Does Daryl still sell his presses...does he have a website?
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Does Daryl still sell his presses...does he have a website?
yes he had them for sale at LEME in November. PM him on this site or through Sugarbush Info.
Yes, he said he had some ready to go for the 2014 season. Nice addition for the small producer.
Regards,
Chris
I'd get ahold of him sooner than later. He said he was gearing up to make more soon.
Received mine yesterday. Looks great! Will be a nice addition to the shack... And my wife will like the fact that she doesn't have to wash the 3x3 flat filters every night anymore! She will however have great arm muscles from pumping syrup through the filter press! :evil:
I have one of them and have to say that they are awesome!
Just make sure that you pick up a second pump diaphragm to have on hand.
I have found that the DE can be a little abrasive to the inside of the diaphragm and over time it will wear the inside and cause a weak spot and right at the end of the season when you are trying to get that last really dark stuff thru and you are really pushing the pump hard it might, just might blow out and give you a nice warm syrup shower!!
Thanks for the tip. I'll start looking around for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis H.
Just curious why everyone goes with Daryl's hand pump over the wees fab pump...is it due to having power available....difference in price us only about 2-300$.
The Wes fab motorized press is over $1300.
Their hand unit is around $900.
New on the market is the Maple Guys Maple Jet press. Saw it at Verona. Didn't bite as it was new but it uses the guzzler hand pump. They added it to their site recently. Only $520. No idea if anyone had used it but may be worth looking into.
Ok...I see price is a bit more...anyone know much about the new guzzler press?
I can only speak for myself but I bought one of Daryl's presses because I like that it was a 5" press vs the 7" wes fab. For a small producer the smaller press seems to be a better fit, Daryl said you can filter around 8-10 gallons before the press plugs depending on the quality of syrup. The short bank wes fab will do closer to 15-20 gallons. I plan on just using a few of the plates and filtering as I take syrup off the evaporator, with the 7" I would need to store unfiltered syrup and then reheat and filter. I don't like the extra step.Quote:
Originally Posted by butler
Thanks for the info....I am similar to you...around 300 taps, I just want to make sure I by the right press, because I will probably expand in the future....sounds like Daryl's press is the way to go my size operation....
Daryl's 5x5 has worked pretty well for me, but I had to learn to use it. I made lots of mistakes along the way, including the following:
1. When using the full press, I tried putting all 4 cups of the diatomaceous earth into the charging fluid (about 1/2 gallon of boiling hot sap mixed with 1/2 cup of diatomaceous earth), instead of saving 3½ cups for the almost-syrup. The purpose of the 1/2 cup of diatomaceous earth in the charging fluid is to pre-heat the press while putting a thin coating of diatomaceous earth on the filters. The bulk of the diatomaceous earth should be stirred in with the almost-syrup. It mixes with the sediment and keeps the sediment from caking within the press into almost-impenetrable barriers.
2. Trying to filter the almost-syrup when it is already syrup. Other people report doing this successfully, but when I have tried it, the syrup doesn’t flow well enough through my filter press.
3. Trying to filter the almost-syrup when it is above boiling temperature. This is very hard on the diaphragm of the pump whose food-safe material is only made to handle temperatures up to 212. Now I filter with the almost-syrup between 180 and 190 degrees.
4. Keeping going even after the filtering has slowed to a trickle. This has been very hard on the filter press pump and its diaphragms. I ended up replacing several diaphragms and even the pump. The proper procedure, when the outflow from the pump slows to a trickle, is to put through some clean hot sap so as not to waste the syrup that is in the press. Then wash the press, install new filter paper, send through the charging fluid again, heat the almost-syrup up to 180, and then finishing pressing.
The Bosworth Company now makes a new pump top and a new diaphragm for their Guzzler pump, which is the pump that Daryl sells as part of his press. Here's the page for the pump on their website:
http://www.thebosworthco.com/pproduct.php?ID=GH-0400N-3
The old diaphragm material was white silicon. The new alternative, which is supposed to last longer, is black Buna-N (Nitrile), which was recently approved by the FDA for food uses.
The new top solves a problem with the old pump because the old tended to go down at an angle, which was one of the reasons why the diaphragms tended to break. The new cast aluminum pump top always goes straight up and down. Not only that, but the new handle is longer, making it easier to put a lot of force into the stroke.
If you want to order the new pump, choose "Edit" next to "Handle Style" on the URL above, and then choose "Horizontal/19 inch/Tethered." You have to buy a whole new pump, but when you get it home, just take the top off your old pump and replace it with the top off the new one.
I have never found a good clear description of how people use Daryl's press online, so I thought I would let others know how I do it. Attached is a photo of my upgraded version of Daryl's press along with my accessories:
Attachment 11445
The picture shows the following from left to right:
1. 15 gallon stainless steel pot that I bought from a beer supply store. It came with a bulkhead near the bottom and a thermometer which measures the temperature of the almost-syrup in the pot. At the end of the bulkhead I have attached a short flexible pipe ending with a 1/2" Male Quick Disconnect. I put my almost-syrup into this pot, add 3 1/2 cups of diatomacous earth, stir using the 2 foot spoon, and press it when it is about 180-190 degrees (pressing above 212 destroys the diaphragm on the filter press's pump). My wife stirs the pot during the 5 minutes it takes me to press it through the filter press.
2. A 1 gallon pot that I use to charge the filter press. I fill it with 1/2 gallon of boiling hot sap into which I have stirred 1/2 cup of diatomatceous earth. Just before I press the almost-syrup through the filter press, I charge the filter press by pressing through the contents of this pot. Doing so pre-heats the press and gives its filter papers a diatomaceous earth coating.
3. Coming out of the top of the pot is a three foot flexible pipe. On the end of the pipe is a 1/2" Male Quick Disconnect that I bought from learntobrew.com. Most people who press using Daryl's press use this pipe for both the charging pot and the almost-syrup pot. Doing so means that you don't have to disconnect the pipe from the filter press at all, which makes the process much simpler. But I bought my 15 gallon pot with a bulkhead from a beer supply store before I realized this.
4. A box of 200 5" Filter Press Papers that I bought online from Atkinson Maple Syrup Supples. Each pressing requires 10 papers, so one 200 paper box should be enough for a season. Daryl's press is set up so that part of the press can be used without using the entire press. For example, up to 1/2 gallon could be pressed through the press with just 2 filter papers and just 1 cup of diatomaceous earth. I normally filter 4 to 7 gallons of syrup at a time and use all 10 filter papers and the full 4 cups of diatomaceous earth.
5. A 10 lb. bag of diatomaceous earth that I bought on E-bay. I use about 10 lbs. each season.
6. My upgraded Daryl Sheets (814-337-0103) filter press. I have replaced the top part of the Guzzler pump that came with the press with an expensive upgraded version made of cast aluminum that I just bought from Bosworth, the maker of the Guzzler pump. On the left side of the press is the inlet pipe which ends in a 1/2 inch Female Disconnect.
7. Under the outlet of the filter press is the ten gallon pot. Before I put it here, I catch the pressed-through charging fluid in a plastic jug (not shown). Then I reheat the charging fluid in the 1 gallon pot, and keep it simmering until I have finished pressing. Then I move this ten gallon pot under the outlet, and press through the almost-syrup. As a last step, I pour the hot charging fluid into the almost-syrup pot and press it through.
8. Then I take the 10 gallon pot into the kitchen, put it on the stovetop and do the final boiling to turn it into syrup.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HowardR
Sooooo, the way I read this is that you boil it to finished density AFTER you press it? Isn't that kind of counterproductive? Wouldn't you need to filter it again?
Maybe I get a tiny bit of sediment in my syrup, but it isn't noticeable.
You should always filter after you have finished syrup. Not sure what the point is to filter before it is syrup.
I always pack into clear glass jars. Even if I pressed syrup, instead of almost-syrup, I would reheat in order to put it into the jars as hot as possible.
As soon as I get the new version of the pump in stock, I will be offering that upgrade as a option. The new diaphragm will be a lower price than the white one that it replaces
My correct phone number is 814-337-0103. It is a more direct to get thru.
Daryl
We use almost exactly your method with great results. The big difference is we charge/warm with hot condensate water and DE instead of sap. And we always filter slightly over dense syrup at above 190°F. In our experience, any boiling after filter can add cloudiness to the syrup and often does. After filtering, the syrup may be below 180°,so we reheat to over 190° in a water jacket bottler to avoid any local boiling that can happen with direct gas or electric heat. Result: Crystal clear!
We also upgraded to the new pump parts which is a great improvement.
There are mixed reports about hand presses in these Maple Trader forums.
Dennis H. reported in a different maple trader forum that he had no trouble pressing two gallons of syrup through his press. He wrote:
Later in the same thread, he specified the temperature he used:Quote:
I had the chance today to try my new 5" filter press that I bought of Daryl up in NW PA.
Man is this thing the cats meow!! I filtered 2 gals of syrup thru it and the syrup came out sparkling.
It was money well spent.
But Russell Lampron reports in another maple trader forum having had the same problem that I was having, but with a 7" hand press (not Daryl's 5" press). As a result, he switched from the hand pump that came with the press to an air powered double diaphragm pump. He also reported pressing the syrup above 212, which would be above the recommended temperature for the hand-pump diaphragms. He wrote:Quote:
I heat to 180ish then push thru the filter press into the bottler which brings the syrup back up above 180, I aim for 185. Then bottle.
You will loose some of the heat while filtering so you will most likely will have to warm it up a little to bottle.
I haven't tried my new hand pump with syrup (instead of almost-syrup); I may never do so. I'm satisfied with the results that I am getting, and so are my customers! I am especially pleased that my present method is quick and easy.Quote:
I've got the Wes Fab 7" hand pump filter press. I have replaced the hand pump with an air powered double diaphragm pump now. When I was using it with the hand pump I found that I could get about 5 gallons through it before it was too hard to pump. The trick to filtering with it is to have the syrup at a boil or close to it when you start.
Howard,
I see a problem that could cause the syrup to not filter good.
The DE needs to be from a maple supply as the filter aid that you are using may be food grade , it is not for filtering maple syrup. This is something that I have found out talking to maple suppliers.
Filter papers are not all the same and that can present problems. Our maple assoc had a run of papers made to save $ for the producers and they would not filter as well as the original suppliers papers.
Daryl,
What filter paper supplier do you recommend?
I have papers and CDL also has the papers. They are the same papers.
Daryl are you saying that there are different food grade filter aid?
I have been using Daryl's 5" press for three seasons. It really does make your syrup sparkle. We bottle into glass, and in my experience, attempting to get crystal clear syrup without a filter press and a water jacket canner will bring you a lot of heartache and frustration. Howard, thank you for the notes on the pump upgrade--very interesting, and I look forward to hearing more from Daryl on this. But buying an entire new pump doesn't make a lot of sense, especially at a premium of $150 over the regular one. I have a call in to Bosworth to discuss parts.
But Howard, if you are reboiling your syrup after you filter, you are defeating the purpose of the filter press. Why go to the expense of the press if you aren't bottling perfectly clear syrup? You are destined to created niter during the re-boil. Even simply re-heating to bottling temperature of 180 in a stock pot on a burner usually leads to formation of niter--your clear syrup is ruined. Might as well put it in plastic. Why do so many producers use plastic? It's really easy and it hides a lot of sediment. Plastic is also a lot cheaper. Our premium glass pint bottles now cost more than $3.
But back to the 5" press. I'd like to exchange ideas on how to get more out of this little press. With my late season syrup, I can't get more than about 4.5 gallons through it. I heat it to 200, charge the press with about 1.5 cups of DE in a gallon of syrup, then add about 1/3 of a cup per gallon of syrup to the batch and pump. It's really frustrating to have the pump stop when you still have more syrup in the pot. Taking a hot press apart is a real bummer. Forcing the handle to try to get more through sounds like a bad idea. "Don't force it," my dad taught us as we were growing up on the farm. Best advice he ever gave me. That's why I don't understand a longer handle. Easier to pop the diaphragm? The new design to help the clevis travel more vertically is a good idea, though.
Hoping to hear from more folks. Thanks for sharing ideas. I've learned a lot here, and I'm glad to give back.
Marc
maple marc,
I appreciate your input very much. I hope other users post also, maybe even someone who has figured out how to get more than 4.5 gallons of late syrup through the press without problems. Maybe I'll even experiment with it myself!
The new pump could be the solution for four reasons:
1. The handle is longer, permitting more force.
2. The vertically-traveling clevis spreads the force more evenly over the diaphragm.
3. The new black diaphragm material can take more force.
4. The new pump pumps a larger volume of syrup in each stroke, making the job faster. I can't explain why, but if I pause for a minute in the middle of pumping a batch through, when I return the pumping is immediately harder and slower.
I have one of Daryl's filter presses but I had it converted to a gear pump.
Before converting it I upgraded the hand pump with the cast aluminum top ring that holds the handle. The old plastic top ring would flex and it started to pull out one of the inserts at the handle pivot end.
That solved that problem right away. But I still had trouble with blowing the rubber diaphragm, the filter aid and hot syrup just takes it toll on it.
Now the question about late syrup. Even with a gear pump with a bypass I am currently only able to get about 5 gals thru it before it is done. The sugar sand and niter is just so bad right now. When I tear it down the plates are nice and full of filter aid but the filter is a very dark brown from all the niter.
Dennis H.,
In the great minds think alike department -- the new pump top solves the plastic-ring-pulling-away problem the exact way that you solved it -- with a metal ring! Perhaps the black diaphragm material will solve the deterioration problem with the white silicon diaphragms. Bosworth reports that the black diaphragms were much more durable in their tests.
What is the recipe that you use when you run the filter press with a big batch of syrup? Do you do what maple marc does (1 1/2 cup of DE in the charging fluid; 1/3 cup per gallon of DE in the syrup) or do you do have a different recipe?
By the way, your post and maple marc's post have encouraged me to give filter pressing syrup (not just pressing almost-syrup) another try.
I have one of Daryl's 5" presses as well, the most syrup I have ever pressed through was 8 gallons and that was mid season. 2 years ago at Verona maple school Wendall's maple did a presentation about operating the filter press, one thing they suggested was to not fill the pump fully with syrup, instead let the pump suck a little air. The air acts as a bladder and seems to keep the pressures lower letting you put more syrup through before the DE and papers plug. I have been doing this with my press and it really helps, it takes significantly less force to filter this way and you can definitley get more syrup through at a time.
A number of people have posted here about using 4 cups of DE. Is that the maximum that Daryl's press will hold? It seems like there would be an upper limit based on the space in the plates. How much DE do you guys use for 4-5 gallons of syrup. I am having a hard time getting it all through. Should I use more DE, will that help? But there does seem like there would be a max.
Another quick question about Daryl's press. Lately as the pumping get harder I can push through a pumps worth but then it will not suck more in. As it sucks more into the line on the downstroke it will push it right back out of the hose. I thought it was the flapper valve but it seems okay. It always works well to start with but then starts doing this as it gets harder to pump. Has anyone else experienced this? It's like the pump needs primed but it can not get enough suction to prime itself. Maybe it is because the cavities are clogged and not enough is being pushed out to draw enough in.
I just pressed through between 3 1/2 and 4 gallons of late season syrup -- not the almost-syrup that I've been pressing. And it worked great! I did my usual recipe, but with a few small differences:
1. Instead of using sap for my charging fluid, I used permeate (i.e., water) from my $1,000 reverse osmosis machine. After pressing the boiling-hot charging fluid (with 1/2 cup of D.E) through once, I reheated it (this time without the D.E., of course) and pressed it again to get the press extra hot.
2. I let the syrup cool to about 200, and then I added the 3.5 cups of D.E.. The syrup was 192 degrees when I pressed it through with my wife stirring constantly while I pressed. I used slow steady up and down strokes. The longer handle and straight up-and-down motion of the new pump made it possible to do those long steady strokes with lots of volume of syrup in each stroke. I heard a little popping from the black diaphragm on the uptake for the last gallon or so, but other than that, nothing that slowed me down. It took me about 8 minutes to press it through.
3. After I finished pressing, I put the charging fluid through to clean the remaining syrup out of the press. This time I kept that half gallon of half syrup separate to be thrown into my last batch of the year, which I will make tomorrow.
4. At this point the temperature of the syrup was 170 degrees. I rigged up a double boiler by putting the syrup pot into a larger pot with about 2 inches of water boiling on the bottom, and room for steam to escape. In this way, I heated it up to 195-200 and my wife put it into jars.
My conclusion is that this new hand pump works great with pressing syrup. I pressed almost 4 gallons of late-season syrup without approaching the limit of how much it could press.
beltechc,
The flapper valve must be deteriorating, despite its appearance. You shouldn't be getting any air pumping backwards through it.
It's just a small flat piece of silicon, cut to the right shape and it isn't supposed to last forever. Daryl's invention (the case that holds the flapper valve) helps it last longer than usual, but it is so often replaced that Bosworth normally ships several with each new pump.
I just cleaned out the filter press after pressing almost 4 gallons using 4 cups of DE. I don't think that the press has room for more than 1/4 to 1/2 cup more. Only one spacer, the furthest from the entrance, was not filled with D.E./sediment. That spacer had room for at least 1/4 cup, but not for much more than that.Quote:
Originally Posted by beltechc
Most of the spacers could possibly squeeze more DE in. They basically had two layers of DE in them, one lining each of the filters, and there was a narrow channel through the middle that was clear.
As far as the amount of DE that you actually need (I use more than I need), that actually depends upon the total amount of sediment, not the total amount of syrup. Late season syrup has more sediment in it, so it requires more DE. If I understand it correctly, the purpose of the DE is to keep the sediment from forming impenetrable barriers. When sediment is mixed with DE, liquid can still flow through the sediment.
Thank you all for your input. Howard, it sounds like you are having some better luck. Charging with water is interesting. Daryl has advised me to do that, which I did when I first starting using the press. He says that charging with syrup that is not fully stirred could clog the papers. My problem with water charging is that it is a pain to get all the water out of the press before switching to syrup. It doesn't take a lot of water in a 3 gallon batch of syrup to lower the density significantly. Since then I have been charging with syrup. Seems to work OK until later in the season. Now I'm having real trouble. I'm also have some problem with the top of the diaphragm leaking at the clevis. I just replaced the diaphragm, so it must be an issue with tightening something.
I talked to Bosworth, the pump company this week. They are nice folks, aware of us maplers and our issues. Unfortunately, buying the upgrade parts is not any cheaper than buying a new pump with the metal parts. Doesn't seem quite right. I just need to find a way to get more syrup through. My batches are usually about 5 gallons or more. Maybe I will trying water charging again. Maybe I need a bigger press.....
Marc
maple marc,
I pressed through a 3 gallon batch of very dark syrup today, again without problem. Although I switched from sap water to permeate water in the charge, I don't think that doing so made much difference. I only did it because RileySugarbush posted that that's what they did and I was no longer planning to throw the charging fluid into the current batch of syrup.
The improvements that I made over the years which enabled me to press through syrup now, whereas I couldn't before when I first tried it were: (1) adding a charging step so that the press would be hot when I started, (2) reducing the D.E. in the charging fluid to a minimum, and (3) stirring the syrup-D.E. mixture constantly while I pressed.
I used to think that the D.E. helped the paper filters keep out the sediment -- WRONG. The paper filters are fully capable of keeping out sediment by themselves. The purpose of the DE is to mix with the sediment so that syrup can flow through it.
One last bit of advice, and this probably applies to everyone using a filter press: When you wash out the filter press, examine the contents. If you are doing it right, the D.E. and sediment should be mixed together forming an evenly colored tan cake. If you are doing it wrong, you'll see white patches (D.E.) and black patches (sediment).
I pressed through 4.5 gallons today of syrup - last batch of the year. I could have pressed more.
I did it without charging first, though I did heat the press by washing the plates with hot water just before I started. I was thinking of Maple Marc's concern that he didn't want to thin the syrup with the water of the charging fluid.
By constantly stirring all 4 cups of D.E. in the syrup, I achieved the most even distribution possible. In the post-mortem, the spacers were evenly filled. Most were a dark tan or a chocolate-brown mixture of D.E. and sediment. Only one spacer had some gooey gunk in it, indicating that it was probably blocked up with sediment. The others still appeared to be porous.
Conclusions:
1. It is possible to press through more than 4.5 gallons of late season syrup if you mix all four cups of D.E. with the syrup and stir constantly while you press. (My wife stirs with a two-foot long stainless steel spoon while I press.)
2. The charge is optional, though heating the plates before you begin may not be optional. If you don't want to thin your syrup with charge water, it is possible to heat your filter press by washing the plates in very hot tap water just before you begin.
3. The new pump and new diaphragm make it possible to pump harder without stressing the diaphragm, provided that the temperature of the syrup is in the 190 to 210 degree range. Temperatures above 212 weaken the diaphragm, so they should be avoided. I pressed 4.5 gallons of late season syrup, and it never slowed to a trickle.
Here are the papers and filter aid from the last batch that I filtered.
Very dirty syrup.
Attachment 11560
Just what I get to look forward to. When you draw off do you use a pre filter before running it through the press? Just curious as your DE/sediment looks like the color of the crap in my paper filter!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis H.
I will be running several gallons (around 40) through the press over the next week - in stages of course, so it was nice having the info above to read ahead of time. I did use sap when chargin the press last year and it worked great. Not sure if I'll have the opportunity to do it again this year as the season up here is just about over. One more day of boiling as they are running a bit today. Otherwise we're done.
Thanks to all for the info!!!
Dennis H.,
That's dark and sticky -- you've clearly reached the limit of what the press can filter. My dark ones are about the same color, but, except for one, were not as sticky looking.
How many gallons of syrup were in that batch that you pressed?