1st time filter presser. give me your best tip.

[cjf12]

I have been so consumed with getting everything ready this year I haven't even got to the filter press till tonight. Read the manual and have it assembled with papers but didnt make the time to filter the ten gallon i have ready.
Was curious on any tips to help through this learning curve. Hopefully the last learning curve.

[Russell Lampron]

Get your syrup really hot, as in just below boiling, before you run it through the press. Make sure that it is the correct density too so that you don't have to adjust it after the fact. I also wet the papers when I put my press together. They seal better that way.

[Sugarmaker]

Practice, and then some more. Congrats on the new press!
Regards,
Chris

[Haynes Forest Products]

Do Not let it cool down and turn it back on :o When your done filtering with the catch pan in place crack the plate bolts and crack the plates apart and let it sit overnight and you will get all the captured syrup.

[MISugarDaddy]

Download the operating instructions that Dr. Perkins put on their website. It offers suggestions on the amount of filter aid to use and basic instructions on filtering.
Gary

[maple flats]

The instructions on the Proctor MRC site are what I used. I think I didn't get perfectly clear syrup until I started leaving the pump running after It got sparkly clear syrup out the discharge hose as I moved that hose to the bottler. To do that I used a SS pitcher when I first tried it, but later I found the results were the same if I just opened the bypass (flowing back to my mixing pot) and closing the valve for the line between the pump and the filter. Then when the filter discharge hose was in the bottler I then open the valve to the filter then close the bypass valve. I was finding that the initial surge of the pump starting somehow pushed some cloudiness into the syrup. Using the method I described I get perfectly clear syrup.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Its a simple piece of equipment so don't overthink it.
You must have 3 hoses dedicated to 1) intake 2) recirculate 3) discharge thru the filter.

Mix in your DE and keep it mixing as you run your pump on recirculate then switch over to filter.

Make hoses that will reach NONE of this crappity crap having friends hold the hose as you work.

ALWAYS pump filtered syrup back into the finisher/stock pot/evaporator/ whatever your using to keep the syrup up to temp. Do not handle it more than you have to.

When you open the bag/box of filter papers take the entire supply of them and set on edge holes down on the table and make a stripe down the center of them all with a food grade SHARPIE (do not use spray paint) Trust me it will save you time and second guessing if your papers are in the right position.......................JUST DO IT PLEASE

Don't let your kids install the filter papers.

DE is like toilet paper, don't be a cheap skate.

Its OK to clean the press and pre assemble it and let it sit that way until your next batch.

Yes that 16" SS pipe next to the press is for tightening the press plates I hate sticky showers.

If it ain't bubbling syrup from between the plates you ain't trying hard enough to get the last syrup thru it.

Yes it will sound like a 3 cylinder air cooled Dietez diesel when its running at top performance.

NO you don't need the Dali lama to burn incense over it at start up....................it ain't that complicated

OH one last thing please don't lick your finger in front of me every time you get a drop of syrup on them it's really irritating. Reserve that habit for your first and only date at the rib shack.

[maple flats]

As I got older (and weaker) I removed the big cast wing nuts that tighten the press, and I got deep nuts with the right thread. I now use a LONG combination wrench to tighten those nuts.

[Amber Gold]

Make sure the plates are all facing the right direction. Really irritating when you realize after you've filtered syrup.

[dsaw]

I'm pretty new with my press, but one tip for small volumes and keeping the press warm: put a propane heater next to it. I started without it today and thought I clogged the filters after only a few gal's.
Cleaned the press (not filled up in the least), but also added the heater (almost touching it, on high). Finished 2x the initial volume in probably 1/2 the time. I'm bottling from the press, but I run it through a copper coil heat exchanger after the press and before bottling. I have a pot of boiling water with a 50' 1/2" copper coil in it that the syrup passes through after the press to get it back up to temp (the reverse of a homebrew wort chiller). I'm not sold on this solution, it was my quick answer when I realized I needed to add more heat before bottling. I'm not sure how well it's working because my IR thermometer isn't giving consistent readings. I can't hold the bottles without a glove, so it's hot; but I may make further improvements before next year.

[Haynes Forest Products]

If your bottling out of the press you can suck out of a pot of boiling syrup right into your containers. Keep in mind that the second it leaves the finisher thru the press filters its not going to make sugar sand. I beieve your over thinking it a tad.