Quick question on filtering and bottling

[KJamesJR]

So the general consensus from the studying I’ve been doing is; run syrup through filter during draw off, then reheat and bottle.

My question is:

Wouldn’t reheating just cause more sugar sand to develop? Then you’d have to filter again right? Then it would get cold... so you’d have to heat it up again! Also you’d boil your sap too thick?

Just seems like it could easily turn in to an insane cycle of filtering and reheating/adding more sap to dilute!

Maybe I’m just over thinking it.

Thank you!

[MN Jake]

I was new to the filter press and bottler last season. It works fine to filter, then get back up to temp and bottle. I think most say not to go over 185 but we consistently went up to 190 with no issues. No mold, no niter, nothing.

[KJamesJR]

Okay, thank you!

[NH Maplemaker]

Keep your reheat temp under 200 Degrees and you are good! We always bottle between 180 and 195 degrees!

[whity]

We use a water jacket bottler. After filtering. Bring it to 190. No hot spots to create niter.

[maple flats]

I also filter, then send it to my Water Jacketed bottler. There it is brought up to 186-188 and bottled. The syrup never gets cloudy. If you bottle using any method that reheats the syrup by direct heat (flame, electric burner or such) it can get hot spots and even with the overall temperature correct, that spot over the heat can and often does form more niter. If you dispense into bottles, don't stir of do anything that will disturb that area of the canner and you will be OK until it gets very low on syrup. Then, if still in the season, dump it back into the next batch, if the end of the season, use that for home use.

[wnybassman]

So the general consensus from the studying I’ve been doing is; run syrup through filter during draw off, then reheat and bottle.



That will work if you are at the correct density when you are drawing off, and reheating with a method that doesn't create more niter such as a steam or water jacketed bottler.

Many of us use a finishing pan of some kind to get the correct density, then run the syrup through the filters into a bottler of some kind that keeps syrup at the correct bottling temp

[KJamesJR]

That will work if you are at the correct density when you are drawing off, and reheating with a method that doesn't create more niter such as a steam or water jacketed bottler.

Many of us use a finishing pan of some kind to get the correct density, then run the syrup through the filters into a bottler of some kind that keeps syrup at the correct bottling temp

My goal is to draw off at the correct density, filter (through a cone), then reheat in a SS stock pot and bottle inside the house. I was just trying to wrap my head around when to filter because there seems to be a preference. Some would say to filter every time you move the sap :confused:

Last year I was filtering after a batch boil, then bringing inside for finishing, then filter again, then heat back up and bottle but I was still getting granulars in the syrup... I also was only using cheese clothes and syrup pre-filters. I thought the pre filters were just "disposable" synthetic filters... Yeah, I'm new.

[KJamesJR]

I also filter, then send it to my Water Jacketed bottler. There it is brought up to 186-188 and bottled. The syrup never gets cloudy. If you bottle using any method that reheats the syrup by direct heat (flame, electric burner or such) it can get hot spots and even with the overall temperature correct, that spot over the heat can and often does form more niter. If you dispense into bottles, don't stir of do anything that will disturb that area of the canner and you will be OK until it gets very low on syrup. Then, if still in the season, dump it back into the next batch, if the end of the season, use that for home use.

How logical would it be to use a propane cook stove? Those bottles are a little overkill for my operation.

If you keep the syrup agitated as it's re-heating (before hot spots occur) will that prevent the hot spots completely or should we just not stir it at all?

[whity]

Where about are you in NH? Our sugar shack is in Epsom. I can show you our setup with the water jacket flat filter bottler. Any kind of direct heat source will create a hot spot. Gas, electric. Without a separation of water/steam to disperse the heat evenly. We draw off at syrup, Check the density as it heats up and bottle at 190.

[KJamesJR]

Where about are you in NH? Our sugar shack is in Epsom. I can show you our setup with the water jacket flat filter bottler. Any kind of direct heat source will create a hot spot. Gas, electric. Without a separation of water/steam to disperse the heat evenly. We draw off at syrup, Check the density as it heats up and bottle at 190.

I'm located in Gilmanton, not too far from you most likely.

[whity]

I'm located in Gilmanton, not too far from you most likely.

That's about 15 to 20 minutes from us. PM me if your interested.

[Hunt4sap]

Not trying to hyjack this post but I'm using exact same approach and just bottled mine my first year cold after filtering b/c it was usually 2 am after boiling from dailighttill dark then bring syrup indooor s to finish , filter,bottle and it was overwhelming to say the least( alot of fun but a lot of rediculous long days.
After reading up more on this site and talking to maple syrup makers I've decided to try this year to get it really close to finished syrup and stock that product in spare fridge until I have a couple times worth of "near syrup"
Then on weekends run all of "near syrup" to finish on stove top, filter, then reheat up to 185-190 and bottle more at a time all in one day, I hope?sound reasonable as long as product after filtered is only reheated up to 185 then bottled?
Probably buy a water jacket bottler after this year( pretty pricey...)
Any advise on which WJB makes sense for small 60 tap Operation?

[wnybassman]

Not trying to hyjack this post but I'm using exact same approach and just bottled mine my first year cold after filtering b/c it was usually 2 am after boiling from dailighttill dark then bring syrup indooor s to finish , filter,bottle and it was overwhelming to say the least( alot of fun but a lot of rediculous long days.
After reading up more on this site and talking to maple syrup makers I've decided to try this year to get it really close to finished syrup and stock that product in spare fridge until I have a couple times worth of "near syrup"
Then on weekends run all of "near syrup" to finish on stove top, filter, then reheat up to 185-190 and bottle more at a time all in one day, I hope?sound reasonable as long as product after filtered is only reheated up to 185 then bottled?
Probably buy a water jacket bottler after this year( pretty pricey...)
Any advise on which WJB makes sense for small 60 tap Operation?

I do that. I stockpile 8 to 10 gallons of nearup, or in my case overup (I tend to draw off a bit heavy) and finish/bottle that all at once. Usually three boils worth to get to that amount. I have a Smoky Lake steam filter/bottler, but had great success with a coffee urn set up before that.

[Hunt4sap]

How do you make a coffee urn work as a water jacket bottler?

[TooManyIrons...]

My goal is to draw off at the correct density, filter (through a cone), then reheat in a SS stock pot and bottle inside the house. I was just trying to wrap my head around when to filter because there seems to be a preference. Some would say to filter every time you move the sap :confused:

Last year I was filtering after a batch boil, then bringing inside for finishing, then filter again, then heat back up and bottle but I was still getting granulars in the syrup... I also was only using cheese clothes and syrup pre-filters. I thought the pre filters were just "disposable" synthetic filters... Yeah, I'm new.

I have been doing similar, with two exceptions: One: I use decent filtration materials throughout the entire process, in my opinion the most important annual investment that hobbyists mistakenly try to shortcut (as I did in the beginning). Two: I let bulk finished syrup stand for several days to allow niter to gravity settle. I then decant, reheat to the proper max bottling temperature, and bottle in canning jars. Problem is that I reheat to correct temp in SS stockpot on electric stove and the direct contact with the heating element still causes whispy niter in the jars. Being that I am into making maple syrup as inexpensively as possible and I do not want a bunch of specialized equipment laying around, I figure this year I will try using a simple double boiler made by placing one stock pot inside of another stock pot on the stove. I will still ladle syrup out of the stock pot and into the jars by hand, at this time I am not interested in the expense and hassle of installing any kind of pouring spigot (but I definitely see the value of such a thing).

The reason I use canning jars is because they are readily available locally and are still the cheapest glass jars available out there to the small-quantity hobbyist that I am aware of. They are even cheaper than the plastic equivalents available at the sugaring supply houses, especially when shipping cost is rightly factored in. If anybody can prove me wrong, though, I would really appreciate a source link.

[Hunt4sap]

Hey wnybassman,
You refer to using a coffee urn as a water jacket bottler?

[Millsy]

No he has a "Smoky Lake steam filter/bottle"

[wnybassman]

Hey wnybassman,
You refer to using a coffee urn as a water jacket bottler?

No, before I had the steam bottler I used a coffee urn to filter and bottle up to 8 or 10 gallons at a time, but most times 4 or 5 gallons. Once through the brewing cycle, it was a great contraption to keep syrup hot enough to bottle with very minimal niter production.

[Woodsrover]

Here's what I do. Take it for what its worth;

Draw off just before its completely done and transfer into a 8 gallon stock-pot on a propane burner in the sugar shack. Stock pot simmers all day as I boil. Stock pot has a spigot just off the bottom.

At the end the day the syrup in the stock pot will be done.

I let this settle for 24 hours. I then draw off the cold syrup thru the spigot. 95% of the niter will have settled to the bottom of this stock pot.

I re-heat in a double-boiler to 190 degrees.

I pour hot syrup through a paper lined wool cone filter in my ghetto-fabbed, warmed double-boiler filter box.

Bottle straight out of warm filter box.

I bottle all my syrup in glass and have all but zero sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

Pictures of my filter box. It's a standard filter box welded into a cheap stainless pot. I fill the pot with water and keep it simmering on a burner while the syrup filters and gets bottled. Water in the pot keeps the syrup hot. All my syrup goes into the bottle at 190 degrees, start to finish.

http://www.seriestrek.com/images/db2.JPG

http://www.seriestrek.com/images/db3.JPG

[KJamesJR]

Can someone point me in the direction on how to install a spigot on a SS stock pot? Or maybe make one of these double boilers without the use of welding?

[KJamesJR]

That's about 15 to 20 minutes from us. PM me if your interested.

I'd like to take you up on this but unfortunately I've been picking up extra shifts on the weekend. I'll probably be available in mid February however if you've got the time.

[Woodsrover]

Can someone point me in the direction on how to install a spigot on a SS stock pot? Or maybe make one of these double boilers without the use of welding?

You can get a spigot that screws together. Drill a hole in the pot and stick it in. Be sure to buy a quality spigot that is rated for heat.

[johnpma]

I used this and it worked well.....drilled the hole with an electricians step drill

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/136-3060729-9819709?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=stainless+spigot

[KJamesJR]

No, before I had the steam bottler I used a coffee urn to filter and bottle up to 8 or 10 gallons at a time, but most times 4 or 5 gallons. Once through the brewing cycle, it was a great contraption to keep syrup hot enough to bottle with very minimal niter production.I like this idea better than a homebrew stockpot spigot...

Only $39.92 at Walmart :cool: