Steam bottler vs water jacket

[Bricklayer]

I am planning on getting a smoky lake steam bottler/filter unit for the upcoming season. Is there a huge difference between the steam unit and the water jacket unit other then price? I usually only bottle 5-8 gallons at a time. But I'm getting pretty sick of cone filters and filling bottles with funnels and ladles.

[Daryl]

I have a SL steam bottler. It is a 110 volt model but can be used on a gas burner. I have water boiling over on the counter top every time I use it. It is a pita. It does heat faster than the water jacketed one that was 110 volt.
I sold the water jacketed canner in September.

[whity]

I have never used a steam bottler. But I do use a water jacketed bottler. They work slick. Fill with water and turn the heat on. That simple. No funnels needed. Has a 1/2" bottling spout.

[n8hutch]

I am planning on getting a smoky lake steam bottler/filter unit for the upcoming season. Is there a huge difference between the steam unit and the water jacket unit other then price? I usually only bottle 5-8 gallons at a time. But I'm getting pretty sick of cone filters and filling bottles with funnels and ladles.

I have the steam bottler, it works fine, if you set the burner properly it just steams the bottom of the pan and doesn't boil over.

That being said if I had to do it all over again I would spend the extra money and get the water jacketed version with the larger heating element. I think this would be much simpler to use and when I get a Filter Press next year I think knowing the electric unit will maintain the temperature you want would be a real selling point for me.

[wiam]

So, this works by suspending the syrup compartment over a pan of boiling water?

[wishlist]

I am planning on getting a smoky lake steam bottler/filter unit for the upcoming season. Is there a huge difference between the steam unit and the water jacket unit other then price? I usually only bottle 5-8 gallons at a time. But I'm getting pretty sick of cone filters and filling bottles with funnels and ladles.

Save your money and look for one of the commercial coffee urns. I have a 14 gallon , 2 separate 7 gallon containers. This is water jacketed so as a bonus I have 28 gallons of hot water . They have single units that would work great for your size operation. If your planning on 150 taps on vacuum in the future then one of Daryl's filter presses would be ideal. No need for anymore of those cone or flat filters and very little , if any, wasted syrup.

[Ed R]

Also keep your eye on craigslist for a water jacketed wax melter, I found one 10 gallons, and they work great. They honey supply stores like Dadant and Walter Kelly have water jacketed bottlers/wax melters that are cheaper than the maple suppliers if your looking for new.

[Bricklayer]

I'm usually all for making something work that was designed for something else but will do. But I've been noticing lately after building my RO this past off season that sometimes it's just better to buy something that was designed for maple. By the time it's jimmy rigged and a whole bunch of plumbing fittings to make it work ok but not great it ends up costing just the same as buying it new. I have looked at wax melters before. They would work but since I would like to use my bottler as a filter tank also I think I'm going to buy one that is designed for maple and comes ready to go. Saves a whole bunch of time and I can have the piece of mind knowing that if I have problems with it I can call someone that knows maple. I just wanted to know what the main differences were between a steam bottler and a water jacketed bottler.

[Bricklayer]

I have a SL steam bottler. It is a 110 volt model but can be used on a gas burner. I have water boiling over on the counter top every time I use it. It is a pita. It does heat faster than the water jacketed one that was 110 volt.
I sold the water jacketed canner in September.

So you prefer the steam bottler over the waterjacked bottler? It's faster?

[Lano75]

Food for Thought!

We have the Smoky Lake finisher/bottler. We have had it two years and last year refined our process and now it works really well. We actually run our syrup through the flat filters after the draw every time we boil. Once we have 5-8 gallons in the finisher we reheat and filter one more time. Check density and bottle. Be sure to stay between 180-190 degrees, we found if you go over 190 niter will start to form again BAM! cloudy syrup. Ended up with about 15 bottles that were cloudy. They cleared up but left niter in the bottom of the bottle.

Lano