Sap filter survey

[Greenthumb]

For those of us who use buckets

Who filters in the woods as you dump in collection tank or who waits and filters as it goes into holding tank at sugar house?

[PerryW]

I do both.

[jmayerl]

Our sap is filtered when dumped from the bucket, when pumped into holding tanks, and finally when going into the RO.

[kiteflyingeek]

I filter as I dump into collection pumping bucket that goes to 55g tank in pickup. No filtering at sugar shack.

--andrew

[RC Maple]

I filter when dumping into storage @ sugarhouse when gathering with 5 gal buckets. I have a gathering tank I made that I use sometimes that strains sap when dumping into it.

[VT_K9]

When we had buckets we would filter into a gathering tank through a pillow case and then again into the sap tank feeding the evaporator. The pillow cases did pick of a lot and helped reduce the build up on the sap tank filter. We have switched to tubing and now filter only at the sugar house. I put up about a dozen sap bags last year and did not notice much inside them while dumping. So I am going to stick with filtering only at the sap tank.

Mike

[Bruce L]

Both, it is especially hard to clean out gathering tub at end of the season if it hasn't been filtered all season long

[MISugarDaddy]

We have a milk strainer on the opening of the collection tank and all sap collected in pails is run through it as we collect it. As we process the sap through the RO it goes through another filter on the RO.

[Big_Eddy]

We don't filter into the collecting tank or the storage tank. We do use a suction pump with a screen to pump from the collecting tank to the main tank, and the collecting tanks gets washed out daily. When the moths start, there can be many washed out after the tank is emptied.

The main tank gets pressure washed every time it is emptied.

I've tried filters or screens on the collection tank - more trouble than they were worth.

[Bucket Head]

I filter it as its discharged into the transport tank on the truck. I have a dairy "sock-type" filter over the end of the discharge hose from the 12volt bilge pump thats in the dumping station on the back of my pick-up.

Steve

[BigAl'sSapShack@WBM]

I filter both in the woods as I dump into collection tank and as it goes into holding tank at the sugar house

[NhShaun]

Last season i only filtered the sap just before i boiled it(and after of course) I think ill be filtering it differently this season. When i transfer it into my mobile collection tank, and then again before it enters the main tank at my evap. Might be overkill, but oh well!

[handtapper]

I think we can all agree filtering is key whether its before or after this tank or that tank. I filter out all the bugs debris etc before it goes into the truck tank through a T-shirt. I bought a 6 pack and wash them will last years. Found it keeps the tank cleaner between cleans and is easier to clean. I am setting up a new evap and head tank this year and plan to filter it at that point again.

[SeanD]

I use a pre-filter nested in a 2 gallon bucket with the bottom drilled out. The 2 gallon bucket is wedged into the side of a 55 gal. drum I use for a dump station. From there it goes down hill through a pipe to the collection tank at the sugar house.

Next year, I'll be bringing in more by truck, so I'll probably filter through a sock-type while pumping as mentioned above. Then I'll just unload right to the collection tank at the sugar house.

Sean

[cncaboose]

We use 100 micron bucket filter on our 5 gallon collecting buckets, another 100 micron filter going into the bulk tank at the sugarhouse, and a 10 micron inline filter as the sap goes into the feed tank for the evaporator. We catch stuff at all points. You can't filter too much.

[clw]

I filter with a screen at the collection tank and again as the sap is pumped into the storage tank at the sugar shack. I have tested KenAG milk sock filters and I plan to use them this year. They're cheap and disposable. You can order the 12 inch ones from TS; I'd like to find a retailer stocking the 5 1/2 inch filters.

[mike z]

I filter in the woods as we gather, again as I pump up into the truck tank and then again as I go from the truck tank to the holding tank beside the evaporator. I use a pre-filter inside a 1 micron bag filter at all three locations. I might be going overboard, but it's easy enough to do.