Food Grade Diatomaceous ?

[Rockport]

Have been looking around the local stores and found some food grade de but with bentonite in it not sure what that is ? Does anybody buy it from tractor supply or other places. FOOD GRADE CODEX is a international thing and tractor supply's has the label on it for that (FCC)... Any ideas will be helpfull... NOt too keen on putting stuff in maple syrup anyway .. Also any thought on using de in a gravity type filter.

[maple flats]

Bentonite IS DE. I suggest you buy from our sponsor if you only need a little. The Maple Guys sell small bags of it, and the grade will likely be better. If you need a lot then you want to get the big bags (50#). Even at my level (335 gal last year) I still use about 30-35 lbs a season. I just pack it in lined/food grade 5 gal buckets when I buy a bag, then I use from a bucket, when empty, I open the next bucket.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

I have a few questions about DE. I buy 50 lb bags and store in a trash can still in bag. All covered, but I am sure not 100% insect free.

Questions are, can it go bad if kept dry and how can one tell?

Also this may seem weird, but I was watching that show Monsters inside me with my son the other day. Got interested in how to flush parasites from the body, and found that DE is the number one tool for the job. A Tablespoon a day for a week. I assume that since the DE we use is food safe, this is the stuff they recommend eating to kill parasites? Anyone ever done/heard of eating DE to rid the body of pesky critters.

Ben

[maple flats]

I won't attempt to answer that. While the DE might kill parasites, just consider how it does. DE is made up of the skeletons of microscopic pre-historic creatures. The edges are very sharp and it cuts the parasite so it bleeds to death. What might it do to your innards? I'd never risk it. DE works wonders in the garden to get rid of slugs, but I don't think you want your intestines cut up for infection to set in.
I believe food grade DE is guaranteed to be free of contaminates. When you use filter aid for filtering, the FA gets trapped in the paper and resultant filter cake. It does not end up in the syrup.

[OldManMaple]

Google it. (Diatomaceous earth for worms) Also works on livestock with no ill effects. I remember some flat landers turning in a local for giving it to his horses. Of course the FDA would rather that you use one of their subsided pharmaceuticals.

[gmcooper]

If your going to use DE for filtering syrup get it from a maple dealer. There are different grades of Food Grade DE on the market for different uses. The DE I bought to use as a wormer for chickens did say Food Grade somewhere on the label but you certainly would not want to use it for syrup. It is redish brown and a very very fine powder. The DE for pool filters is not the same either, our neighbors is too coarse and kind of dirty looking.

[DrTimPerkins]

Bentonite IS DE.

Actually, Bentonite is a clay-mineral, DE is a silicate deposit from what was one living organisms (like ocean plankton). They are not interchangeable.

As others have said, best to get your DE from a maple equipment supplier to ensure what you are buying is food-grade and the right particle size distribution for proper filtering.

[sapmaple]

I'm planning to filter my sap with DE in a DE filter pump. Was planning to use food grade DE that I use in the filter press, but could or should I use something different coarser perhaps? Anyone out there filtering their sap like this, What do you use?

[Snowy Pass Maple]

If your going to use DE for filtering syrup get it from a maple dealer. There are different grades of Food Grade DE on the market for different uses. The DE I bought to use as a wormer for chickens did say Food Grade somewhere on the label but you certainly would not want to use it for syrup. It is redish brown and a very very fine powder. The DE for pool filters is not the same either, our neighbors is too coarse and kind of dirty looking.

Ditto on above - in a pinch last year I bought some of this so-called food-grade DE at TSC - they must mean food grade for animals. You would not want that anywhere near your syrup.

Maple Guys (this site) sell 5 lb bags for reasonable shipping and that goes a long long way!

-Colin

[maple flats]

Actually, Bentonite is a clay-mineral, DE is a silicate deposit from what was one living organisms (like ocean plankton). They are not interchangeable.

As others have said, best to get your DE from a maple equipment supplier to ensure what you are buying is food-grade and the right particle size distribution for proper filtering.
I stand corrected, the label on what the Maple guys sell says "Celite" which is the brand name.
Sorry if I lead anyone astray.
Dave
I should have known better, I used bentonite to thicken the drilling fluid in well drilling several years ago.

[Rockport]

Thanks so much for all the info on the DE,will order from a maple supplier.