What good is a pre filter?

[beehappy1950]

I have put up about 15 gallon so far and been putting a prefilter inside the wool filter. ( monkey see, monkey do thing I guess.) Cant see anything the pre filter is catching. Just wanting to know. Harold Thanks

[Sugarmaker]

bh,
The prefilter should have almost all the sugar sand in it. In 15 gallons I would guess you should have several cups of muddy sugarsand. If you dont have any niter or sugarsand its unusual? Tell us more.

Regards,
Chris

[ennismaple]

Most people will have multiple pre-filters on the cloth filter. When 1 pre-filter gets plugged you remove it, drain the syrup into the next pre-filter and wash the plugged one. This keeps the cloth filter from getting plugged with sugar sand as often.

[Big_Eddy]

I finish in batches of ~15 litres (qts). I use the orlon cone filters with prefilters inside.

Unfiltered syrup off the pan, into a stock pot for final density adjustment, then poured into the filter cone while still as close to boiling as possible.

I start with 4-6 prefilters one inside the other. As soon as the syrup stops flowing through the wool / orlon, I reach inside and dump the first prefilter into the second, and on and on. Without the prefilters, I'd get about 5 litres through before the orlon was plugged solid. With the prefilters, I get about 5 litres per prefilter and the orlon is good for the whole batch. Each pre-filter catches a couple of pounds of sand, which is easily rinsed out in the sink so they can be used for the next batch as well.

Silicone oven mitts work well. They are waterproof and heat proof, and I can reach right into the syrup to dump the prefilter without cooking my fingers. (We never use them for the oven as they are awkward and clumsy - but they do work well for syrup)

Pre-filters are critical for me.

[brookledge]

If you are not getting any sugar sand or crap in the pre filter then either you have not boiled it down enough and it is like water or there is something wrong with your pre filter. The pre filter should pretty much take out almost all of the solids and then the felt should finish the job.
As others have said you usually will change out the pre filter many times before you need to wash the felt one. Of course you need to keep it hot once it cools down and gets cold you will need to wash them all
Keith

[Buckshot]

When my prefilters get pluged I pull the first one out and tilt / lift so the syrup runs through the nonpluged part of the filter and so on for every fliter that wont drain.

[maple flats]

Are you using a true maple pre filter or some other such as a coffee filter. You must use the right thing. If you get nothing in the prefilter, and your density is right you must tell me houw you do it. Is your syrup crystal clear?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Would these work as a prefilter....Ebay 360248548539 easy to clean and reusable.

[Haynes Forest Products]

OK guy here is my thoughts Start out with a brand new food grade SS high spin washing machine. Line the inside drum with sheets of filter cloth. Sew into a circle with houla hoops to keep them centerd in the drum. You start the spin cycle and dump in the hot syrup with mixed in filter aid. NOW THATS A PREHEATER.

[KenWP]

Okay Haynes why don't you design a circumfuge syrup filter. I think it could be done. Put the hot syrup in and it spins it through a heavy filter.