UV lights

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have a brand new in the box so I know its clean UV light If I want to kill bacteria in the sap when should it be done.
1)from the sap hauler to bulk tank
2)circulate it thru the light in the bulk tank
3)from the bulk tank to the feed tank
4)circulate it thru the light in the feed tank
5)from the feed tank into the pre heater

My thought is When does the bacteria do it most harm in the mulk tank or feed tank? Or anytime it is sitting. So logic says out of the hauler into the bulk tank.

[jrthe3]

i think it depends on what you want it to do i put my sap threw the uv light before it goes into the bulk tank cause i may not get it all boiled right away so the uv light helps it keep longer

[mountainvan]

Hauler to bulk tank. Kill the bacteria before they get a chance to really multiply. You could put in a bypass valve and use option 1 and 2.

[Jeff E]

I asked a similar question of Brad from Leader at an Open House. He stated that it is best before the bulk Storage. He did not specifically comment on circulating through the filter.

He did say that once the sap is concentrated in an RO the UV would lose a lot of its effectiveness as the higher concentration of sugars reflects the UV and it does not penetrate the sap very well, leaving the bacteria uneffected.

I have seen some set ups were a pool filter is used in filtering/circulating the sap being stored. Once the sap is filtered, lets say a 10 micron filter, and UV treated before entering the bulk storage, I am unsure what value the pool filtering would add, unless the sap is sitting for several days.

Brad did say the best system is to simply process your sap in a timely way, (daily), scrub and rinse the tanks well after each day, and you will make high quality syrup. Period.