b_mclarty
06-07-2009, 09:59 AM
I bought an old pressure cooker on eBay that had an interesting set of canning grates. They were full of perforations and stood on metal legs. I thought that I might be able to adapt it to a (low) pressure filter unit.
I drilled out the "pot", had a 1/2" npt bung welded into it and added a ball valve. I replaced the pressure control unit on the lid with an air valve. I made a custom-fitted filter from some filter material. The pressure is supplied by a plastic air pump that I found at a local bicycle shop.
The unit still has the safety plug in the lid but I don't plan to heat it under pressure. My thoughts are that I will set it on the pan dividers to keep the syrup warm and, when I have enough syrup in it, move it to a counter, put the lid on and pump up the pressure with the small air pump.
My first test, with some left over syrup that we had trouble filtering, seemed to work like a charm. It's not for high volume production but I thought that it might be useful on those days when the syrup doesn't want to go through the filter cloth.
I'm interested in any comments or suggestions about the unit from some folks with more experience in syrup making.
I've posted some photos on Photobucket at the link below...
http://s662.photobucket.com/albums/uu349/bkm_photos/Small%20batch%20pressure%20filter/?albumview=slideshow
I drilled out the "pot", had a 1/2" npt bung welded into it and added a ball valve. I replaced the pressure control unit on the lid with an air valve. I made a custom-fitted filter from some filter material. The pressure is supplied by a plastic air pump that I found at a local bicycle shop.
The unit still has the safety plug in the lid but I don't plan to heat it under pressure. My thoughts are that I will set it on the pan dividers to keep the syrup warm and, when I have enough syrup in it, move it to a counter, put the lid on and pump up the pressure with the small air pump.
My first test, with some left over syrup that we had trouble filtering, seemed to work like a charm. It's not for high volume production but I thought that it might be useful on those days when the syrup doesn't want to go through the filter cloth.
I'm interested in any comments or suggestions about the unit from some folks with more experience in syrup making.
I've posted some photos on Photobucket at the link below...
http://s662.photobucket.com/albums/uu349/bkm_photos/Small%20batch%20pressure%20filter/?albumview=slideshow