Old School Filter Idea- Problems

[Maplesapper]

Looking for an old school solution to filtering cloudy syrup......very very fine dust in suspension it looks like

Yes, new filters, new orlon flat cloth, new pre filters, pre steamed with hot water and poured in hot syrup- 195 ish
Doing this 15 years- first time with this hiccup

So, any old school ideas like mix/ crack an egg etc.
First draw-off was 2 gallons- so I have a nice small volume to experiment with.
500 gallons of sap in the woods- so need a solution soon lol

Thanks

[buckeye gold]

I have had this problem before and the only way I resolved it was to refilter. I think sometimes that fine nitre just overloads our final filters and some slips through. A second filtering through a clean set of filters will often get the rest. I have mixed in some filter aide but that usually slows and even clogs a gravity filter before it finishes.

I finish on propane and I filter every batch three times. I draw at 214 +/- through one prefilter cone for heavy nitre, I then go on propane and filter through two prefilters and one final filter at 216/217 and then return to propane and finish then filter through a clean set of two prefilters and one final filter. This has got me clean clear syrup for years. Now I am a small hobby guy and my batches are one to two gallons. My filter set up is small, and my process probably isn't efficient for a larger operation. If your going to continue gravity filtering I think double filtering may be an option that will help. Sure it's more time and mess but it's an option. Other then that, get a filter press.

[Mean_Oscar]

We tried to gravity feed at our annual February MS festival running through just a pre-filter at final concentration. It was so slow that we scraped the sides of the filter with a wooden spoon...a lot. All was rush rush to get everything bottled and handed out to volunteers before they leave. The syrup has stayed cloudy despite an attempt at DE and vacuum filtering. I would have figured that in a month it would settle.

SO, Did we unwittingly break up globs into tiny / colloidal particles that will NEVER settle?

[DRoseum]

After struggling with gravity filtering for years (slow, cloudy at times, etc) I bought a filter press and love it (been using it for 5 years).

However, the cost always made me want to find a more cost effective solution for smaller producers. I did the vacuum filter initially with mixed results (clogging up at times as others have experienced).

So this year I built and tested a very cheap alternative to a filter press and absolutely loved it. Makes crystal clear syrup just like a real press and is made from a stainless in-line filter housing.

Check it out here:

https://youtu.be/TZPiSihC5_Y?si=Kym50zEOBHaBIhO6

All the parts are listed in the description of the video.

[Mean_Oscar]

Awesome video! Thanks for doing all that engineering for us small timers.