SuperSlow Filter Press

[GSCampChris]

We just got a Smokey Lake Filter Press this season. We must be doing something wrong, as it takes about 3 hours to Filter a gallon of sap. I am not sure what we are missing. Can anyone give advice? We have a backlog of syrup that needs to start finding its way into bottles.

I did a round of hot water through the Press this morning and it chugged right through. Back to syrup and it is slow slow slow. We are up to 120 psi, with barely a trickle going into our canning unit.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170215/28a12a0762bc6ac9b202f0fd625b81d3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170215/11263372c4e54dc4730056dbd9461490.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170215/5d84b0765abbeb5c9fa8cf06a7138872.jpg


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[wiam]

How much filter aid are you using?

[GSCampChris]

How much filter aid are you using?

I just put 2 cups in 4 gallons? Doing some research it may be the DE I am using. It is food grade, but not specified for maple.


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[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

how hot is the syrup? it should be around 180f +

[GSCampChris]

how hot is the syrup? it should be around 180f +

When we first put it through we were at 190. It still slowly slugged through and the temp dropped quickly.


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[GSCampChris]

I just put 2 cups in 4 gallons? Doing some research it may be the DE I am using. It is food grade, but not specified for maple.


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Just tried to add additional DE- it went through quickly. BUT came out just as cloudy as it went in. I let it circulate for 15 minutes with no improvement in cloudiness.


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[WESTMAPLES]

i would call smokey lake up if you just got it .... or did you look at the manual you got when you bought it ?? for trouble shooting ideas, or call them they should do so after sales service whether some is wrong with the pump or maybe a plate backwards they would know instantly im sure

[jmayerl]

I 100% guarantee that you are using the wrong grade of filter aid.

[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

i think you have a plate in backwards. there should be marks on all the plates that you must line up.

[GSCampChris]

I 100% guarantee that you are using the wrong grade of filter aid.

New filter aid has been ordered! Now I wait…


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[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

you should be able to filter some syrup i would say 5 to 10 gallons without using filter aid. i know a older farmer that dose not even use filter aid and has about 1500 taps all buckets.

[BAP]

The amount of syrup you have leaking out is way too much. Something is wrong. Give Smokey Lake a call and talk to them.

[jmayerl]

I made the mistake once to borrow my press to a buddy that said he had his own DE.....you need to use maple grade or not a drop will go through. Life is all about lessons.

[jmayerl]

you should be able to filter some syrup i would say 5 to 10 gallons without using filter aid. i know a older farmer that dose not even use filter aid and has about 1500 taps all buckets.
I'm sorry but I believe this statement is 100% false, I believe the old farmer had lied to you.

[mellondome]

Or he only used plastic and didn't care if it was truly filtered.

[PerryFamily]

I'm sorry but I believe this statement is 100% false, I believe the old farmer had lied to you.

Producer in town here does 5500-6000 taps, boils 12% into a 2x6 finisher, brings up to a boil, adjusts density, and runs through a full bank 7" press with ZERO DE... None
said once in a great while he will need some but has the same bag from years and years ago.

[jmayerl]

Post a full video of this process from the moment it come out the evaporator, through the press into a glass bottle so we all can see why we are all doing this filtering totally wrong.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I have no filter press experience yet (new to me this season), but isn't the DE doing most of the work? The filter papers provide a screen/surface for DE to accumulate. Without DE aren't you really just doing a modified flat filtering?

[wiam]

I have no filter press experience yet (new to me this season), but isn't the DE doing most of the work? The filter papers provide a screen/surface for DE to accumulate. Without DE aren't you really just doing a modified flat filtering?

You have that exactly correct.

[GSCampChris]

So how do I get this DE out of the syrup? Will the maple syrup DE take it out?


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[BAP]

It should take it out. Have you confirmed that you have the press together correctly?

[johnallin]

[QUOTE=GSCampChris;320537]So how do I get this DE out of the syrup? Will the maple syrup DE take it out?

The DE will not go through the papers you have placed on your plates. As you initially cycle your syrup (until it runs clear) the DE will get trapped, build up and end up caked about 1/4" thick on the paper. It is this cake that is doing all the work.

[mellondome]

It will settle out fairly rapidly.

[GSCampChris]

It should take it out. Have you confirmed that you have the press together correctly?

Press is together correctly.


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[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

if you want to make sure its the filter aid and not the press just run it with no DE. maybe you have a paper in the wrong way or something is plugged in the waffle plate. you can get a few gallons without DE, i have done it on my wes fab when i knew i would only be filtering a small batch and was low on DE and its just as clear as with filter aid just plugs the papers faster. im just saying it would be a good way of trouble shooting so you will know for sure if its the press or the DE so you can sleep better tonight.

[maple flats]

That is not a good idea. DE is the best filter medium there is, and the filter papers if intact trap the DE. It is the DE that is actually doing the filtering. Without the DE mixed into the syrup the filter press will only filter a small portion of what it would with the DE. Without it, the niter will plug the surface of the papers and you will then need to clean the press and start fresh to finish the task.

[Russell Lampron]

Assuming that you don't have a plate in backwards and that everything else is assembled properly the one suggestion that I can make is to have your syrup as close to boiling as possible before you run it through the press. When you get the press charged with filter aide run the hot syrup through it before it cools down too much. You should be able to run 5 to 10 gallons through it in a matter of a few minutes. I have a pump like yours on my press and I usually run it at about 1/2 throttle. A steady chug chug not too fast.

[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

i know what your saying flats, i use plenty of filter aid and im all for it i have had a press for 10 years and run about 500 gallons a year through, But im not sold on the filter aid being the problem like some people are suggesting is the problem 100%. I thought all food grade filter aid was ok to use. The filter aid i buy from bascoms or fw webb does not say for maple syrup use on the bag so as long as its not swimming pool filter aid it should be good? the smokey lake filter press looks like a nice press and fool proof so the only way u can mess up is not having the paper in holes down or plates in wrong order. i know you can get a few gallons to go through the press without filter aid so unless you are 100% sure its the filter aid and not a human or mechanical error then i hope its the filter aid. i know some people dont agree but i think it would be the best way to make sure what is wrong here. it wont hurt and its better then waiting around for some other brand of DE that might not even be the problem. just make sure the syrup is hot

[jmayerl]

i know what your saying flats, i use plenty of filter aid and im all for it i have had a press for 10 years and run about 500 gallons a year through, But im not sold on the filter aid being the problem like some people are suggesting is the problem 100%. I thought all food grade filter aid was ok to use. The filter aid i buy from bascoms or fw webb does not say for maple syrup use on the bag so as long as its not swimming pool filter aid it should be good? the smokey lake filter press looks like a nice press and fool proof so the only way u can mess up is not having the paper in holes down or plates in wrong order. i know you can get a few gallons to go through the press without filter aid so unless you are 100% sure its the filter aid and not a human or mechanical error then i hope its the filter aid. i know some people dont agree but i think it would be the best way to make sure what is wrong here. it wont hurt and its better then waiting around for some other brand of DE that might not even be the problem. just make sure the syrup is hot

It's not about a certain brand of DE. There are many grades and sizes of particulates. Again all will look and feel exactly the same but only the proper size for presses will work. Here is a quick explanation from UVM.

[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

good to know... i didn't think that DE could get any finer then the stuff i use and completely stop syrup from passing. Chris must have blown a paper after adding 2 more cups because he said it was going through fast but cloudy. probably could just let all the syrup with DE mixed sit for a day and the sediment will go to the bottom, then just pour it until u see the sludge getting ready to come out, then heat it up and add 2 cups of the right DE and run it through the press and cross your fingers :)

[maple flats]

I see another issue from your picture you posted at the top, you must not have the press nuts tight enough, when properly tight you will not get all that syrup leakage across the top of the plates, at the most you may see a very minor amount but it will not cover the unit. Either not tight enough, or paper not in right (alignment) or torn paper. Any of those could cause the issue. Do you have a pressure gauge on the press (not the air pressure but the syrup)? What does it read when filtering? I see some filter papers but not all, are you sure you had a paper between every piece, you should have no metal to metal, they all need a filter paper.

[Sugarmaker]

Did any one notice 120psi? Chris was that the pressure on the press or the air delivery side? That seems high. We run about 30-40 psi on the press guage.
Regards,
Chris

[Asian Long Horned Beetle]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170204/46916ed97ed0283bd1a4ced677cd5700.jpg Now im confused... chris posted feb 2nd basically with the same problem but found the problem to be the papers in wrong... so not sure how he had his press working a week ago and now thinks its the DE? chris whats going on????