Filtering vs. Settling syrup

[PA mapler]

Mell, that's a really good idea... I was trying to think where I could store the filters where's there's no chance of any odor, and couldn't think of anywhere.

Is that where you store your filters?

[Cedar Eater]

This is the smallest cone bottom tank that I have seen. I think it would fit inside a refrigerator that had the shelves removed.

https://www.ntotank.com/7gallon-acer...-tank-x1138427

I think syrup that is settled in here for two weeks could have most of the niter drawn off the bottom, especially if you choke the drain down to a 1/2" valve.

[Cedar Eater]

Even better, square rinse tanks with cone bottoms in smaller sizes. The smallest one is threaded for 3/4" pipe. It would be easy to make a rack for a few of these and store it outdoors in the shade. By the time you add valves, they wouldn't be cheap, though.

9828p.jpg

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/it...5184&catid=513

[billyinvt]

I'm thinking back to my beer making days. I used to siphon from a primary fermentation vessel with a contraption that kept the end of the tube an inch or two above the bottom to avoid transferring sediment to the secondary vessel. A move like this might prevent jostling and be preferable to pouring out a full five gallon bucket. Those things are heavy!

[Cedar Eater]

I'm thinking back to my beer making days. I used to siphon from a primary fermentation vessel with a contraption that kept the end of the tube an inch or two above the bottom to avoid transferring sediment to the secondary vessel. A move like this might prevent jostling and be preferable to pouring out a full five gallon bucket. Those things are heavy!

I thought about siphoning, but cold syrup would probably siphon really slowly and I think you would have to watch very carefully to get the last inch. That's why I like the idea of taking the niter off the bottom through a cone. You can easily stop and let it settle more. I decided to buy one of those 2.5 gallon rinse tanks.

[Rangdale]

Have used the settle method quite a bit. I'll let it sit in the quart jars for a month or so and then decant off what comes easily without disturbing the sediment (usually 3/4 or the quart jar). Then we will take all the 1/4 quart jars, combine them in a pot, heat it up and then filter that. We don't make a ton (9 gallons this year) so it works for us.

[buck3m]

That's why I like the idea of taking the niter off the bottom through a cone. You can easily stop and let it settle more. I decided to buy one of those 2.5 gallon rinse tanks.

Not going to work. You'll have sediment sticking to the sides.

[Cedar Eater]

Not going to work. You'll have sediment sticking to the sides.

If it stays stuck to the sides, then it works. If it doesn't stay stuck to the sides, then it will settle during the pause after the initial niter draw-off which will be very slow so as not to pull clear syrup right through the center. As long as I get most of the niter out before I filter it, I'll be better off.

[buck3m]

If it stays stuck to the sides, then it works. If it doesn't stay stuck to the sides, then it will settle during the pause after the initial niter draw-off which will be very slow so as not to pull clear syrup right through the center. As long as I get most of the niter out before I filter it, I'll be better off.

Good luck with that.

[RileySugarbush]

I learned a trick from Larry Pakiz. We put our draws in buckets to settle, then when filtering a bottling pull it off using a shurflo pump into a stainless pot for heating. Based on Larry's input, I made a suction tube that has a cap on the bottom to only pull off about 1.5 inches off the bottom of the pail. Only pretty clean stuff that way. Since we had very little nitre this year, that would have wasted a lot of syrup, but by carefully tilting the pail we get all the clean stuff out. We still go through a press, but this step saves a lot of filter capacity.