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So I just had my first boil of the season. Boiling went same as always. Brought it inside for finishing. When it was done and it came time to filter .... it just never seems to go right. I bought the cone optimizer from Bascom. I'm using synthetic filter with 2 pre filters. It just doesn't seem to filter fully. Gets fouled up very quickly.
What am I doing wrong?
Should I filter it when it comes off the fire before finishing?
And if so how should I do that?
Am I using the optimizer wrong?
It won't hurt to filter multiple times. Certainly try an extra pass off the evaporator when the syrup is still runny and hot and will pass through easily. That should get rid of a lot of niter and gunk and help your final filter stay clean.
Don't spend too much time trying to get the last of the syrup to go through. Just put it in a jar in the fridge and add it to your next boil.
I'm no expert, by any means, but I can share what little experience I have..
I filter off the evaporator and again when finishing/bottling.... and the filters catch a lot of crud off the evaporator... I would not want to deal with that level of fouling while bottling..
I don't have an optimizer, but at the evaporator I have one 5 gallon pail as a filter holder (holes drilled in bottom, filter hanging from top, and 4 or 5 nuts and bolts through the sides at the bottom for hanger legs)..., suspended on top of a second syrup pail. This works quite well when taking small drafts or continuous trickle off, as the filter has time to empty out... I use one pre-filter inside the cloth filter... and just swap it out when It starts to back up too much.
For bottling, I use the same cone filter and one pre-filter hanging completely inside a coffee urn and keep the lid on. The filter is actually partial submerged in hot syrup most of the time...but I dont think thats a problem. In fact, I think it works better to keep the filter hot as possible... If the filter or the product you are trying to filter is cool, it will slow the process down considerably... I transfer re-heated syrup from the kitchen stove to the urn/filter.
I've included a rough sketch.
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I've explained my filtering process before and will again because I think it works well for a hobby guy.
1) I draw off a degree or two before finished and filter through a 10" non-woven filter from Amazon. I go through a bunch of these in a day.
2) Finish in a stock pot with a spigot 1" off the bottom over propane.
3) Bring it inside and let it settle for 24-48 hours.
4) Draw off syrup through the spigot leaving the gunk in the bottom of the stock pot.
5) Re-heat in a double boiler to 185 degrees
6) Filter through a Smokey Lake square steam bottler.
Letting it settle for a day is key. 90% of the niter and gunk settles to the bottom of the stock pot and never hits the filters.
Are you removing the pre filters when the syrup starts slowing down running through them. I use one synthetic and six pre filters. When the syrup slows l pull one pre filter put it aside and keep filtering. When the syrup slows again , repeat the process . Here's the way I filter. My second batch last season was really bad. Did some research in these forums. Ran across this process and it worked really well. Wish I could remember who shared this with me because it worked so well I refiltered syrup from a previous season and it was crystal clear. We both batch cooked and canned with a coffee urn. Filter the near syrup when removed from the evaporator pan . I finish with propane so when the syrup gets to about 216 * filter it. One synthetic and six pre filters, when it slows pull the pre filter and keep going. When all the syrup is filtered put it back on the cooker heat to 219* and filter again. One synthetic and six pre filters only straight into the coffee urn. Have your syrup jars ready cause the syrup is already hot enough to bottle , why reheat and make more sugar sand. This takes a little bit of planning but works well. We use pint canning jars so we have that stuff hot and ready to go. Heat the near syrup to 216 and filter. Heat the nearer syrup to 219 and filter into the urn. Fill hot jars from urn. Might seem like extra work , I thought so to but every jar of syrup since I have started this process has been clear.
I have noticed that hobby and new producers (those without presses) seem to avoid filtering like it's a disease. I was very much this way early in my sugaring years. I think it's partly over loosing syrup and partly not wanting another step in the process. My advice is bite the bullet and accept that proper filtering means loosing some syrup and taking more time, if in fact you want clear syrup. I fought getting clear syrup until I accepted these facts.
I draw off at 215-217 and filter through a cone prefilter off the evaporator. I finish on propane and once I bring it to a boil and it bounces the digital thermometer between 217 and 218 I filter through two prefilters and a final filter. I then return to propane and finish then filter again through two new prefilters and one new final filter. I have a round wire fryer basket that is about 14" diameter and my wife custom sews filters that fit in it. I do 1/2 to 1 gallon at a time. I store the filtered syrup until I have 3-5 gallons then reheat to 185 and bottle. Every year is different and some years it moves through the filters slower. I think you just have to do smaller batches then. I haven't had to do this for several years though. You will be surprised how much dirtier your first filter set is compared to the second. I will reuse the second round filters to do the first filtering on the next draw, but the first set gets thrown in the wash bucket. I keep 4 sets of filters in the shack at all times. I run mine through the washing machine on hot water and no soap at the end of day and hang to dry. I will sometimes rinse the final filter set of the day back into the flue pan, but not the really dirty ones. I used to rinse them all in hot sap and add it back, but it just made my draws dirtier. So there comes a time you just have to accept clear syrup will cost you some syrup and effort. I know when your not making much that is hard to swallow at times, but you have to decide if volume or quality matters more.
Earlier in this thread, I was discussing a coffee Urn as a filtering/bottling solution...
I just wanted to add a bit of an update, for those that are interested...
After I was done bottling this year, I decided to open the bottom of my coffee urn to see about modifying it, to avoid the pre-heat with water process..... Couple notes...
1. The warming element is actually covered with a fabric sleeve, so there is no direct metal to metal contact between the element and the bottom of the reservoir.... Which means it would be virtually impossible to overheat or burn any syrup with the warming element in my urn....
2. The way the urn works... There is a Thermostat that when cold, shorts out the warming element and the coffee-done light bulb. But leaves a boiling element energized, so the coffee perks... When it gets up to perked temperature, the thermostat opens, putting the warming element in series with the boiling element..... energizing the warming element... (Because of the wattage/resistance difference between the 2 elements, the boiling element is now basically a piece of wire... and doesn't produce any significant heat... All the power is being used by the low wattage warming element) The thermostat stays as is, until the water temperature goes "cold". In this current keep warm state, the coffee is kept at about 185 degrees, which is also a good temperature to filter and bottle syrup.
3. Modification... My Coffee urn had an on-off switch, which is not really needed, as long as I can unplug it from the wall... I simply rewired the switch in series with the coffee-done thermostat.. so when the switch is open, it simulates the coffee being done and the thermostat being open, in a keep warm state. When the switch is closed it should work as a coffee maker... Haven't actually used it since modifying, but Im confident it will work.
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