New filter press, is there a difference?

[Amber Gold]

I'm looking to get a new filter press for next season. Upgrading from an old cast iron full bank.

I'd like to filter 50'ish gallons of syrup without breaking it down. Is there much of a difference in the presses between the different companies? They all look about the same to me other than stand and pump configuration.

Thanks and I'll be poking around at the open houses in a couple of weeks.

[motowbrowne]

One dealer mentioned the thickness of the plates as one difference between manufacturers. Thicker plates means more capacity. Out of curiosity, I'm considering a new press myself and I'd like to filter a similar amount at a time. Are you looking at 7" full banks, or 10" presses?

[Sugarmaker]

My guess is that to do 50 gallons at one time you might need a 10 inch plate or a SIRO 24 inch? Not sure a 7 or 7 1/2 long bank plate press will consistently do 50 gallons? I would guess they can do about half of that. Of course your mileage may vary. Is your old press a 10 inch? I like my SIRO (12 inch) a lot.
Regards,
Chris

[Chasefamily]

i have a full bank 7" smokey lake and have been more than happy with it this year. have got into the high 40's before breaking it down, but that was because i was done for the night and done filtering not because it was plugged up. Through my experience i would have to say that it would def make 50-60+ gals consistently if not more. Its hard to say as this year i dont have too many trees. For the future i plan on having another full bank 7 inch that way can filter over 100+ gals without breaking down and could be cleaning one while using the other. Not sure why i dont just go to a 10" but i like the idea of the whole press being ss i guess.

[Amber Gold]

I was thinking 7" full bank, but hadn't considered a 10" press thinking it'd be too big.

I can get about 40 gal through my CI press before breaking it down...obviously depends on if it's early/late season syrup. I have a lot of plates...

And, I want an air pump. It's what I have now, and I like it.

[motowbrowne]

I was thinking 7" full bank, but hadn't considered a 10" press thinking it'd be too big.

I can get about 40 gal through my CI press before breaking it down...obviously depends on if it's early/late season syrup. I have a lot of plates...

And, I want an air pump. It's what I have now, and I like it.

That's what the 3 of the dealers I talked to recommended, the full 7" that is. One guy suggested a short bank 10", which was priced pretty similarly. I don't know exactly how a full 7 and a short 10 compare for capacity. The guy recommending the 10 was suggesting the D&G said they sell them, H2O and maybe Wes Fab and that everyone who gets the D&g really likes them.

[n8hutch]

I think that you could do 50 gallons through a 7.5 inch leader clear press, I have put 25 through my 5 plate press a few times this year and it still had room to spare, I don't exactly use the DE sparingly either.

Whatever you buy I would recommend an air powered pump.

[maple flats]

I also think a full 7" would work. I even got thru 30 gal on my final batch this year and I have 5 sets of plates on it. I don't know which, but I've seen some with thicker hollow plates, they would give you more capacity. Mine is a Lapierre and I think the hollow plates are about 1" thick. One thing is certain, an aluminum press will heat up much faster than the cast iron one you now have, I would think an SS would heat faster too, but not as fast as an aluminum.

[Russell Lampron]

Following! I'm thinking of upgrading presses too. I like the Leader clear press and saw a D&G press a couple of years ago that had much thicker plates than my Wes Fab. The syrup was a lot dirtier than usual here this season and my short bank press wasn't doing it for me.

[maple flats]

My syrup changed a lot thru the season this year, more than usual. I went about 6 boils before I had to even clean the front pan, after that I needed to every day or 2. Then on March 30 I had to shut down mid boil to clean the front and back pan, after having cleaned both pans before the boil about 3 hrs earlier. After that I had to clean them every 3-5 hrs.
This was the first year I've had to shut down mid boil to clean in less than 6 hrs boiling. Most of my boils are under 6 hrs, in fact most are only 3-4 hrs.
For those first 6 boils I used a method I had last been able to use 8-10 years ago. There was lots of sugarsand but it stayed in suspension near the bottom (I don't have a bubbler). I just used a pump, sucked it up thru the pump and then back to the pan. On the outlet I used a cone pre-filter which caught most of the niter, then I just fired up and resumed boiling concentrate. I have only used that method 2 or maybe 3 seasons since 2003. I do it only when the niter is not building up on the bottom and just remains loose (like silt).

[Potters3]

I have a Leader 7.5" , 10 plate, we can get 80 gallons thru, and I like being able to see thru it so we can tell when it is full or when we can keep going with it. We have pushed hot water thru it at night to rinse the sweet out and used it again the next night without breaking it down.

[68bird]

Russ, I have a 7" D &G, short. Maybe it's my papers, but I can;t get more than 10 gallons through it, early syrup, and late syrup is way less! Gets cold too fast between draws too A ;ot of times, I only have a quarter inch build up, and pushing 100 psi!

[wiam]

Russ, I have a 7" D &G, short. Maybe it's my papers, but I can;t get more than 10 gallons through it, early syrup, and late syrup is way less! Gets cold too fast between draws too A ;ot of times, I only have a quarter inch build up, and pushing 100 psi!

With only 1/4” on papers you are not using enough filteraid

[sapman]

With only 1/4” on papers you are not using enough filteraid

Definitely agree. Need a lot more DE.

[Russell Lampron]

Russ, I have a 7" D &G, short. Maybe it's my papers, but I can;t get more than 10 gallons through it, early syrup, and late syrup is way less! Gets cold too fast between draws too A ;ot of times, I only have a quarter inch build up, and pushing 100 psi!

Like the others have said, you're not using enough filter aide. You should be using enough to fill the space in the hollow plates. For my press that's 3 cups each.

I don't filter mine between draw offs. I built a burner set up out of an old Weber gas grill and had Bill Mason build me a finisher pan to fit it. At the end of a boiling session I heat the syrup to near boiling and correct the density before I run it through the press. I get a more consistent product that way and the jugs get filled at a consistent temperature.

[maple flats]

I also do mine in batches. When boiling I normally get 7-8 gal/hr drawn off by an auto draw, into a 24 gal draw off tank. I then pump it to a finisher just to hold it until I have a batch big enough to fill a barrel or 2, or a barrel and my bottler. I then bring it up to 205-210 F, density check to verify, adjust as needed and then I draw off into my mixing tank about 3-4 gal, mix in about 1.5-1.75 cups filter aid (FA, My filter is 7" with 5 sets of plates, adjust by the number you have), stir well using a big stirring whip (like a potato whip but bigger) and then pump it thru the filter press and back into the mixing tank. Once it is so clear it sparkles, I either send it to a SS barrel or the bottler or first a barrel and the rest to the bottler. As each mixed batch is emptied from the mix tank, I then draw 6-6.5 gal into the tank, add 1 cup FA, mix and pump it thru the filter, since the papers are already coated it does not need to flow back into the mix tank after that first batch. When I finish that, I draw again and keep repeating until a barrel is full, then I send the rest to the next barrel but only if I have enough to fill one, or to the bottler if I need more retail containers filled in that grade or I just leave it in my finisher until another batch is ready. Doing it this way, I get 5 batches thru the filter in just a few minutes, ( my barrels are 26.5 gal) then fill the bottler or if I don't need more retail in what grade it is, I just leave it in my finisher until another barrel worth is ready to be filled.
When my filter gets to 40 PSI I open a bypass valve slightly to keep the pressure close to 40 but not over it. When my filter will not allow more syrup thru or it gets very slow (at 40 PSI max), I shut it off and break the press down, the hollow plates are then all completely full and I will have filtered about 30-50 gal on a 5 plate 7" press. If the press did not fill up and I have more syrup to finish and filter within about 60-90 minutes I filter thru what ia already in the filter, if it has been over that time, I break it down, empty the plates, clean everything, put in new papers and start a new batch.

[JoeJ]

Looking at your number of taps, I would go with a 10", 5 hollow (2" thick) plate press. A 7 hollow plate (2" thick) 7" press has 504 cubic inches of DE capacity. The 5 hollow plate (2" thick) 10" press would have 810 cubic inches of DE capacity. The 10" press might be a little big, but there is nothing that I hate any more than the press plugging with 10 more gallons of syrup to filter. I have a D&G 5 hollow plate press (2" thick) and have done 115 gallons without plugging. My syrup per boil averaged 59.5 gallons this season with no problem putting all the syrup through the press without having to change the press. If I only put 30 gallons or less through the press during one boil, I can save the papers and DE and reheat the press with hot water for the next boil. If I have put more than 30 gallons through the press in one boil, I clean it at the end of the boil.

Joe

[Amber Gold]

Thanks Joe. Back on topic.

That is some good info that is good to have as well and glad to see the comparison. Are 2" thick plates standard between companies? I'm guessing my old CI press has 1" plates, so a full 7" or short 10" would be a significant upgrade in DE volume.

Is the only difference between the companies what you're getting for an air pump, and how they build the stand? I'm guessing there's only so many ways to build the plates themselves.

I agree, there's nothing worse than having to break the press down to get the last draw-off through the press.

I hadn't thought of reusing the press the next night. I just assumed it had to be broken down after each use.

[collinsmapleman2012]

leader 7 1/2 inch is awesome, a 10 plate could get you through 50 gallons and then some. using a 15 plate now, i can get 120-150 gallons through in good syrup, and 75-100 in end of season. best part is that its virtually impossible to blow papers on them with the design of the waffle plates. ive been very impressed with it, and its great for tours also.

[johnallin]

Add me as another in favor of the 7½" Leader Clear press.

Do to the small amounts I filter (3-6 gal at a time) I also have mine blocked down to 3 plates using 3/4" I.D./ 1½" O.D. HDPE tubes as spacers.

I'll never go back to a press where I can't see the inside. The pump supplied by Leader is a pneumatic made by Wilden.

Good luck in your search.

20046

[Shaun]

Are 2" thick plates standard between companies?

My lapierre plates are not as thick as D&G for sure.

[maple flats]

No, I believe most were about 1" thick hollow plates until D&G and maybe more introduced the thicker ones. The thicker the hollow plate, the more DE it can hold and thus the more syrup it can filter in a batch before you need to clean the press.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Josh,

I run a 7" CDL 6 bank with diaphragm pump and it has the 2" thick plates and I don't have any problems getting 50+ gallons through it unless it is late season or the sap is loaded with yeast.

[Amber Gold]

Saturday, the family and I went to VT and came home with a Lapierre 10" short bank. It was at the right price, and I liked the stand the best...simple and effective. I didn't see any major difference between the plates from the different companies. Also, Lapierre has these new hollow plates with an o-ring, so you can double the plates up without needing a paper in-between...~$100 each o-ring plate. Alternative is to buy a hollow/waffle plate kit for $200. I figure the short bank will give me about 30% more capacity than I have now, and I can add extra plates as-needed.

Thanks for the input everyone. It was helpful.

[Russell Lampron]

Good choice Josh, you've got some expandability with that press. I've decided on the Wes Fab 7" full stack with an air pump to replace mine.

[motowbrowne]

Here's what I brought home last weekend: D&G 7" press with seven 2" cake plates. It's got a flojet electric diaphragm pump. I used 3 sets of filters and did 147 gallons of syrup, basically a mix of syrup from the whole season. The first run I didn't really know what I was doing and only got 40 gallons through it, but the next two batches I did over 50 each time. I'm very pleased!
20067

[Russell Lampron]

After doing more research I decided to get the Wes Fab 7" full stack press with a 1/2" air diaphragm pump. I ordered it today.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Saturday, the family and I went to VT and came home with a Lapierre 10" short bank. It was at the right price, and I liked the stand the best...simple and effective. I didn't see any major difference between the plates from the different companies. Also, Lapierre has these new hollow plates with an o-ring, so you can double the plates up without needing a paper in-between...~$100 each o-ring plate. Alternative is to buy a hollow/waffle plate kit for $200. I figure the short bank will give me about 30% more capacity than I have now, and I can add extra plates as-needed.

Thanks for the input everyone. It was helpful.

Looks like a nice press. Was your old cast iron one no longer okay for the new bulk syrup regulations?

[Amber Gold]

I'm not sure if it is or not. It was just in the interest of upgrading equipment. I've had the press for years, it worked fine, and it handled most every day of syrup production.