question on a 1x4 low pressure

[metalhead62]

for work reasons i have been unable to be involved in maple for a couple years but a while back i started collecting parts for a 1 or 2 post 4" diy ro i have a 4"canister complete with end caps and membrane,fittings,a couple needle valves,5 micron filter and housing some hose also have the booster pump to feed the high pressure pump but i dont have a high pressure pump or gpm gauges or pressure gauges i am wondering if i could push or pull sap(WHICH WAY WOULD BE BEST) through the prefilter with the 80 psi booster pump if it would have enough psi to run anything through the xle id just run it with a needle valve to concentrate side so i could get the back pressure and visually run them about even don't have to worry about gauges don't have enough pressure to hurt anything i'm only doing 100ish taps with a 2x4 evap so i dont need much but with out something may not be able to go this year either

[Russell Lampron]

Yes, 80 psi is enough to remove some water from your sap but it's going to take a long time to get your concentrate sweet. You want the pump to push the sap through the pre filter and membrane(s), not pull it.

[metalhead62]

hey russ think it would give me 10/12 gph of concentrate taking half the water out and if i had a raised tank do you think i could pull sap through the pre filter and push it through the xle if i could i think it would give me a little more psi at the membrane

[Russell Lampron]

hey russ think it would give me 10/12 gph of concentrate taking half the water out and if i had a raised tank do you think i could pull sap through the pre filter and push it through the xle if i could i think it would give me a little more psi at the membrane

I think that pulling the sap through the pre filter will work but I don't know if you'll really gain anything that way. I usually run my high pressure pump at 200 to 250 psi and get between 1.5 and 2.0 gpm of concentrate and permeate. Those numbers are with a clean membrane and raw sap. You can get as much concentrate as you want the question is how much permeate will you get. At 80 psi you will probably get somewhere around 50 gallons of permeate per hour. The only way to know is to try it and see.

[metalhead62]

ok russ thanks for the input