Filtering Syrup - Very Slow to No Flow through Filter

[sr73087]

My filtration process is first I run my sap through cheesecloth. I put the cheesecloth in a strainer and overlap it at least once. This seems to get out 99% of any visible sediment. Then I boil and after the boil is complete I immediately run the syrup from a filter from tapmytrees.com (http://www.tapmytrees.com/syfish.html). However, even with the syrup at well over 200 degrees, it does not want to pass through the filter. I have been having this problem all year and it is extremely frustrating and very time consuming. However, as it very slowly flows through the filter the syrup has been coming out very very clear with no visible sediment or sugar sand. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can make this process alittle easier preferably without buying a whole different filtration setup?

[mellondome]

Is the filter wet before you try to filter through it?

[sr73087]

No it is dry.

[DaveB]

No it is dry.

You need to wet it first. Use plain hot water or hot sap. Then the syrup will go through easily.

[StayinLowTech]

If you are going to dampen the filter with hot sap from the back pan, it should go into the filter the same way the syrup does because what is on the other side of the filter would end up in your syrup. Remember that the wet filter will also thin out your syrup a little. Also, protect the filter from the cold air - like in a covered box.

[sr73087]

How hot does the filter have to be? I just soaked it with hot water and poured syrup that was reading around 212 degrees and it only filters around .5 cup in several minutes. By the time I filter anything substantial the syrup is fairly cold and doesn't want to flow.

[carpedium]

I'm right there with ya SR. It's crazy how slow it can be, then ya wet it and you have all kinds of water soaked into the filter and it thins out the syrup. There truly has to be a better way!

[CampHamp]

Sediment clogs filter paper pretty fast (people call it "pre-filter" because they often go through a wool or synthetic fabric to polish it after the paper). The only way to deal with it (besides what has been said already) is to use less syrup per filter by swapping out paper as it clogs and use as much of the filter surface area as possible. There's lots of great advice on filtering on the site. Most small producers use the cone-shaped filters and stack a few inside each other and dump syrup into the next one as the top one clogs.

[Cedar Eater]

Do you filter before finishing and then again after? You can get the majority of the niter from boiling out by filtering the nearup before finishing. That thinner liquid goes through filters much better. The cheesecloth is probably not helping much. I'm not really happy with my setup, but it does make a clear product. I use one layer of white t-shirt cotton and then one layer of high thread count pillow case cloth. I soaked and rinsed those in hot water multiple times to get any detergent out. I clip those two layers together around the rim of a perforated steamer pan (from a double boiler set) with about 8 small binder clips.

First I run all the nearup through the filter and then rinse it out with hot water from the back side. It's usually still damp when I'm ready to pour syrup through it. I take the syrup up to 8 or 9 degrees over boiling water temp so that it won't matter when a little water goes back in. I pour the syrup right after I cut the flame off. When the filter plugs, I pour what I can back into the syrup without dumping the niter back. Then I rinse the sweet out of the cloth by setting the steamer pan in a pan of fresh sap, which later goes into the next batch. I then run water through the filter from the back side to wash the sediment out. I don't unclip the cloth, I just run the water in through the holes in the steamer pan. I try to shake any excess water out. Then I repeat with more hot syrup until it plugs again. This is good for about 2 quarts per cycle and the syrup comes out very clear. A larger filter would be much better, but this was cheap.

[beaglebriar]

Not sure how much you are filtering but I can tell you what has worked best for me. I have had terrible sap runs so I'm only boiling 25-35 gallons at a time. I batch boil and finish what I get each time. I pull off about 1-1.5 gallons then immediately run that through my felt filter (no prefilters). I rinse my filter out real good then set it back up. Then finish to syrup (about 2 qts.). I can get the first quart bottled directly through the filter then let the rest drain into a pan. The 2 quarts will go through but I end up reheating the second to bottle. I just forget about it until it has all drained from the filter. I know there's a better way but for now it works.

[PerryW]

I've been using the 2' x 3' flat filters with a single paper prefilter in a 12" x 24" stainless canner with a filter rack inside for 25 years and I have never wet the filter or prefilter. Once and while (especially at the beginning and ends of the season), I will have trouble passing syrup through, so I just dipper the standing syrup out, and change out the filter & prefilter. Also, I change the prefilter on each take-off and change the main filter after about 4-5 gallons of syrup.

Keeping everything hot is the best way to insure filtering. (the syrup pours out of the draw-off directly into the canner and put the cover on after the drawoff to keep the heat in.

[Ravenseye]

I'll chime in here because I've experienced the same issue.

I pull my sap and before I boil, I run it through a cheesecloth lined strainer to get rid of the bugs, etc.

After I finish my boil and the hydrometer tells me that I have syrup, I pour it through 2 or 3 pre-filters that sit on a heavy wool filter. The filters sit above a stainless steel pot that is heated to 185 degrees. As the syrup runs through, the first filter begins to get clogged and when things come to a stop, I pull that top filter and let the syrup keep running. Usually, I have to do that one more time before it all gets filtered out. The syrup is perfectly clear when I'm done and I bottle it right up. I've never had a niter problem doing it this way.

[sr73087]

So I tried wetting the filter and filtering into a warmed pot and had no luck. Every time I would do this it would not filter much at all (maybe a tablespoon or alittle more) and then it would trickle very very slowly for a minute and then stop. I ended up dumping the syrup in the filter back into the pan and trying to filter again. I did this several times because it would not filter. Finally I said ok, I'll try and use a prefilter and then run it through the single filter after I get all of the big stuff out with the prefilter. It runs right through the prefilter and catches a bunch of sand (I guess this was niter?). Then I tried to run it though the filter again and it wouldn't go. Finally I tried running it through a prefilter again, it wouldn't go and even cheesecloth, it wouldn't go. I obviously did something wrong here. I am thinking I reheated too many times at too high a temp and kept creating more and more niter but am not 100% sure if this is the problem. Below is a picture of what I ended up with.

11558

[Sugarmaker]

Filtering small batches of maple syrup is a problem for sure.
I think Ravenseye has it right on the mark.
tell us how much syrup you are trying to strain?
I agree that cheese cloth is not going to work to get the sugarsand out.
How long did the jars set when you took the picture? I have never seen any thing like that. if you are reheating small batches a lot then you may be making candy!
If you just making this for home use i might suggest just using the cloth filters and forget the felt. A little sugar sand on your pancakes is not going to hurt you. And the small batches may filter a lot better for you.
Back to the beginning:
Make syrup to correct density.
Strain syrup immediately while boiling. Check for clarity. Should be crystal clear.
Reheat strained syrup to 180 F and bottle while hot.

Not the flat sheets may be the same material but the cone shaped filters may work better for you?? Easier to pin to a container. Check LEADER or other dealers.
Regards,
Chris

[sr73087]

I was filtering around a gallon of syrup, likely just under a gallon actually. I had it to the correct density (used a hydrometer) and tried to filter it the first time and it just wouldn't go and basically kept having the same issue and had to keep reapplying heat to keep the syrup hot to try and refilter. Basically a vicious cycle. I think I let it get too hot too many times and created a ton a sugar sand? It may not have helped that I let that batch sit for 2 days in the pan, not sure if this really matters but I had a sugar film on top of the syrup before adding heat, which dissolved it. That picture was maybe 10 mins after I bottled it knowing it was off but wanted to keep it to maybe learn something from the experience. I have always filtered right off the evaporator and used the felt filter. It usually didn't filter too quickly but I have never had a batch like this.

So I am thinking about maybe using this? And filtering it into a lightly heated pot. Then bring it back up to around 180 (not over for nitre issues) and bottling.

http://www.mapleguys.com/product/1QTSTAND.html

[CampHamp]

I'd put it all back in a pot, add some sap and do your final density check JUST BEFORE final filter and bottling... Looks like you have a jar of taffy!

[Sundown]

Looking at the jar in the picture it looks like you are making sugar. Maybe you need to check your hydrometer.

[Science!!]

I went all out and got a giant Büchner funnel
It's porcelain with a flat surface to hold filter paper flat
Then you hook it up to a container and hook your vacuum pump to it

Ultra clear
mine filters 4 L of thick syrup in about 2 min

Problem solved!!

Check eBay for the funnel and a 4 L Vacuum flask

[Science!!]

If you don't have a vacuum pump you can buy a handpowered version that does the trick very well
You don't even need a fancy vacuum erlynmeyer flask

Just any solid container, a drill, some gaskets and a bit of tinkering


After you try this you'll never do it another way

No switching filter paper
No sap cooling down
The thick layer of sediment that forms increases the filter papers filtering capacity
Use whatman lab grade filter paper for optimal results
Coffee filters work fine too ( unbleached)

Super fast and easy

Happy to answer any questions


Google
vacuum filtration
Büchner funnel
Etc...

[Sapcat]

Can you outline the process you use to filter your syrup with a vacuum pump? What equipment is needed and what are the steps. Thanks.

[Russell Lampron]

So I tried wetting the filter and filtering into a warmed pot and had no luck. Every time I would do this it would not filter much at all (maybe a tablespoon or alittle more) and then it would trickle very very slowly for a minute and then stop. I ended up dumping the syrup in the filter back into the pan and trying to filter again. I did this several times because it would not filter. Finally I said ok, I'll try and use a prefilter and then run it through the single filter after I get all of the big stuff out with the prefilter. It runs right through the prefilter and catches a bunch of sand (I guess this was niter?). Then I tried to run it though the filter again and it wouldn't go. Finally I tried running it through a prefilter again, it wouldn't go and even cheesecloth, it wouldn't go. I obviously did something wrong here. I am thinking I reheated too many times at too high a temp and kept creating more and more niter but am not 100% sure if this is the problem. Below is a picture of what I ended up with.

11558

The syrup in the picture looks like the ropey syrup that I made on my last boil of the season. It went through the filter press fine but I know that there is no way that it would go through an Orlon or wool filter.

[Coatesy]

Just bottled a few litres and the filtering part is the most frustrating aspect.
I filter off my pre finish boil. Then once I hit 215-216 degrees I filter it again.
When I hit 219 for a few minutes I run it through another double filter using two measuring cups then bottle.
I can't for the life of me get all the nitre out try different methods every year this year went withe the cones. But I think last year worked better with the coffee filters.
I almost want to Crack the bottles and boil it and filter again but I've done that before and it doesn't really help much as recoil creates more sugar sediment it seems.