Maybe I should have titled this "How we use all of a cone filter". I'm sure others have their methods, here is ours:
When you dump a gallon of syrup in a cone filter it all tries to go to the bottom so naturally the bottom plugs up first so the filter starts to back up. You only get to use maybe the bottom 3.5 inches then you need to pull a pre-filter. My 8 quart cone filters are 16" high.
A cone filter is what mathematicians call a Frustum because the bottom doesn't really come to a point like a true cone. Online there are calculators that give the area of a Frustum. Turns out a cone filter has about 490 sq.in. Which is more than a 16x24 flat filter (384sq.in).
So, for the last 3 years we have been using our cone filter in the shape of a sailor's hat. This makes the filter only about 7" deep but makes a LOT more of the filter available to filter. I can typically filter 1.5 gallons per pre-filter and when I take out the pre-filter it is empty and dirty from top to bottom.
Obviously you can't just fold a cone filter into a sailor's hat because it won't hold its shape when you pour in a bucket of hot syrup. We fabricated a rack that fits in my filter tank. A side benefit is that I can now filter over 5 gallons before the syrup is up to the bottom of the filter.
I will try to upload a video and some photos.
We are also making the racks that are all stainless steel and TIG welded. They will fit any size tank or pot.
Pat
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