Felt Filters

[Featherfoot Farm]

I'm filtering using a cone shaped felt filter and an insert that looks like a big coffee filter. The product comes out beautiful--no niter and perfectly clear--but the filtering is going so slow I can't stand it. I'm using hot syrup and rinsing the filters with hot water before using them. If this is par for the course, I need a new system. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Dan
Featherfoot Farm
Aurora, Maine
70 taps

[Al]

Sounds pretty par for the course as far as I'm concerned. I switched to the synthetic filters and prefilters last year an had a marked improvement in filterinig time. I don't know what your filtering into but I use a turkey fryer and a steel coffee pot. I put collenders in the top of the pots and put in a synthetic filter with 3 prefilters cut to fit the collenders. Works great. The key like you say is to have the syrup hot. Hope this helps.
Take care

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If you can put some heat under the filter tank and keep the syrup that has already came throught he filter fairly hot, it will put the steam up into the bottom of the cone filter and help it filter a lot faster.

[VA maple guy]

When you pour your syrup into your filter fill it as full as you can . You will have more surface area in your filter working, and it's owne weight will help push it through. Gerry

[brookledge]

Dan,
What every one said pretty much sums it up. Other than going to a filter press, the only thing you can do is try square style. You would have more surface area if you had a 16X24

[Maple Flats]

You are not large enough to justify a 16 x 24 canner , (they do offer 12 x 20 or 16 x 16 and maybe others) but if you make a frame of SS and build it with 2.5 or 3" sides that can be hung in the container you are collecting the finished syrup in and have a hardware cloth bottom that you can then put flat filters in it would work better. Put in a filter first then 3 or more layers of prefilters in this with the sides up over the sides and pour as much as you have hot all at once or fill it if you can. As filtering slows carefully remove the upper prefilter and allow the remaining syrup to dump into the next layer. This is how it is done with a canner / filter rack but you can fashion something yourself. :D 8)

[Mapleridge]

We made our first syrup, a light medium amber with a great taste!! And due to slow sap, we had to wait 2 days to fire up the evaporator again. Our cone wool felt filter was forgotten and not rinsed, so I rinsed with HOT water and lots of cold water till clear, and we filtered another batch, and althought the sap tastes good, I think there is a little odd flavor that the filter is adding to the syrup. We also use the paper inner filter with the cone filter. What can I do to "freshen-up" our flet filter? Or could the sap have a different flavor now that the weather is warmer? The different flavor is very slight and almost goes away when we finish the syrup. Thanks for any help. This is year # 1 of many fun years with our new hobbie, and I want to do things right and learn how to correct mistakes....':oops:'

[mapleman3]

just what I do, not that its right. I wash all my filters and prefilters occasionally in the clothes washing machine. first I run the washer with HOT water EMPTY to rinse out any soap or lint. then I wash all the filters on HOT with a fewsprinkles of baking soda, let the washer do it's thing. then I wash them HOT again in just water so it will rinse everything clean. if there is any hint of discoloration I will run it again with hot water. I get perfectly clear and no off flavor syrup, so thats what works for me :D

[sweetwoodmaple]

Mapleman - Do you wash the filters inside out or just throw them in as is?

(seems like a dumb question, I know)

Also to All -

How many years or gallons do you get out of a felt filter? Prefilters?

[mapleman3]

Mine are all flat, but I have done it with cone filters before. what you could do is the first wash do them inside out then normal the second wash...I think anything will be better than just doing it by hand

[Mapleridge]

Thanks for the fast replies. I'll try the baking soda solution and a good rinse. Our syrup is nice and clear, so something is just adding to the flavor..
Boy, we just get going with the sap flow and now our weather is warm. Hope this doesn't stop things. Thanks again. Jean':D'

[Featherfoot Farm]

Hi All,
This may be obvious to everyone but as I was watching my almost syrup finish on my kitchen stove it finally hit me that I should filter the stuff before it becomes syrup. That way it will run through my filtering rig smooth. I have always filtered after boiling +7 degrees or when the hydrometer says so because that's what I have seen the sugar shacks do. Lo and behold when I filtered the hot pre-syrup through the filters it decreased my filtering time by 75%! and came out beautiful. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier but it's never too late I guess.
Thanks for all the helpful replies.
Dan
FeatherFoot Farm
Aurora, Maine
70 taps

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Dan,

You are on the money. I have done that for years and then boiled it a little more after filtering with very little or mostly no sugarsand developing. According to the North American Producers Guide, you can do this also, but seems others have problems with this method. :?

[Maple Flats]

I have tried filtering slightly before syrup stage also but found that any further concentration resulted in more sugar sand precipitation and had to do it again if packing in glass. For plastic it may not matter as long as you filtered fairly close to syrup stage.

[dads hobby]

Last year I did filter just before finishing. I normanly boil until I have about 1/2 to 1/4 inch in my pan then filter it trough a bucket filter before puting it on my propane barbque side burner witch I use for a finishing stove. Saves me time on final filtering but I still got some sedement in the bottom of bottles. This year I have a new filter and hoppefuly i will have no sedement.

Every year I lern something new and with this site I have lernt something new almost every time I log on. :D :D :D

[JohnM]

One thing Brandon has mentioned before is letting the sweet sap/near syrup/syrup settle for a few days in a bucket. Pour off the clear.

This has help me on my last batch which had a lot of solids in it.

I will can my last gallon or so this weekend using 30 cup coffeemaker, 5 quart wool cone and prefilters. :)

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

John,

You are on the money. I have done this for years and for you guys using cone filters, there is no better way. The last year I used cone filters, when I filtered my last batch, I ran 14+ gallons through one cone filter and it was still pouring through, but I ran out of syrup.

What I did and still do sometimes is to store it in something like 5 gallon buckets with sealtight lids for 5 days or more and 95+ percent of the sugarsand will settle to bottom. Pour the syrup off of the top and reheat to correct density and filter. Save the sugarsand in the bottom and keeping pouring it together in one bucket until the end of the season because there will be some syrup mix with it and at the end of the season, pour the syrup off of the top of the sugarsand bucket also. :D

[RUSTYBUCKET]

Like Dads Hobby, I'll run the front pan up to about 6 degrees and drawoff through a paper filter. Once we get about 3-4 gallons, it all goes into a stock pot on a propane burner. Final filtering is a paper filter tucked inside a felt filter. Works for us.


Russ

[forester1]

I talked to a guy today that uses those filters that are made for grease like in turkey fryers. They are available at wholesale food suppliers I guess and maybe elsewhere. Anyone try those?