Flat vs Cone Filters

[nymapleguy607]

I am curious to see how many of you use flat or cone filters and why you like one ovr the other. I ask because I am thinking of having a pan made that I can dump hot syrup off the evaporator to filter and later bottle it without switching containers. I have used the cone filters the last few years and filtered straight off the evaporator but it is hard to work around the stand for the cone filters and I then have to transfer that to a smaller pan I have to reheat and bottle. Just trying to find a better way without breaking the bank on a filter press. Thanks Jeff

[Fred Henderson]

I prefer the cone style even if they do have a smaller filter area.

[3% Solution]

nymapleguy,
We changed from the cone to the flat two years ago.
We also use filter aide with the flats.
We think it's the best thing since sliced bread.
Now, keep in mind it's all about what works for you.
As Fred said, he likes the cones.
Just my pennies worth!

Dave

[Fred Henderson]

I have the flats for my canner and perhaps I did not mix the filter aid correctly. But now I cone filter right off the evap and then into the canner thru just one paper pre filter. Doing one pre on the canner insures that nothing gets in there that isn't supposed to be there. My wife is always in the SH when I am boiling and she takes care of changing and risineing the cones. This leaves me more time for visiting with whom ever stops by. I have a gas fire hot water heater plus what comes off the preheater. I don't know how some guys do it without lots of hot water.

[nymapleguy607]

3%
How do you mix the filter Aid ??
For that matter what exactly is filter aid?

[3% Solution]

nymapleguy,
We draw into a 3/4 gallon stainless pot.
Into that pot of syrup we put 1/8 of a cup of filter aide, stir it really good, mixing it up real good.
In the filter / canner we have a thick Orlon filter, on top of that is 3 or four paper filters.
We dump the syrup / filter aide mixture on top of the filters, put the cover on and don't worry about it.
We can filter up to 3 gallons of syrup before we have to change the top filter.
Once we change the top filter we add filter aide to the next 3/4 gallon to be dumped in.
Mountainvan got me using it a couple of years ago, it's great, the syrup looks very clear.

Now, what is it?
It is a ground up sedimentary rock, this rock is a fossilized diatom, a soft shelled algea.
What makes it work is, it's very porus (?)the holes fill with the material to be filtered and the filtered material also clings to itself. All of this helps the filters do a better job.
Remember to use the food grade!!!

Fred,
I agree with you on the hot water!!!!
We have had hot water out of the EEU and can't imagine not having it!!!

Dave

[KenWP]

They use the filteraid for makeing wine also. Just lets the particles in the liquid have something to stick to before they hit the filter.

[darkmachine]

Last season was the first season we made maple syrup, and we got a lot of pointers, and instructions from some old timers. They instructed us to use whole milk mixed in while finishing the syrup. We then skimmed off the top the congealed dregs. This left the syrup really clear, and almost no sediment after it was filtered(with homemade flanel filters). Has anyone else ever heard of this "milk" method?

[PerryW]

I've been using the smaller size flat filters and the 12" x 24" Filter Canner for years filtering about 120 gallons of syrup each year for 20 years.

I like the flat filters because:

1) They have more surface area

2) Cheaper

3) The take less room (vertically) so I can put the filter-canner right under the draw-off valve and run directly into 5-gal drums without any pouring or pumping.

I never have tried any filter aid.

Here's a pic:

http://mapletrader.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=656&d=1238533217

[3rdgen.maple]

darkmachine yes I have and there are several other old time ways of filtering. I think if you were to sell your syrup it might be frowned upon. Cone filters are pretty cheap and work really well. They can be washed and and reused many times. I like the cone filter as it is just a preference thing but I would consider the small investment and get one and a few prefilters as well.

[KenWP]

Last season was the first season we made maple syrup, and we got a lot of pointers, and instructions from some old timers. They instructed us to use whole milk mixed in while finishing the syrup. We then skimmed off the top the congealed dregs. This left the syrup really clear, and almost no sediment after it was filtered(with homemade flanel filters). Has anyone else ever heard of this "milk" method?

That is why a lot of dairy farmers became sugar makers as they had the milk. Eggs were also used for the filter process. I assume it was the white that got used and not the yellows. The old timers used to drop egg shells even in their coffee to settle the grounds. There are lots of ways to make syrup and filter it as long as ones doing it with the thought (I would serve this to my family with no problem before I sold it to a coustomer.)

[Fred Henderson]

If someone has allergies to milk or eggs (which a lot of people do) then those filtering methods could become a problem. Also using those methods it can no longer be called pure maple syrup.

[Jim Brown]

We used the whipped eggs and milk method as long as we were making syrup for the family but as soon as we started to sell to the public we bought a filter press.
Just our two cents!
Jim

[vermaple]

I think some people are confusing the use of milk as a defoamer as a filter aid. I remember my dad starting to use felt filters in probably the late 40's or very early 50's. Prior to that he used to filter the syrup through cotton flannel. A common practice prior to that was the use of settling tank where the syrup was allowed to settle in a tank for several days and then decanted off the top and canned. Also at that time canning cold was a common practice and I don't think spoilage was any more of a problem than it is now. A leading factor in the change to hot canning was it takes less syrup to fill a can if it's canned hot. The regulations requiring hot pack can later as most regulations have. Not saying that all regulations are bad.

Also most maple was made into sugar in the the early days as there were no containers to store syrup. As sugar filtering was not as critical as it is for syrup.

Dairy farmers became sugar makers because they had the woodland, thay had the fuel, and late winter early spring was a slow time of the year as far as other work that had to be done to survive. At that time filtering was not an issue.

[darkmachine]

We actually used a tiny slice of butter to "kill" the foam, and the milk to bring all the impurities out. I know that in order to advertise "pure maple syrup" you can't add anything. But what is the difference between adding defoamer, and filter aide vs milk(or egg) and butter, as long as you filter it? Allergy concernes asside.

[Fred Henderson]

I may not have presented this subject properly. I do know that there is a certain percentage of impurties allowed, de foamer, butter, milk, etc but I do not know the percentage. So I guess I should have never brought up the subject. However it is somethig you should be aware of.

[vermaple]

Back on subject, I always used cone filters before I got a filter press. I used felts with paper prefilters to minimize washing the felts. Never thought of using filter aid, but it would work quite well I would think. A cake of filter aid on a flat filter would work the same as a filter press as the DE acually does the filtering in a press. Probably would need more DE tha a press as there is no pressure. Any how if I had to go back to filters, I would go to flat filters as you can stack the prefilters and it's so easy to slide out the plugged prefilter and go on with a clean one.

[Fred Henderson]

The cones side out just as easily.

[3rdgen.maple]

Vermaple I think your dad and my grandfather did the same thing. I remember as a kid him using milk as a filtering aid of sorts. The old cotton flannel in the milk drum came next with the valve a few inches up from the bottom and after a few days of settling he would bottle it. I remember grandma then putting them in a canner with boiling water to bring the temps up to seal the lids. I dont ever recall any sediment in those jars but back then I was a little young. I do know when he had small orders he would just cold bottle and tell the user to fridge it. The larger orders where the ones that got the steam bath. Back in those days bacon was hung over the pans and the grease dripped in the pans as a defoamer, eggs and hotdogs were boiled in the syrup pan for lunch, butter smeared on the top of the syrup pan to stop the syrup from boiling over. Ahhhhhhhh the memories.

I have never used a flat filter personally and do not plan too anytime soon. Not that I think they are bad I just get great results with the cones and see no reason to change.

[PerryW]

My dad used to dump milk in the pan just before we took off.

The milk would bring a lot of the nitre to the top which could be skimmed off to make filtering easier.

[thenewguy]

personally i have the best of both worlds. I use a "pail" filter that I get at my dealer. they are designed to fit in a 5 gallon pail. they have a flat bottom on them but pail shape. To keep them inplace and tight there is a strap with velcrove to wrap around the top of the filter and hold the fold around the pail. I'm surprised no one else uses them on here, or i have never seen mention of them. they don't clog near as easy as cones. Plus they fit really nice in a 5 gallon bottler

[MartinP]

Where do you get them? Sounds interesting.

[Fred Henderson]

I think that someone told me he bought some from ebay also.

[thenewguy]

I buy the from my local dealer who buys them from Atkinson maple check out there website and click on "filtration" you will see the link for the orlon bag filter. Personally I think these are great, alot better then cones. The filter quick and dont' get "backed up" when filtering, and also not near as tight to fold over a 5 gallon bottler www.atkinsonmaple.com

[Swingpure]

I haven’t filtered an ounce of syrup yet, but I will this spring. When I purchased my filters at the CDL store, they recommended the flat filters as they would clog less and filter quicker.

For those with flat filters can you peg them to the sides of a round pot, or do you have to use something like a perforated steam pan?

Thanks

[TapTapTap]

I use a flat filter on my canner unit which has a flat screen for the filter to rest upon. I also have a filter press that does the real work. The filter cloth provides a little extra filtering and allows a last line of defense if I blow out a filter paper in the press.

Ken

[Swingpure]

Well don’t I feel like a fool. When I went to CDL I knew about two kinds of filters, cone and flat. They suggested I get a different one then the cone, which I assumed was a flat filter, but I do remember them saying that you can use it in a bucket. I opened the package today to have a look at it and it is a “filter bag for a 20l pail”, it has an interior strap on it which I have no idea what it is for.

I can see that it will allow syrup through faster than a cone filter and will not clog up as quickly. I have three prefilters for it as well.

I am going to see if someone can fabricate me a stainless steel funnel with a 14” diameter opening. I will build a stand that will support the pail and the funnel, and have a two level shelf at the bottom, one for a five gallon stainless steel stock pot and the other for my bottling kettle.

I may get a second set of the same filters, as I may filter twice in a short period or time, once with the nearup out of the pan and then again when it is finished and I filter it into the bottling kettle.

I will likely use different clips to hold the filter to the pail, then the ones I quickly grabbed for the pictures

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[Swingpure]

I opened the package today to have a look at it and it is a “filter bag for a 20l pail”, it has an interior strap on it which I have no idea what it is for.

It bothered me not knowing what that strap on the bag was for. Early this morning, I thought about it and said why is it on the inside, it should be on the outside. Then it occurred to me that you fold over the bag, over the lip of the pail, then you can use the strap to tighten the bag, to the pail.

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[Swingpure]

I started making a stand today to hold the bucket with the bucket filter, the large funnel and the bottling pot. I was going to stain it snd make it look professional. Part way through cutting some of the components, I realized I did not have to make a stand, I could just stack them.

I purchased the bucket filter from CDL. The bucket filter, at least on the surface, looks to be a better filter choice than the cone filter, although I never hear anyone talking about them. It has a much larger area for the syrup to pass through snd it is less likely to clog up with sediment. Mind you I am saying that, having not filtered a drop of syrup.

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