Warming up the sap for RO ?

[wmick]

I found, last year, (first year with RO) that I could process sap about 20% faster when the sap was at 50 deg F vs 34.5 deg F..... So - Im wondering if I should be thinking about adding an in-line heater to bring it up a few degrees between my feed pump and the RO.... (Strictly to speed up the process)

Note, I will be storing concentrate for up to 3 or 4 days... and don't have a chiller. Concentrate will be stored outside, so it will come back down to about 38-40 deg F within a few hours.

Am I asking for trouble with bacteria, microbe growth... by warming it up and storing it?

Thanks

[NhShaun]

I think storing concentrate for that long without a controlled cooling system may be asking for bacteria problems already. Though there are plenty of days where it is cold enough outside to store sap, there are also days that are too warm especially if the sun is shining. Heating up the sap before the RO may accelerate the process.

[DrTimPerkins]

Spoilage is a function of time, temperature and sugar concentration. By making concentrate you are increasing the sugar concentration. By storing concentrate your are increasing time. By heating it you are increasing the temperature. That is a perfect recipe for a trifecta of spoilage. You might get away with it part of the season when it is cold and the concentrate cools off fairly quickly, but later in the season probably not. The pumps will warm the sap/concentrate up some all by themselves.