7” Wesfab Shortbank - How many gallons on average should I be able to filter?

[WolfCreekMaple]

Hey everyone! I know my question has 101 variables but I was wondering if anyone has a good “average” number of gallons they are able to process through their Wesfab 7” Shortbank filter press? Right now I’m averaging about 4 gallons but I think I can push it a little more.

Also I use six cups of DE I get from my maple supplier and I’ve read in a couple threads that some put in a few cups of DE first, recirculate, and put the rest in later? I have always just put some maple syrup in the bottom of my pan, put all 6 cups of DE, recirculated, and then added the rest of my syrup. Could this practice be improved?

We are really tracking what it costs to make maple syrup right down to our time (it’s scary but it’ll be a great thing to show customers this year!) and a 10# bag of DE in Maine is about $24 and six cups weigh around a pound so that means I am using $2.40 of material for every 4 gallons of syrup just in DE. If I can improve thay I’ll be happy :)

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We did 12 gallons on our 7" Wesfab short bank Sunday and have done as much as 20 or so. I don't know that we've found the limit in one "batch". We are limited by our 15 gallon finisher pot size. Once the press cools off it is harder to get syrup through it again a second time. Usually have to break it down after a batch. We have done it and left a towel over it in between runs and it works sometimes. We did around 12 gallons last year then 8 more on a 2nd run and were able to do it but the 2nd batch was slow. You can do a lot more than 4 gallons at a time in any event.

[craigwade2005]

I can't comment on the press itself, however where are you buying your DE?
I got mine through CDL at around $55 for a 50# bag and then just stored it in a couple 5 gallon pails with gamma seal lids. That would cut your costs down some on the filtering.

I have a smaller 5# Sheets press and I can run 8-9 gallons through that without an issue.

[WolfCreekMaple]

We did 12 gallons on our 7" Wesfab short bank Sunday and have done as much as 20 or so. I don't know that we've found the limit in one "batch". We are limited by our 15 gallon finisher pot size. Once the press cools off it is harder to get syrup through it again a second time. Usually have to break it down after a batch. We have done it and left a towel over it in between runs and it works sometimes. We did around 12 gallons last year then 8 more on a 2nd run and were able to do it but the 2nd batch was slow. You can do a lot more than 4 gallons at a time in any event.

What PSI should I not go over for my pump? I determine how many gallons I can process by that gauge and I try not to let it go over 30 PSI but maybe I'm babying it too much? :)

[WolfCreekMaple]

I can't comment on the press itself, however where are you buying your DE?
I got mine through CDL at around $55 for a 50# bag and then just stored it in a couple 5 gallon pails with gamma seal lids. That would cut your costs down some on the filtering.

I have a smaller 5# Sheets press and I can run 8-9 gallons through that without an issue.

Thank you! I'm not sure where my supplier gets the DE from exactly (I'm sure CDL or H2O I don't have the box in front of me and if I remember right the DE is in a plain box with a plain ziplock bag hahahah! but I'll double check!) But I'm always willing to cut back on costs if I can buy in bulk!

[NhShaun]

I have the Wesfab 7" filter with an upgraded hand pump from Bosworth. My bottling pot only holds 5 gallons so that's the most i have ever pushed through it at one time. I do find that the last gallon or so starts to get pretty hard to press, i can't imagine if i still had the crappy little hand pump that it came with from the start.

[Super Sapper]

My finish pot holds about 6 gallons, I add 3 cups of DE to each batch and can get 2 batches through before having to break it down. I usually get the pot full and wait until I just about have enough for another batch before heating an putting it through the press before heating the first batch.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

What PSI should I not go over for my pump? I determine how many gallons I can process by that gauge and I try not to let it go over 30 PSI but maybe I'm babying it too much? :)

No, 30 PSI seems about right. At that PSI its not flowing real well anyway, at least not with our gear pump. You could push it a little more than that perhaps but I don't recall ever seeing much over 25 PSI. Probably because we just opt to break down the press if needed. We did 12 Gallons the other day, started at 7 PSI and ended at 12 PSI. Nice flow the whole time. That's pretty common for us. I think you will find your finishing pot will be the limiting factor. Keep circulating with hot syrup before sending to a bottler and until all plates are hot and the syrup out is 180-190. The press likes hot syrup.

[WolfCreekMaple]

My finish pot holds about 6 gallons, I add 3 cups of DE to each batch and can get 2 batches through before having to break it down. I usually get the pot full and wait until I just about have enough for another batch before heating an putting it through the press before heating the first batch.

I have never tried to run 2 batches thru without breaking it down! YES now I know where I can improve!!

[WolfCreekMaple]

No, 30 PSI seems about right. At that PSI its not flowing real well anyway, at least not with our gear pump. You could push it a little more than that perhaps but I don't recall ever seeing much over 25 PSI. Probably because we just opt to break down the press if needed. We did 12 Gallons the other day, started at 7 PSI and ended at 12 PSI. Nice flow the whole time. That's pretty common for us. I think you will find your finishing pot will be the limiting factor. Keep circulating with hot syrup before sending to a bottler and until all plates are hot and the syrup out is 180-190. The press likes hot syrup.

Oh wow my PSI usually starts around 7 but usually is up near 20 by the time I have around 4 gallons put thru but I'll try to push it closer to 30 and add more filter aid as needed. Excited to see if I can get more thru and decrease that cost.