Ideas/suggestions filter press priming bucket

[Maple River Sugar]

Can any one share an efficient way to prime a filter press with DE? I take about 3 gallons of syrup and add my DE then put the suction hose in the bucket. This method for me usually ends up being a hot mess with a loss of product. Does anyone have a remedy that works for them? Thanks

[ronintank]

I have the daryl sheets press its a 5 inch and i usually run about 8-9 gallons at a time through it per batch.
for my press with all the plates in it. i charge the heated to 200 deg. syrup with 3 cups of DE i use a wisk to mix the de into the syrup when mixed i place the suction hose and the jar filling hose into the syrup kettle and start hand pumping.
Recycling the charged syrup through the press and back into the kettle. this heats the press and fills the chambers in the press with the proper de bed for complete filtering. I would say i hand pump if for about 3-5 min. then start filling jars.
Not sure if this answers your question.

[motowbrowne]

I use something like this: https://www.brewinternational.com/premium-5-gallon-stainless-steel-stock-pot-with-weldless-ball-valve/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_4-SBhCgARIsAAlegrVi23ORQKK4PLI9S9a9nmrocvm37mpRd5Ezq R7ZVYEJ2Jl6O7EyqD4aAjVQEALw_wcB

I put a stainless camlock fitting on the valve and the other end on my intake hose for the press. I'd like a step saver or a drawoff tank, but I'm not made of money, so this works for me. I think you can buy a kit to add a valve to any stockpot as an alternative.

[DMF]

i charge the heated to 200 deg. syrup with 3 cups of DE.

I don't mean to hijack this post, but I always was told that if you re-heat over 192 degrees that you run the risk of introducing more niter....? I run my filter between 180 - 190.

[ronintank]

I don't mean to hijack this post, but I always was told that if you re-heat over 192 degrees that you run the risk of introducing more niter....? I run my filter between 180 - 190.
Well the filter press can take care of that extra niter. When i start out i work in an unheated building so my press is about 35 degrees and the 200 degree syrup will lose about 10 degrees cycling through the press heating the press and filling the filter beds with de. then i am ready to can 190 degree syrup

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We filter from a 15 gallon brew pot that has a turkey burner beneath it to heat the syrup. After struggling a little bit like you have, we built a 18” high metal platform to set the burner/pot on. A little bit of elevation above the press makes a big difference. Before that we would feed the suction hose with syrup from a stainless cup to prime the press. Once it starts, it pulls pretty easily. If it doesn’t, pump might be getting weak.

[Bricklayer]

I’ve been doing bigger batches this year. I used to continuously filter through the day and circulate 180 degree syrup through the press from my bottler. But I got sick of hearing the pump running.
For 10-12 gallons of syrup i heat it in a 15 gallon brew pot with a cam lock fitting on the bottom. When the syrup gets to 200f I draw about 3 gallons out into a stainless steel pot. Add 5-6 cups of DE and stir it good. I then put my suction hose in the pot and turn on the pump sending the filtered syrup back into the pot. Let this circulate for about 1 minute. Then shut everything off. Dump whatever is left into the brew pot. And not that the suction line is primed, hot it up to the cam lock fitting on the brew pot.
If it’s all the syrup I’m doing I will mix in another 5 cups of DE and stir it in.
Then I turn heat off and put the filter discharge into a 5 gallon draw off pail that I have. I run the press and let the pail fill up about 3/4 full. Stop press and dump the filtered syrup back into the pot of hot syrup.
By this time the press is super hot. And charged with DE. I then run the whole batch through and into the bottler.

[TapTapTap]

I have 40 gallon syrup draw-off tank with a cam-lock connection to my filter press intake hose. I modified the tank by adding caster wheels so I can move it around the sugarhouse - although I did need to strengthen the frame to make that work.

I start a filter press primer batch as the syrup pan gets to about 214. I manually draw off about a gallon every couple degrees until I reach about 218. I think this helps me to re-establish the gradient. Then I add my DE and circulate to the flue pan. Once I hit syrup density I start batching with DE and watch for the filter press output to reach the required density.

Once I'm dialed in, I adjust my filter press pump to just barely keep up with the draw off. This keeps the press hot.

Ken

[Pdiamond]

I have a 7" press and per instructions use 6 cups of DE and 1/2 gallon of syrup to charge the press. Once that is completed, I add 1/4 cup DE per gallon of syrup to be filtered and it works very well. I still hold the outlet tube on the draw off tank until I see that really sparkling clear syrup before I place it into the bottling tank.

[TapTapTap]

I have a 7" press and per instructions use 6 cups of DE and 1/2 gallon of syrup to charge the press.

Holy cow! Are you sure about that? My 10x10 instructions say 4 cups of DE for 3 gallons.

[Russell Lampron]

I don't mean to hijack this post, but I always was told that if you re-heat over 192 degrees that you run the risk of introducing more niter....? I run my filter between 180 - 190.

That statement is partly true. If you "reheat" syrup over 192* it will precipitate more nitre. When syrup is cooling down from above 192* it doesn't. When you filter syrup you want it to be at 200* or higher so that it will sterilize the container that you're putting it into.

[Russell Lampron]

Can any one share an efficient way to prime a filter press with DE? I take about 3 gallons of syrup and add my DE then put the suction hose in the bucket. This method for me usually ends up being a hot mess with a loss of product. Does anyone have a remedy that works for them? Thanks

I used a 5 gallon DeLaval milk pail. When the press was charged I carefully moved the hoses. I used disposable nitrile gloves and threw them away after handling the sticky hoses. There was a little mess but not much syrup was lost.

[Russell Lampron]

Some of you guys are using way too much DE to charge and then filter your syrup. You should be using between 1 and 3 cups to charge a 7" press depending on the size of the press. When the press is charged you should then be using 1/5 to 1/2 cup of DE per gallon of syrup depending on how dirty it is. If you're unsure using a little more is better than using a little less.

I used a 10" press this season and used 9 cups to charge it. The manufacturer recommended 7 1/2 cups and because of the draw off situation that I was working with 9 cups worked better for me than 7 1/2 cups.