Prefiltering Pros and Cons

[Rockrila]

What are the up-sides and down-sides to pre-filtering right of the evaporator takeoff, prior to filtering off the finishing pan process. Plan to take almost syrup off the evaporator to avoid risk of burning pan. Seems like an opportune time to start filtering while the near syrup is hot. Also, it is coming off slowly, so the slow gravity cone filter process matches.

Newbie for 2015
Built a 2X6 arch and purchased a pair of continuous flow pans
Planning for 50 pipeline taps and 50 buckets
Ontario Canada

[RC Maple]

It's a great time to start filtering. You take a large portion of the sugar sand out of the syrup when you're not doing anything else with it than waiting on the next draw. That makes filtering MUCH easier when you are trying to get it finished and jugged. Only downside could be keeping filters cleaned for drawing off.

[StayinLowTech]

My large cone filter with several paper filters inside it hangs below the draw off valve of the evaporator. If the filters are enclosed in a container and thus protected from the cold, they will filter well. Then syrup goes into canner just to bring it up to the proper temperature and density. If you had the filters set up after the canner, the filtering process would reduce the temperature of the syrup too much as it goes into the bottle or jug. You would not be able to tell what temp you are bottling at.

[maple flats]

In essence I do, but mine is in a settling tank. I draw off into a draw off tank that has a round bottom and holds up to about 25 gal but I generally pump it at 15-18 gal. After pumping I have settled out plenty of sugar sand, and I clean the draw tank after every 2-3 times filling it. Then my filter press pumps the "syrup" and thru the bypass hose it fills the finisher. Then when I have a BBL worth, I top off the heat to about 205, send it thru the filter press and directly into a barrel. I collect some in a sample bottle, grade it and cap the bung. I also taste a small sample of every barrel to be sure it meets my flavor standards. That is collected from the barrel over flow hose.

[BreezyHill]

over the last 40 plus years we have done it all ways from filter cones filter papers back to cones and even straight thru the filter press last year again.

This season we will be using what I did the end of the season of 2014, Stainless Steel Milk funnel with filter paper on the strainer opening. that flows into a 5 gallon SS bucket. When the 5 gallons is full it sets on a burner to heat to 180 - 190 and add the DE and thru the filter press into the canner. From there it goes into glass, plastic or SS drums for storage. Everything gets a Julian Batch code and graded and recorded for the FEDs.

When using the funnel we seem to pull of a fair amount of sand, and it is easy to just switch the funnel for another that is all set to go during a draw of as it only takes a second or two to swap them.

I never licked having to wash the cone filter and it always had syrup left in it.

Find what works for your setup and run with it!

Ben