CDL cares them, in boxes of 200 papers.
Printable View
CDL cares them, in boxes of 200 papers.
Either thru Daryl or CDL dealer
I just pressed through 5.5 gallons no problem. Basically, I heated the plates to boiling. Built the press. Did not charge the press. Then I pressed through the hot syrup mixed with 4.5 cups of filter aid heated to 208 degrees. It took me 10 minutes to pump it through.
I did have a problem earlier this year. Turns out that not all food grade diatomaceous earth is the same. The food grade diatomacous earth that I showed in my posted picture in this thread doesn't work well because it is too finely ground. Even though I posted it in my picture, I didn't actually use it last year. (I had it in reserve in case I ran out.) When I tried it, I discovered that the texture was much more fine. Pumping through it in the press was a real chore and my post-mortem revealed that the diatomaceous earth didn't properly spread out to fill up the gaps in the press. So, the moral is: Be sure to buy your filter aid from a maple syrup supply store, not from ebay!
In summary:
1. The purpose of charging is to heat the press. But you don't need to heat it if you put it together with the plates hot.
2. The filter aid keeps the filtered particles from clumping. So my wife stirs it constantly in the syrup while I press.
3. 4.5 cups of my filter aid (Dicalite diatomite purchased from Leader Evaporator) completely fills the five spacers -- that's just under 1 cup per spacer.
Good info right there.
The purpose of charging is to coat the papers with DE so that it starts the filtering process. Before a layer is created, fine particles of DE will actually pass through the papers. The filteraide doesnt keep anything from clumping. It creates the effect of layering filters. As it layers its self inside the press, it is creating new filter surface. Stirring while filtering will keep the DE in suspension which helps to constistantly build the filtering layer inside the press.
Do not charge with water. Doing so will allow the DE to fall away from the paper between charging and running syrup. Rhis will cause the first filtered syrup to be cloudy as well as watered down.
I just held up a couple of jars of the syrup I filtered last night (without charging) and there isn't even a hint of any precipitate in that crystal clear syrup. The papers in the filter press are sufficient by themselves to keep out every particle of precipitate from the filtered syrup. The challenge is to keep them from getting clogged by a gooey coating of precipitate. When the D.E. enters the press in a mix with the precipitate particles, it keeps the precipitate particles separated from each other so that the liquid can continue to flow and reach the papers. Here's how the Dicalcite website describes the structure of D.E. and why it is helpful:Quote:
Originally Posted by mellondome
Quote:
Diatomite is more than just a crystal or mineral that formed in a rock. It consists of delicately constructed silica skeletons grown by uncounted microscopic organisms, each with its own design. Deposits of these skeletons are collection of solid and perforated rods, disks and hemispheres, crescents and polygons. Because of their unusual physical structure the particles interlace and overlay in a random, three-dimensional matrix which stiffens, reinforces and improves the durability of filled systems....
Filtration is the separation of solids from liquids by forcing the liquid to flow through a porous medium and depositing the solids on the medium. A filter aid is a finely divided material which, when added to the liquor to be filtered, helps control flow and solids removal. The septum, usually screen or cloth, serves principally as a support for the cake. The filter aid forms a porous layer on the septum and thus the filter aid is the filtering medium that traps the solids being removed and prevents them from blinding the septum. Filter aid filtration is mechanical, not chemical in nature. Irregularly shaped particles interlace and overlay in a fashion that leaves 85 to 95 % voids or open spaces. These voids form billions of microscopically fine interstices between the filter aid particles. The size of these openings is so minute that the unwanted solids are strained from the liquid. The vast number of openings compensates for their small size resulting in fast flowrates and brilliant clarity.
Good filter aids are light in weight, chemically inert and form high porosity filter cakes to maintain free flow of the liquid. The structure of the particles must be such that they will not pack too closely. This not only permits high initial liquid flow but also provides pore spaces to trap and contain the filterable solids and leave a high percentage of channels remaining open for flow. Particle size distribution must be tailored to permit precoating on coarse wire and yet give the desired flow rate and clarity.
I just finished up the 2017 season. The press only clogged once. It happened during the biggest run of the year. The syrup was dark, but not as dark as end-of-the-year syrup. I was putting through a batch of 7.5 gallons and got hung up after 7 gallons. So I saved the last half gallon of sap-diatomaceous earth mixture and pressed it through as part of the next batch. The next batch was just as big, so I broke it up into two batches and pressed them separately. Here's my current recipe:
1. Heat 1 gallon of permeate water (or sap) in small stainless steel pot. Keep it on simmer until it is needed.
2. Put plates of the filter press into boiling water to heat them.
3. Heat syrup up to 212 degrees.
4. Build filter press using hot plates. (I wear rubber gloves so that I can do this.) Double check the ridge on one side of each plate to make sure all plates are lined up correctly. Also make sure that the filter papers between the plates have their two holes at bottom. Hand tighten the nuts with handles on the filter press as tightly as possible.
5. Stir the diatomaceous earth into the syrup (1 cup per filter press spacer), causing the syrup temperature to fall to between 206 and 210 degrees. (Pressing through syrup that is 212 degrees or higher could ruin the filter press pump's diaphragm.)
6. Pump the syrup through the filter press using long-steady strokes with my wife stirring constantly to keep the diatomaceous earth evenly distributed in the syrup. This step takes 10 to 12 minutes.
7. If the filter press clogs (pumping slows to a trickle), don't keep pumping or you could break the filter press pump's diaphragm. Instead, save the remaining syrup-diatomaceous earth mixture, and throw it into your next batch. (If you anticipate this problem, avoid it by breaking a huge batch into two smaller batches so that you don't lose the quart or so of syrup that is in the filter press when you get stuck.)
8. When filter press starts sucking in air, pour the 1 gallon of simmering permeate water (or sap) into the remaining syrup-diatomaceous earth mixture and pump the diluted syrup through the filter press in order to capture the last quart or so of syrup that is in the filter press so that it can be added to the next syrup batch before pressing.
9. If the syrup has cooled too much, heat it on the stove to the canning temperature (180 to 212 degrees). Can the syrup by pouring it into clean containers whose lids that seal when they cool.
This whole process takes me about an hour and 15 minutes. Most people preheat the filter press by charging it. Instead, I preheat press by heating the plates in boiling water just before I put it together. I have yet to see a speck of precipitate in my clear glass jars of syrup.
Howard--thanks for your detailed description. Interesting to hear how you do not charge. You indicate you are using "one cup per spacer." Not sure what you mean here. Not a function of total syrup to filter? If you are using a full bank (9 papers), how much DE are you using? And how much syrup are you getting through with that setup?
This year with my Daryl press, with a 6.5 gallon batch of syrup, I charged with 1.5 cups of DE in a gallon of hot syrup. Then added 2.5 cups of DE into the syrup before running it all through the press. Bingo--piece of cake.
You really need to ditch that hand pump. Life is so much better with my air pump.
Marc,
If I go with a full press, I use 10 filter papers, one on each side of each spacer. Since I use 1 cup of DE per spacer, I use 5 cups of DE for the full press. If I use 3 spacers for a small batch of syrup, I'll use 3 cups of DE. So my DE use is based upon the number of spacers, not the total amount of syrup. However, the number of spacers is related to the amount of syrup, though I tend to use more spacers than I strictly need -- because I hate clogs.
We do things in different ways. You use an air pump, while I use a hand pump. You precharge the press, while I simply preheat the plates. But we've both worked things out to our own satisfaction.