Clogged pre-filter on a CDL vacuum filter

Folks,
So the picture in the first post looks about right? A thick cake of sugarsand. ( I know he is going to get new DE) So is DE recommended to be used in on of these or is it optional? This is kind of what I would suspect too. The DE and or just sugardsand has to be trapped in the filters above the cleaned syrup just like a gravity system. So why would you not make the sailors cap filter system with the extra surface area in the filtering portion of this rather than just flat? Seems that design improvement would be a nice addition to this flat round filter area. Maybe patent protection?? Also why wouldnt the prefilters be able to be removed when they got clogged like a gravity system? Then you couil filter more syrup without taking the seal apart. Or maybe I missed this feature?
Thanks for bring me along and getting me up to date. I see heus is off to get one of these units.
Also folks are using this system set on a burner and bottling from this too?
Sound like a good system upgrade from gravity, if it speeds up the process and results in less syrup waste.
Filtering small batches is always a problem for folks making under 20 gallons per season.
Regards,
Chris

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Originally Posted by Sugarmaker

Folks,
So the picture in the first post looks about right? A thick cake of sugarsand. ( I know he is going to get new DE) So is DE recommended to be used in on of these or is it optional? This is kind of what I would suspect too. The DE and or just sugardsand has to be trapped in the filters above the cleaned syrup just like a gravity system. So why would you not make the sailors cap filter system with the extra surface area in the filtering portion of this rather than just flat? Seems that design improvement would be a nice addition to this flat round filter area. Maybe patent protection?? Also why wouldnt the prefilters be able to be removed when they got clogged like a gravity system? Then you couil filter more syrup without taking the seal apart. Or maybe I missed this feature?
Thanks for bring me along and getting me up to date. I see heus is off to get one of these units.
Also folks are using this system set on a burner and bottling from this too?
Sound like a good system upgrade from gravity, if it speeds up the process and results in less syrup waste.
Filtering small batches is always a problem for folks making under 20 gallons per season.

Regards,
Chris

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Your filter aid cake will clog before the prefilters clog just like a filter press. Surface area with filter isn’t so much of an issue because the DE is doing the filtering.

Folks,
Looking forward to the original poster getting quality syrup filtered at some point in the near future. Hoping his change of DE corrects most of the problems.
Regards,
Chris

I don’t understand how you can build a decent “cake” of DE with only one pass across the paper. A filter press requires a minute or more recirculating until the syrup is clear, then you switch to your bottler. Possibly the paper is doing more work than what it does in a press?

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Originally Posted by johnallin

I don’t understand how you can build a decent “cake” of DE with only one pass across the paper. A filter press requires a minute or more recirculating until the syrup is clear, then you switch to your bottler. Possibly the paper is doing more work than what it does in a press?

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You are not using paper, you are using the same washable filters that a flat filter uses.

2 passes or even 3 might be needed, but once a filter cake is established, one pass should do it if using DE intended for maple production.

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Originally Posted by maple flats

2 passes or even 3 might be needed, but once a filter cake is established, one pass should do it if using DE intended for maple production.

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That’s my question..how do you establish a filter cake with only one pass?

I have watched the CDL video, the Roth Sugar Bush video and another producers video and there was no DE used in the syrup before it was filtered. They just used the pre-filter and orlon filter.

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Originally Posted by Pdiamond

I have watched the CDL video, the Roth Sugar Bush video and another producers video and there was no DE used in the syrup before it was filtered. They just used the pre-filter and orlon filter.

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I have not seen those videos, but I bet they are only showing putting 1 batch of syrup through. The first batch will go through ok without DE, but the nitre slime build up will basically plug up the filter making the next batch hard or even impossible to go through. Same thing will happen to a filter press if you forget to put DE in the syrup. When I started using mine last year for the first time I experimented quite a bit to figure out how best to use it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sugarmaker

Folks,
Looking forward to the original poster getting quality syrup filtered at some point in the near future. Hoping his change of DE corrects most of the problems.
Regards,
Chris

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Give me a couple more days. We got a good freeze and today it's thawing. I will report back in a couple days after I use maple DE.