Press by Daryl

[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....

[HowardR]

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.

[HowardR]

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:

FilterPressWithSetup.jpg

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.

[wnybassman]

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.

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?

[HowardR]

Maybe I get a tiny bit of sediment in my syrup, but it isn't noticeable.

[mellondome]

You should always filter after you have finished syrup. Not sure what the point is to filter before it is syrup.

[HowardR]

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.

[Daryl]

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

[RileySugarbush]

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.

[HowardR]

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:

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.

Later in the same thread, he specified the temperature he used:

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.

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:

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.

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.