Should I still pre-filter off the evaporator now that I have a filter press?

[claystroup]

I have always ran my draw offs off the evaporator through a couple pre-filters going into my draw off pail. I would then finish to proper density on propane then run through prefilters and orlon final filter before bottling. This year I bought a used D & G 7" full bank filter press and still continued to run through pre-filters off the evaporator. If I stop doing this now that I have a filter press with more capacity then I probably need as my normal filtering volumes are 8-10 gallons at a time. The filter press does a great job and my finished syrup is crystal clear. I would like to do away with the pre-filtering step as it would speed things up and would be less stuff (pre-filters) to clean on a daily basis. Thoughts?

[wiam]

I would skip the prefilters. When I had a 7” press I cut some pieces of pipe that fit over the rods. This way I could use 1/2 the plates when doing small batches.

[claystroup]

I did buy (2) 12" lengths of pipe and (2) 6" lengths of pipe this year and now I can run 7, 5, 4 or 3 plates depending on the volume I am filtering. Simple way to vary capacity.

[Sugarmaker]

I agree that your on the right track. The prefiltering is just another job that is not going to gain you much on those volumes. I was glad to be able to finally flip a switch and filter a bunch of syrup in minutes compared to the slow gravity filtering process.
Regards,
Chris

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

No need to worry about pre-filtering off the evaporator. Won’t gain you much. Welcome to the wonderful world of filter presses, you won’t ever go back.

[maple flats]

Back when I got my filter press years ago I asked my dealer, mentor the same question, I was told that leaving the niter in the syrup until you filter using the filter press will actually work a little better than if you pre-filter off the evaporator. I stopped pre-filtering and never looked back.

[sap retreiver]

I do not miss cleaning filters! My filter press is the best thing I ever purchased, besides a real evaporator!

[Russell Lampron]

I do not miss cleaning filters! My filter press is the best thing I ever purchased, besides a real evaporator!

For the OP, don't mess around with pre filtering your syrup.

For the hijack, my filter press and real evaporator were great purchases but my RO was the best purchase.