Filtering

[Troutman10]

I'm new to Maple Syrup as this is my 5th post. I have a filter that I purchased with a kit from a local guy. It's the shape of a wind sock. How do I best utilize this? I'm looking to bend a coat hanger or something to outline the top while I filter. Any other ideas or pictures floating around out there? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[PerryW]

I think the coat hanger will be to wimpy to hole the syrup.

You can built a wooden frame using 3/4" x 1-1/2" pine. Just make a square with four pieces probably 16" long and put four screws in the top (leave them sticking out an inch). You cone filters should have four loops that you slide over the nails.

Next cut four longer pieces for "legs" that will lift the square up high enough so the filter hangs high enough to slide a stainless steel pot underneath. Add some more bracing and then staple cardboard around the whole thing to help keep it warm and keep the dust out. After you dump the syrup in, put something over the top to help hold the heat in. Do all your finltering as soon as possible after take-off. If the syrup is allowed to cool off, you will have problems filtering.

You can also buy cone prefilters (paper) that you put inside the other filter. This make rinsing out the main filter much easier as the prefilter catches most of the nitre.

[Mac_Muz]

Buy a tomatoe plant cage to support the wool filter. I rolled the 3 legs on the cage in a loop each, so it fits a large pail. I made copper wire "S" hooks to hold the filter and also use large paper clips the kind made of black spring steel with flippy lever handles (mini clamp like)

You should get many paper pre-filters, the wool will gag up fast with out pre-filters made of paper usually selling for a buck each.

I use the paper clips to hold the paper filter higher that the wool filter, so sap-syrup can fall some. In other words the paper filter is not slammed up hard against the wool filter.

Do not wash the wool filter with hot water since wool shrinks. Luke warm water and don't over ring out the wool either. You will want that filter to last a long time.

The plant cage idea is not mine... Bill Mason (I hope I have his name right, told me)

[Mac_Muz]

Perry, I am having a problem with niter in just one batch, and can't figure it out. The first batch I made is apx 2 gallons and was filter hot 215', off the barrel stove, then filtered again on the kitchen stove at 217. Then boiled to 219.6' (I use a RTD which is very accurate.) Then jarred the batch.

Next day niter was in the bottom of each jar bad... I opened each jar, and washed the jars to get the syrup in a qt of fresh sap, add that to the batch and re-boiled, re-filtered with 2 new paper filters in the wool filter and still there is niter in this batch.

Batch 2, 3, and 4 are clean. So I am lost as to what is wrong. Any idea?

[happy thoughts]

I think the problem is you brought it to boiling again after filtering. Any time you reboil more niter will fall out. After the final filtering, I believe the recomendation is to not bring it past 190-200F for bottling.

[Spile4Me]

I bought a cone shaped wool filter and I took 2 very long metal barbecue skewers and put them through the hanging tabs and though the door handles of my cupboards. It worked great for me. good luck. But i recommend getting paper filters and clipping them to the inside of the wool filter. It is hard cleaning out the niter.

[TF Maple]

[QUOTE=Mac_Muz;147436]Then boiled to 219.6' (I use a RTD which is very accurate.) Then jarred the batch.

QUOTE]

If you don't filter after heating the syrup that hot, you will have niter. Canning temp should be 180 to 190.

[PerryW]

I think the problem is you brought it to boiling again after filtering. Any time you reboil more niter will fall out. After the final filtering, I believe the recomendation is to not bring it past 190-200F for bottling.

Agree w/ Happy thoughts. As soon as syrup reaches 200+-, it begins to produce more niter.

I filter my syrup immediately after it reaches the correct density and put it in 5 gal drums.

Then I put it on the burners , standardize the density (using a temp/density chart and the formula), reheat to 198, refilter, then bottle it. I stop bottling it as soon as the temperature of the reheated syrup drops below 185 deg f.

[Mac_Muz]

I'll give that a try. I bottle right out of a 20 qt pan on the kitchen stove and thinking to kill any germs have always dipped out boiling sap which stops boiling as soon as the 1 pint cup is out of the 20 qt pan. It's just this one batch.

I am a little guy with just 37 pails out, and a barrel stove, so I use smaller equipments. For me it's a hobby no matter how many gallons are made. I have never sold a drop, but I give plenty away I am taking a little break with the stove stuffed full of wood, so it's a real little break .

To be clear, I make near syrup to 218, filter, re-boil asap, and bottle from boiling.

So what I wil try is get syrup at 219 (weather depending) filter that, and re-heat to 190/198ish.

A RTD is a industrial thermometer and more, but all I use it for is temp which it does in 1/10ths of a degree.

So I can see readings like 212.7, 218.1 and so on.

[happy thoughts]

@Mac Muz To me you're a big producer I was only going for a couple of quarts this year. I'm almost at 3 gallons of syrup this year off just two trees and 4 taps

Anyhoo- You're right that hot sap will help sterilize the bottles. Since I bottle only in glass, I sterlize them and their caps before filling just as you would jars for canning, if only because I reuse bottles and caps.

I try to bottle at about 185F for two related reasons, First, there's less volume loss on cooling than if bottled at higher temps. That means less head space in the bottle on cooling. Less head space means less air for mold to grow which is why I also fill bottles almost to the very top.

What a great hobby, no? I'm getting sad to see the season end even though during the last few weeks of collecting and boiling, a few bad words may have been said