was my best option. Even at my small scale, filtering in the kitchen was a royal pain in the butt....

After I run through the press, I warm 2 gallons of water and run through the press and collect the "semi-sweet" to add to my pan when I boil again. nothing lost.

I could never go back to filtering with pre-filters and wool. I can filter and bottle crystal clear syrup in 30 minutes in 3-4 gallon batches.

[aws]

I vote for the plain old cone filter. We struggled with it the past two years, even filtering 2 and three times, but by the end of last season we got it figured out. Last night we ran 5 gallons through in less than 5 minutes. For us the trick is to filter right off the evaporator into out filter holder (bucket with bottom cut out that sits on top of a wire oven type rack over our 22 qt. canning pot) We had six pre-filters but only had to pull out two of them. Next time I will only use three or four pre-filters. 72 taps total this year and finishing in 5 gallon batches.

[DonMcJr]

Well I decided to Up the size of my Pot for my Hobby Filter Kit and make some adjustments to it just for now. I'll post again when I am finished but here's the Parts list minus the filter Material. The Valve will Eventually be a SS Coulping with a metal Valve ad soon as I find someone to weld it :

[Kyle Baker]

So will that valve go at the bottom of the pot, and then just set the collander on top with a filter in it?
Im trying to pick up some filter ideas here myself. Only 20-30 taps. I would really like to get my hands on a coffee urn.


Well I decided to Up the size of my Pot for my Hobby Filter Kit and make some adjustments to it just for now. I'll post again when I am finished but here's the Parts list minus the filter Material. The Valve will Eventually be a SS Coulping with a metal Valve ad soon as I find someone to weld it :

[DonMcJr]

Yes Kyle. That Collander isn't what I wanted I like the ones with a SS Mesh Screen. It's gonna get hacked up alot cause all it has to do is hold the filter...

[Kyle Baker]

Don, what are you using for filter material?
I thought I'd read about using new diaper flannel... errr, COTTON FLANNEL material once and was thinking of trying that. Last year I ended up squeezing it through paper coffee filters but that was redonkulous.

After writing this I read other posts and see how people react to the word diaper. Lol. Had to edit my post :p

[DonMcJr]

I use the Filters in the Hobby Kit on this Page>>> http://www.sugarbushsupplies.com/2012_Catalog/filtertankscanningunits.pdf

[Kyle Baker]

That's a pretty affordable setup. Maybe for this year I can try to copy the design and see what happens unless a local supplier carries the kit.
Thanks

[wnybassman]

Last year I started using the SS 30 cup coffee urn, and I finished in batches of 1 to 2 gallons for a season total just under 10 gallons. It greatly simplified the process for me. Just had to time it right for the coffee urn to be done with its brewing cycle about the same time the syrup was done, and have the urn on an extension cord so I could dump the water out while still being plugged in so it didn't reset another brewing cycle and just went into warming mode.

I'd just pour the still boiling finished syrup right into the top through 4 prefilters clothspinned to the side of the urn. And with a gallon or more I never made it down to the last one taking them out as they got plugged. No wool for me. Just the prefilters did the trick. I bottle half in glass and half in plastic, and the glass are just as clear now as when I poured them last year. I figured I'd have to add wool for clarity, but I'm not going to, no need to.

[aws]

Here are some pictures of our set up. Hope this might help some one out. We are in love with this after all of our frustration in the past. This sits right under our syrup pan. I set it on some solid four inch cinder blocks that have been warmed up by the arch to help keep it warm, and next time will probably bungee cord a towel to the caner to further insulate it and reduce the amount of reheating I have to do when I bring it inside for bottling. Like I said previously the syrup just pours through it, and two day later the bottled syrup is still perfectly clear.

713071317129

[Kyle Baker]

did you add that tap to a pot yourself? Im thinking I'm gonna wind up hacking a hole into my wifes stock pot. MWAHAHA

[DonMcJr]

Ancient Chinese Secret huh? I like that Idea too! Where did you get that Filter aws?

Kyle, that 16 Quart SS Stock Pot was only $11.97 at Walmart. They have more expensive ones too so make sure ya look around.

[DonMcJr]

You could probally order that from there too...They do ship...

[aws]

Stock pot was an old wedding present. It's a pretty expensive pressure cooker actually. No reason it needed to be so heavy duty, just what I had lying around. I added the valve myself. Simple hardware store fittings. Nut and washer on the inside of the pot with a thick O ring. The filter I got from my local maple supply store,
http://www.sugacountryproducts.com/ , they are great to deal with and have the best prices I can find, but that cone filter seems to available everywhere.

[trevor]

you can solder s.s. you just need to "tin" it first.

[Kyle Baker]

If I can get a stainless valve I can tig weld it at work. I'll check walmart for cheap pots. I don't think I'll ever have much more than a gallon finished at a time.
Thanks guys

[DonMcJr]

If I can get a stainless valve I can tig weld it at work. I'll check walmart for cheap pots. I don't think I'll ever have much more than a gallon finished at a time.
Thanks guys

Get a S.S. Coupling and Tig weld that on then you can just thread in a SS Valve or a Copper one...

[DonMcJr]

Ok it's not pretty but I think it will work decent.

I hacked out the bottom of the Colander cause the holes weren't big enough and the filter is going over it anyway.

Gonna try this and if it's not working good then come March 15th I'll splerge for a store bought one...

[Schiefe4]

Cool Don. That's a nice idea!