sap filtering

[harrison6jd]

i plan on running my sap infeed through a whole house sediment filter. does anybody see any potential issues with this setup?thanks

[sugarsand]

I've been thinking of updating our sap filtering to a better system too. Am kind of leaning towards some sort of filterbag or sock that attaches on the end of two 11/2 pvc feed lines in the head tank. Maybe someone post pics of how they filter.

Sugarsand

[BAP]

Last year, I set my sugar house up so that I pump the sap from my storage up to the feed tank with a sump pump. Before it gets to the feed tank, it goes threw a 4"x10" water filter with a replaceable cartridge. It works great and removed a tremendous amount of stuff. Every couple of days I would take it out and rinse off the filter and housing so that it would stay clean and not loose flow threw it. At the end of the year I got rid of the cartridge and will put in a new one for this year.

[maple flats]

I used to have a whole house filter inline between my feed tank and the evaporator. I thought it was a good idea, however found that it could at times restrict sap flow just enough to cause some panic at times. I then removed it. I also was using a 4x10. I took mine out daily and rinsed it, but still had a few problems.
I now think it better to filter the sap going into the feed tank rather than the float box feed line.

[cpmaple]

need a little help here so I don't get totally lost that setup with a house filter will not hold any of the sugar content correct? If that is the case I'm gonna put one in my main line pumping up to my holding tank so I can filter easy from the truck to my holding tank. I use right now cheese cloth over the end of pipe pain in the butt falls off all the time. thanks cpmaple

[lakeview maple]

I have a sock filter that is for ROs ,I got it at leader ,its about 8'' long and there is a housing it fits onto it with a pipe thread in the middle for easy changing, I have it on my mainline coming into the bulk tank and I have a second one on the feed line from the bulk to the head tank. I wash them out every day ,it works great and at the end of the season I just throw them out and buy 2 more.

[lpakiz]

8517
These are available at your big-box farm store, in the crop sprayer section. It has a SS screen, easily removed for washing. I added a drain valve, for samples of incoming sap, and to prevent wet gloves when dis-assembling. Less than $40 in the 1 1/4 pipe size.

[maplerookie]

I plan on running the sap through a cheese cloth stapled to a wooden frame. It is cheap, works well for getting out sediment and bugs. It sure beats spending 40.00 for the whole house filter and then the 17.00 every year to replace the filter.. Heck if you got money to burn ...why not take the wife out now for a nice sit down.. heaven knows that soon things will be heating up and you may not see her only in passing.. just saying!

[harrison6jd]

I plan on running the sap through a cheese cloth stapled to a wooden frame. It is cheap, works well for getting out sediment and bugs. It sure beats spending 40.00 for the whole house filter and then the 17.00 every year to replace the filter.. Heck if you got money to burn ...why not take the wife out now for a nice sit down.. heaven knows that soon things will be heating up and you may not see her only in passing.. just saying!

its not that i have money to burn but now that i am hooked on sugarin and cant get out, each season i do a little more to improve the process. improvements help cut down on labor involved, produce a cleaner sap and should improve the final product.

[collinsmapleman2012]

when I was in school, we had three of the canisters mounted on the wall, in paralell and valves before and after each. that way, you could run 1, 2, or 3 depending on sap flow, and then shut one off to change/clean if it was getting slow. worked really well, we would filter up to 6,000 gallons of sap per day, and you could definitely do more if needed.

[lakeview maple]

Well said Harrison , we all try to improve or add on every season to make it run just a little smoother or efficient.

[maplerookie]

well looks like no to the wife getting a sit down so on to the filtering. I am sure it will make your operation run smoother and more efficient. hope for 3% or better in your sap.

[BAP]

It all depends on how good of a final product you want. The more you do to keep things clean and sanitary threw out the whole process, the better the final product will be. After all, this is a food product and if you are selling it to the public, you need to keep things clean including the sap.

[boblangdon]

Is that gravity fed or do you need to "pump" it through the filter?

[harrison6jd]

it is just gravity, no pump. the set up is working well and i am happy with it. . the sap is clean for sure and the flow suits my needs. i think if i were boiling off 20-30 gallons per hour the feed rate would not be enough with gravity.

[redneck mapler]

Do you have that on the line that feeds your evaporator or going into your storage tank. I have my storage tank on a hill behind my sugar shack and want to put something in the line between the tank and where it enters the evaporator. Do you think this would work? I have a heat tape on this line to keep it from freezing, do you think this would cause any problems? Thanks

[harrison6jd]

i have it inside a building safe from a freeze. it is on the line just a few feet before the evaporator. i think if it is exposed to freezing temperatures or icey sap, you will have problems. first with slowing/stopping sap flow which can lead to burning a pan and also from the filter housing breaking during a freeze. it is made of plastic so it can break.

[harrison6jd]

it is just gravity, no pump. the set up is working well and i am happy with it. . the sap is clean for sure and the flow suits my needs. i think if i were boiling off 20-30 gallons per hour the feed rate would not be enough with gravity.

actually. today i had a full 300 gallon feed tank and the extra pressure had the feed rate way up. the 1/2 inch pipe was flowing full. i see no issue with a higher evaporation rate.