Cleaning Wool Filter

[skinny78]

I purchased an 8qt seamless wool filter this year from the Maple Guys. It has worked great. To clean it we have been rinsing it out with lots of hot water and squeezing the water out. It has developed a darker color and/or stained some. Is there a better way to clean it?

[ibby458]

We steam ours in the back pan to get all the sweet out, then turn inside out and hose with a sharp stream of hot water from a small nozzle. They've been coming out like new for the most part.

Be careful squeezing them dry. They don't hold up too well to rough handling.

[Sugardaddy]

Skinny,


Can you tell me how you set your up and are using it? We just used ours yesterday fir the first time. I hung it from 2 ladles between two chairs over a large container. I washed it in hot water, dipped it in boiling sap and placed two pre-filters in it. We still had only so-so results, with about 4 gallons going through before it stopped running alltogether.

[andyp]

Skinny
When ours gets too discolored we lay it in a pan of boiling water and let it boil for a while. Then we hang it and let the water drip out of it. It seems to clean it pretty good.

Andyp

[skinny78]

Sugardaddy,

I had two stainless pots made one 16" in diameter and 11" tall and another 12" in diameter and 24" tall. The tall pot has a 3" stainless nipple welded to the bottom with a big washer welded 2" from the bottom. I put a viton rubber washer on the end of the nipple and put it through a hole in the bottom of the larger pot. Then put another viton rubber washer on the outside, then a stainless washer and screwed a 1/2" stainless ball valve on until it was tight against the washers. I put an electric heating element in the outer pot out of an electric turkey fryer. Also made a stand for it to sit on. The inner pot has four hooks to hang the filter on and I used the lid off a turkey fryer pot. The outer pot is then filled with water and the electric element set at 200 deg. It maintains about 185 deg. at that setting. I pour the hot syrup in the filter and close the lid. I can draw off the bottom for canning when ever I am ready or the filter gets done draining. I sometimes let the filter hang overnight with the heat off to get the last pint or so out. The great thing about it is the syrup will never burn with the two inch water jacket and it is closed to help stop further evaporation. It works great and was cheaper than a commercial water jacket canner.

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[325abn]

I use mine with 1 pre filter at a time when the paper filter gets clogged I replace it with another paper filter pouring the remaining syrup from the first paper filter into the second paper filter.

I soak all the filters in boiling hot sap to remove the sweet then clean with hot water.

This year before bottling I am going to also use the sediment method for a few days. Placing the syrup in buckets for a few days then pouring off though a filter into my canner, leaving the sediment in the bucket.

[Rick_Seebeck]

Do you store the sryup outside so it stays cold while the sediment settles?

[skinny78]

I draw off in gallon glass jars and keep them in the refrigerator until I am ready to finish, filter, and bottle.

[Sugardaddy]

Thank you! Nice set up you have there.

[maple marc]

Skinny, thanks for posting info on canner filter--very cool.
Marc