Home made filter contraption

[Jim Powell]

I have just finished my fourth filter batch of syrup, and am pleased enough that I'll post it here . In the world of R&D, one rarely publishes failures! This design is probably only relevant for those of us who are very small producers, and want to capture every drop of the product.

I have posted a series of photos on my flicker account which is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maple2008/

Click on the set “Batch Filter Contraption”

The heart of the system is a Stainless Steel filter housing made by Pentek. It contains a 5 micron stainless steel filter element, that of course is reusable.

In order to force the hot syrup through the housing, I bought a 5.25 Gallon Pressure cooker, and fitted the lid with a copper tube that runs all the way to the bottom. When you pressurize the headspace above the hot syrup, (fire off) it forces the syrup up through the tube and through the filter. I bought one of the big coffee pot valves that someone here mentioned were on ebay. THANKS, it works great.

Once you hear the gurgling in the pot of it blowing air up the tube, you shut the valve so that the syrup does not run back into the pot. Also, towards the end of the run I have the filter mounted such that I can invert it so that once the pressure is off, gravity will allow me to drain out the last of the filtered syrup.

I am posting a photo here of the four batches I have filtered so far. I was very pleased with the last batch that was around 2.5 gallons, and when done, there was about 1/4 cup of syrup left in the pot, and a half cup that I drained out and didn't "officially" bottle. But it was great on the waffles this morning.

The total cost of all this is around $400, unless of course you try to make three other filter housings work, that won’t.

I also filtered about 2.5 gallons of syrup made last year that was terribly "buddy" through a carbon filter in the same housing, and it removed the buddy flavor, and I could use the stuff until I made my first batch this year.

[hookhill]

Awesome!! I was wondering when someone was going to figure out how to use a pressure cooker to filter syrup. Do you have any idea of how much syrup you can run through the filter before it plugs up? How much air pressure are you using? Great job.

[TapME]

Are you sure you're not a plumber. Great looking set up and pressure to boot.

[Jim Powell]

Hopefully I will have a better idea on "capacity" this week. I had one batch that didn't come out as crystal clear as the rest. I'm going to try to get some time this week to try this, which is to empty 1 - 3 gallons of a batch with all the sugar sand into the pot, heat it up to about 150° and run it through quickly back into gallon jugs. I think the off / on of bottling might have something to do with fines slipping past either the gaskets or the filter element. Then filter it again into bottles using the coffee spigot. Plus I think I could run at lower pressures (5-7 psi) just for bottling.

I have to bottle more to take to relatives in Texas next week, plus i still need to clean up and store maple stuff!

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

JIM

do you think 150 degrees is hot enough for bottling ??

RICH

[Jim Powell]

Rich,

No, it is just hot enough to get the viscosity way down for a first pass. If I do this, I can't let it sit too long in the gallon jugs before bottling again. I just wanted to avoid getting it very hot twice, from what I've read here, I'll get more carmelization, and thus color.

[jrthe3]

150 degrees is not hot enough it has to be over 180 befor puting in bottle 180 degrees is the temp that all backteria dies you want it over that to keep people from getting sick

[500592]

can someone post the link for the pentek filter housing with the 5 micron ss filter can i use a gear pump to hot syrup through insted of the pressuere canner

[500592]

Does anybody know where I might be able to get one of thoose pentek housings.?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Google Pentek Stainless steel filter housing.

[500592]

Tried but can't find the small one that has a 5 micron filter

[500592]

Is 10 microns enough to filter syrup thanks.

[small_operator]

I'm wondering if you have a better idea now of how long a filter will last without losing effectiveness. I really like the idea of a small scale filter.

[RollinsOrchards]

The original poster and inventor of this contraption doesn't appear to post here anymore, so I doubt you will get an answer from him.

I don't believe that you can get perfect results with just a stainless mesh filter, BUT I think that using two stainless mesh filters in series before your paper filter element will mean less plugging of the paper filter. I think I would try a 30 micron, then a 10 micron, then a paper element for batches over a couple of gallons, but I am really just guessing at the size of the larger sugarsand particles.

[lpakiz]

I bought the "contraption" from Jim a few years ago. He moved to Texas and had no further use for it. I used it several times and it worked "OK" but was suseptable to incorrect assembly. When this happeded, the syrup bypassed the end of the filter and was cloudy. Since the syrup was "pumped" from the pressure cooker by 20-30PSI of regulated air pressure, it was not possible to recirculate until the batch was done being "pumped" through the system. Rinsing, cleanup, re-assembly etc. took time and wasted syrup. When assembly was correct, the syrup came out sparkling clear. I did use DE with it, and could filter 3-5 gallons per batch. Without DE, forget it!
This year I assembled a gear pump and motor to draw the hot syrup from the heating container. I wanted to be able to recirculate back to the heating container until I was satisfied that the syrup was properly filtered. Alas, the 5 micron filter was not able to stand the 50-60 PSI the gear pump generated. The element "buckled" in the middle, destroying it.
Had a very hard time to zero in on an element manufacturer, altho the 10 inch Pentex SS housing is easily found on EBay, usually around $100 to $120.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pentek-ST-1-Stainless-Steel-Water-Filter-Housing-/200724048384?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item2ebc15ea00

Again, the element was SS screen, 5 micron in size and fit a (nominal) 10 inch housing.
Thr reason it worked with air pressure is that I could start out with 10 PSI and gradually increase pressure and flow. Never went over 30 PSI or so (scared) so I did not over flow the element capacity. Also, the flow was "soft" so if it resisted flow (plugged), syrup was not forced to try to pass thru the element. Instead, it just stalled. I "might" be persuaded to try this again with a air-diaphragm pump, where pressure is easily regulated and flow is not forced by a positive displacement pump.

[500592]

Thans Larry I was goin to PM you but one more question were did you find a replacement screen thanks

[lpakiz]

You can find something like it on waterfilters.net or krystilklear.com

But like I said, I could not pin down the actual filter element that Jim found. I don't plan on looking further

[jrthe3]

i talked with jim alot when he built this filter he got the filter from http://www.krystilklear.com/ if you go to this link it will redirect you to a new site cause they where bought out it is kind of a pain in the butt to get elements from them seeing how you got to buy from a dealer they wont sell direct to you my element is 5 micron i had to custom order it it was around 120 dollars and took 6 weeks to get

[DoubleBrookMaple]

I need some input....

Here is my take off on this idea that I have just finished planning. I am attaching a hand drawing, and a Bill Of Materials in PDF and Word format for review. After last years rookie struggles, I have installed tubing for 90-100 taps (potentially). I collected 325 gallons of sap last year, and then had my first hernia operation thereafter. Just over 6 gallons of good syrup in the end. I will say... Finishing and filtering was the challenge for me, and I am trying to make it easier.
I am planning on a 5 gal finishing pot that will also serve as the pressure pot for the filtration system. I have made a few changes to this system. Not on my drawing, is my plan to now use two parallel 5 micron filters for more flow capacity. These housings are Watts High Temp (200deg), as well as the cartridges that have a SS core ( in the thread, you will see that the replacement cartridge collapsed, and I think these should not. The Finishing/press pot will have a dial thermometer, and the syrup outlet will be near the bottom of the pot, and regulated air in the top. Another dial thermometer is at the system outlet to monitor temp at the bottling point.
This is my first true planning effort, as I am always throwing things together in my head, and going directly to the prototype phase. Expenses get out of control, and mistakes are made that require rebuilding efforts and lost motion. My Bill Of Materials has hypertext links to the product information, and costs. I did a lot of searching, shopping, and prices comparisons.

Here you can download my PDF drawing and the Bill of Materials to view full screen, and parts links to work.
https://www.dropbox.com/home/Finsihing%20and%20Filter%20Assy

Here is pictures from last years evaporator. and filter bucket assy.
https://www.dropbox.com/home/Sugaring2013

My YouTube:
PART 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wBc7CQGscA
PART 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOI_SceenKM

Wish me luck, and please critique this!

Eric

[Super Sapper]

You need to sign in to view the drawings. There was another thread a ways back that someone used a pressure cooker and SS screen to do the same thing you are planning.

[DrTimPerkins]

I also filtered about 2.5 gallons of syrup made last year that was terribly "buddy" through a carbon filter in the same housing, and it
removed the buddy flavor, and I could use the stuff until I made my first batch this year.

Although this is an older post (on a newly activated thread), folks should know that using a carbon filter for maple syrup is ILLEGAL!

[Big_Eddy]

Dr. Tim
I suggest you add some context for the benefit of those folks who may not be familiar with the rules and regulations.

Why it is illegal and which regulation does it contravene?

[DoubleBrookMaple]

You need to sign in to view the drawings. There was another thread a ways back that someone used a pressure cooker and SS screen to do the same thing you are planning.

LOL... This is that thread from 2008

[DoubleBrookMaple]

On my latest creation...

Rather than off the shelf filter cartridge assemblies, that may not do the job, I have decided to fabricate a filter paper box out of stainless or aluminum. I am thinking of 3 stages.
That brings up the question of SS vs AL. I want to use an aluminum pot, and maybe fabricate the filter box os aluminum, as it is so easy to work.
What are the cons of aluminum for finishing and filtering?

[DrTimPerkins]

Why it is illegal and which regulation does it contravene?

Pure maple syrup, by legal definition, can only be produced from maple sap that is concentrated. It must be pure and have nothing added or taken away. The only "exceptions" are specific processes that are deemed allowable (reverse osmosis, filtration, etc.) as part of normal production. Carbon filtration removes both color bodies and flavor molecules. Other similar processes may remove targeted molecules (and alter the syrup properties) via ion-exchange, but tend to add other things. Although in some cases it may remove something we don't want (off-flavors), and thus seemingly improve the properties of the syrup, doing so constitutes adulteration, and results in a non-pure maple syrup product, which is against the law at the Federal level in both the U.S. and Canada, and also banned by many state laws. This is one of the primary things distinguishing maple syrup from other sweeteners. We could make maple-derived sugar that was refined to the point where it would be impossible to tell it from beet or cane sugar (by color or flavor)....but that isn't what our industry is all about.

[lpakiz]

So adding and filtering thru diatomaceous earth is accepted and filtering thru carbon is not, right?

[DrTimPerkins]

So adding and filtering thru diatomaceous earth is accepted and filtering thru carbon is not, right?

That is correct. DE doesn't change the bulk chemistry of the solution, it simply removes the particles (which is not only allowed, but required in most cases).

[DoubleBrookMaple]

Dr Tim...
On DE...
I recently read through your "Recommendations For Proper Plate Filter Press Operation", and cannot believe I was so ignorant on the DE usage last year. All the chat about clogging filters, and I cannot seem to remember anyone making clear that it will help this issue, even with backyard gravity filtering. Correct?
Thank You so, so much for everything. That document is a great help for me in my filter press design. I hope I am get the waffle and cake plates thing down ok. Having a blast with this one!