filtering the sweet

[cjf12]

After a boil the other day I drained my pans to clean them and noticed a huge amount of sludge left behind. I decided to run it all through the filter press before putting it back in. WOW did that make a difference in the next boil. Processed sap much quicker and got to a draw in a little more than 1/2 the time. Anyone else do this. Thinking I may start to maybe every couple boils.

[Lano75]

Last year I started cleaning the front pan after about 600 gallons. We had a lot of sugar sand that we rinsed out. Made a big difference in operation. This year I might do it a little more often.

[wnybassman]

i have gotten into the routine of pulling my front pan and cleaning it after every major run. Being a small pan it loads up quickly, resembling thick 60 grit sandpaper on the bottom. Once clean, I bring the sweet back to a boil on propane and filter (just a cone prefilter) it back into the front pan just before I boil the next time.

[cjf12]

Not sure it was the right thing or not but I drained the morning after the boil when everything was cool and ran through filter press cold. Got tons of junk out. Cant say mine was anything like sandpaper. More a sludge. Color of used motor oil.

[SeanD]

I don't have a filter press, but any time I drain my pans - front or back, I clamp a retired pre-filter to the downspouts. It doesn't get everything, but it gets most of it. Anything that is does get would have eventually clogged my cone filter during the next boil.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Boys this is what we call CLEANING THE PANS. Doing it most every night is a way of life if you boil concentrate. Everyone doe it differently and at the end of a hard days boil you have both heat and time on your hands. Letting it filter all night long is the best use of your time. Filling you pans with cleaner all night long is even better. Having a real course filter to get the big chunks works best for me because of my extreme sugar sand/mud. I have been preaching to a few pan builder that the next thing they need to do is make a cleaning the evap without over handling the syrup/sweet.

We have self cleaning ovens. Home filtration systems that self clean. Toilets that retract into the wall and come out spotless.

[EBG18T]

Toilets that retract into the wall and come out spotless.

Where can I get one if these?



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[cjf12]

Letting it filter all night long is the best use of your time. [/QUOTE]
What do you mean by this?
Understand Im first gen sugarer. You guys are for the most part my only source of info. Im beggining to realize a mentor in the shack would be invaulable. Thanks for those of you who respond.
I assumed "cleaning the pans " was just that. Not also the sweet.

[Jolly Acres Farm]

Yes, after a boil we filter the sweet in the pan before we start the next boil. I noticed that the the boil rate went up some (from 10-12 to 11-14 gph) and the finished syrup when filtered has a noticeably less niter when drawn off.

[Wanabe1972]

I also try to run my sweet through the press once a week or when i notice my scoop dragging on the bottom of the pan. I plug the hole between the sap and syrup pan. I drain and filter my syrup pan into a 10 gallon pot and then drain and filter the sweet into a seperate tank. I use my RO and permeate to a pressure of 150 psi and wash both pans. Drain it all out and put the sweet back in. I have found when boiling concentrate you get a bunch of niter in both pans.

[Haynes Forest Products]

cjf12 When gravity filtering sitting around watching it is frustrating. My finish pan filter tray will fill with syrup and mud and come morning its down to the dregs. even a run thru some cheese cloth will get the majority of the crud.

[RC Maple]

I just have a 2X3 flat pan but after every boil I drain it through a prefilter and leave it in a bucket for the next boil. I then wipe down the pan with a bit of water and if it is rough on the bottom or less than shiny I leave a half inch or so of vinegar sit in it for several hours and then drain and rinse. I always start with a clean pan and filtered sweet.:cool: